2013 – Social media blunders of the year
1. Social media erupted over the rebranding of Fairfax Media’s female-focused section Daily Life to ‘Women’s Perspective’. The move, part of a redesign of smh.com.au and theage.com.au to coincide with the switch of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age to compact format, was howled down. Sarah Oakes, editor of Daily Life, wrote a piece explaining that her bosses had overruled her opposition to the rebranding. Daily Life contributor Clementine Ford Tweeted “Can’t find @DailyLifeAu on @theage’s new homepage? Just scroll all the way down to the 1950s where you’ll find it under #womensperspective”. Fairfax Media got the message changing the name back to ‘Daily Life’ after only a day.
2. Sydney PR agency Porter Novelli’s attempt to create buzz by hiring a new staff member via Twitter backfired when users poking fun at the company’s attempt to establish its social media credentials hijacked the #SocialCV hashtag. The hashtag did trend but for all the wrong reasons. Comments included: “So, who’s the bigger dickhead; Telstra for recently revealing five day job interviews or #socialCV for offering a job for a 140 character tweet?”
3. Myer was forced to apologise for comments made by CEO Bernie Brookes criticising the government’s proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme after a major social media backlash. Brookes told the media that a $350 increase in the Medicare levy would hurt retailers as the levy: “is something they would have spent with us”. One response on Facebook read: “What you’re really saying is that the more money spent on the most vulnerable and needy in our community, the less can be spent consuming at Myer. You’re sounding more like a greedy corporation than an Australian business with values and a sense of community. What a disgrace.”
