Embattled brand Twitter
In recent months, Twitter’s brand has taken a beating. From Julia Gillard to Sydney’s Daily Telegraph having a go, Nic Christensen looks at how the brand is faring ahead of the launch of its Australian office.
It was News Limited’s ‘night of nights’, the News Awards, and editor Paul Whittaker had just won the prestigious CEO Award for the Daily Telegraph’s ‘People Power’ electricity prices campaign. But the audience gathered inside Sydney’s historic State Theatre weren’t about to hear an acceptance speech about electricity prices from the pugnacious editor, known by many as Boris because of his resemblance to tennis player Boris Becker.
Before an audience of hundreds, including both News Limited CEO Kim Williams and chairman Rupert Murdoch, the editor of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph thanked his staff before launching into a speech that denounced the social media platform Twitter and trumpeted the success of the newspaper’s ‘Stop The Trolls’ campaign. He boasted about the success of the campaign, at one point even going as far as to describe it as among the tabloid’s “best”.
News Limited insiders in the audience that night described the speech as “stunning”, “perplexing” and somewhat “full of itself”.
“Karalee Evans, senior director with public relations agency Text 100 …says Twitter’s priority has to be public relations”
And in other news:
Bears…
Popes…
etc
Yes, JB, the disclosure is there. My longer quote was around the need for Twitter to look at a re-brand as well as a PR push. It seems to be supported by other commentators outside of PR in the article, too. Do you disagree Twitter has a PR problem in Australia?
And in another disclosure, I don’t work for, or with Twitter. And haven’t participated in any tender for PR business for the platform, and don’t anticipate doing so any time soon.
Murdoch tabloids publish bollocks and according the vid below, so does Twitter 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_YL5GfqnjM
Agree from my experience Twitter in Australia is a lot less earnest and keen in tone than lists I have of primarily US users. The general tone in the majority of my feeds and lists revolves around sarcasm, grumbling and gripes. And now that you’ve got integration with TV shows its amplifying some people’s less desirable sides.
Maybe I’ve missed the point you’re making that Twitter needs PR for PR sake rather than Twitter actually needs to try to improve as a platform within Australia. But I see a lot of passive aggressive and just plain aggressive out there (looking at you #auspol) and at the end of the day as an average Joe it just makes you feel a bit meh (and wary) about expressing anything much on Twitter.