Unicorn Tattoos and Blog Comments

I really want to give my blog a tattoo, which one do you think I should get?
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Sometimes blog comments can get lost or people do not go back and read them, I just wanted to highlight two comments that really got me thinking. Both came from the same post on The Wire and Institutional Dysfunctionality.

This one by Ben Shepherd is right on the money talking about companies adopting social media.

The problem is a difficult one but my feeling is it comes back to resource like most things.

Companies want more results for less resource - lower staff numbers, agency fees etc

Digital channels generally require more resource per dollar spent.

This can be the hurdle.

I take my hat off to Telstra too but they're a big company with a huge spend and I would hazard a guess their social team on paper would not be scrutinised like their other CRM touchpoints in terms of ROI.

Remember too, companies often continue doing things the way they've always done them because they continue to work for them. I guess social media needs to present itself as something other than 'a shitload more work or responsibility for someone already at capacity'.

And Returnon.

Loved The Wire, one of my 3 favorite series along with Deadwood and Arrested Development.

David Simon also created one of the best miniseries I've ever seen, and I consume film, TV, cable, etc like Coolio consumes crack.

Its called Generation Kill, about the 1st recon marines during the 'Shock & Awe' campaign in Iraq. Another exploration of Institutional Dysfunction, this time with the fog of war clouding judgment, not to mention senior officers keen to add another star to their epaulets before the end of what they predict will be a quick war.

As with The Wire, those on the front line in Generation Kill are arbitrarily denied basic tools to get their job done efficiently, often due to misplaced priorities. I see that in many Australian businesses, where the majority of an ad budget is spent on a run-of-the-mill TVC campaign, while online struggles with pocket change.

The senior officers in corporations and Generation Kill desire quick, visible results with which to sate their hunger for credit and promotion. Neither wants to get mired in what they deem confounding and unnecessary like humanitarianism or social media.

The fundamental difference is that the senior officers in Generation Kill are responsible for lives and operating with the fog of war limiting their judgment. Corporations can claim no such excuse when children are adept with the tools they shun. Where metrics are freely available and candid consumer feedback can be clarified with engagement. Where positive ROI has been established as more likely than traditional media.

Its not like lives are stake when marketing directors tell their agency or the enthusiastic marketing junior that they're waiting to see how Twitter turns out...