Using Twitter to cover a major industry event? What say you?
We’ve had this idea and wanted to run it past our readers to find out if there was any appetite for us to trial something using Twitter (if you’ve no idea what’s this is about then read this blog entry).
As many of you I’m sure are aware, June 19th is the night when many within the Recruitment Industry don their black ties (read black or frilly shirt if you’re a ‘creative’ - a kind of uniform that confirms to the industry stereotype without being a conforming uniform(?!)) and slide / squeeze* into that little black dress / some impractical but conversation inducing party frock* (* - delete as applicable). Yes - it’s time for the CIPD Recruitment Marketing Awards.
I’ve recently been reading some of the blogs published on the Guardian’s Blog Forum Organ Grinder, and I’m intrigued by the ones that live blog during TV shows (only the juicy ones that most polarise people and generate debate of course - The Apprentice, Britain’s Got Talent etc). Now personally I try and separate my TV switch off time from my web time (which I understand makes me sooo GenX), but I still have found it interesting (on occasion) to read retrospectively what someone else has thought and picked whilst I was watching a programme.
So it got me thinking - and I know live blogging occurs for many digital related conferences, so I'm not daft enough to think this is a world first, but still quite new to our industry, and I think it could be a first in the UK. As the date of the awards nears, and as I’m no longer a full time employee of an agency, I face the very real prospect of not making it to the ball at all this year :( although I of course have learnt over the years that pride is for lonely stay at homes and so, as so often before, on awards night I have a tux standing by incase some desperate media fairy god mother has some ingrate client/agency contact pull out at the last minute and are just glad to fill the seat). So I thought there are of course plenty of people who don’t get the opportunity to go (or are perhaps too busy this year, or turn ill a few days before, or simply can’t get into that dress and can’t face the stress of having to hunt down another at this late stage) as I’m sure there are as many more who really can’t be arsed to go to all that trouble / schlep down to London, but at the same time they may like to be in just some little way a part of proceedings and get to hear first who’s won what (and whether the compere was so constrained as to be “not as good as they usually are on Have I Got News For You” and whether a cheesy DJ won over live music for the after dinner entertainment).
By the time I had this thought it was far too late to get anything in the way of “official sanctioning” by the Awards Committee, so there’s still the distinct possibility that it may be a no go-er even if there is any interest (would make fun reading though - having someone twittering from the toilet in fear of being forcibly ejected by the security).
So what do you think? I’m not a Twitterer as of yet, but I’d definitely sign up if there’s enough people interested and we can get someone on the inside of the event. Then for all those who aren’t Twits (but also as a just incase - because I’m led to believe Twitter is somewhat a victim of its own success and has a tendency to fall over quite a bit at the moment), we’d post the evenings commentary the next day on this ‘ere blog.
So what say you?
And if you’re one of those people who likes to read this blog but can think of nothing worse than leaving a comment (don’t worry - you’re not alone - about 90% of web users do the same so they say) - then email me at Alex@3DMarComms.com and I’ll compile any thoughts / comments / feedback before we decided whether it’s worth a go.
Go on - let us know what you think. Could be fun. Could be dull as you know what too - but I'd argue that you never know ‘til you try something :-)
Recent Comments