Jumping on a Bandwagon?

Or Going by the Picture, Jumping on an Auto-rickshaw more Likely

Social Networking or internet communities or even humble blogs seem to be the buzz word these days going by the atmosphere and news reports we get to see.

I got ranting today because of some of the comments I got recently and one in particular that I got today (all of that I delete promptly).

I like to keep my comment section open because there has been no major reason to close or moderate comments till now. I do get some amount of spam comments but then I delete it after getting the email notification.

There have been one or two days when I got around 16 spam comments from the same person (for hotels in a particular region) and when that happened for the second time my heart sank. I mean that time could have been devoted to a better use but then that was a one off incident. I forgave them because they are small operators and may lack the expertise to handle social media.

Then today I got a junk comment on an old post that was a rant against branding of a particular type. The comment was for a known company (that advertises on big TV channels too) and gave a link to its Facebook fan page (that was not even hyperlinked within the comment box).

I mean why poor me? OK I can see some fit, it is about travel bags, it went like this-

I would like to share an incident,

On my Holiday to Singpore from Mumbai we were Asked to open our Bags at the airport by the Authorities. I was thankfully carrying [------] Bags which has sorted Compartments which made the checking easier and faster.
Got out withing 15 minutes,

That’s the reason i would suggest a [-----] to any traveler.

Its user friendly, easy to handle, light in weight and pretty affordable.

The Link would be of a lot of help [-----]

I am wondering how can a company be so dumb when it comes to social media? Do they pay people to write such dumb comments on wrong kind of posts? Why that particular post? And what happens to this person's (assuming there is such a person) performance appraisal when they find that the inane comments they left were promptly deleted by the blog owners?

I mean that comment screams of being an ad for the company as it had no relevance to the post and they removed all doubt by giving a link to the Facebook fan page. Why can't they hire a good consultant? Better still why can't they think of investing long term into social media and make their own presence.

Some companies may take a long time to figure out the social media and in trying to join the bandwagon, they may not even land on an auto-rickshaw in the process.

Jet Airways- Making a Customer Run from Pillar to Post

Recently came across a post on Indiamike about Jet Airways making a customer run from pillar to post. They lost the luggage and then they are not responding through customer care. I thought I will do this small post about Jet Airways to say I understand. The entire thread about the Jet Airways not responding to the complain is here. Following is a short quote-

Let me preface this by saying that I consider myself a patient person. However, my patience is being tested by Jet Airways after they lost my luggage one week ago and have offered me virtually no assistance in recovering it. Their customer "service" is truly appalling!!!! Any advice on how I can get my luggage back??

Cross posted at Blogbharti.

Managed Communities?

Saw this very fascinating post on the blog of Professor Robert V. Kozinets. I have tried to use Netnography, the methodology he proposed to study online communities. I always thought of consumer communities as self-formed or at least easy enough to join. And of course the one I use most is related to travel- Indiamike.com.

And then I came across this post on his blog about a company that manages communities for clients. He writes-

That raises a big question for me. Is there a difference between the kind of “community” or tribe you get in a “community” that is created or sponsored by a website and the one you get emerging spontaneously, implicitly motivated and flowering on its own.

Communispace is a fascinating company that pays people $10 a month to form an artifically constructed brand community (and yes, they use the brand community terminology). They sell “private” (as in gated and controlled) online communities. Every consumer is fully identified and accountable. “Bad” (non-participating) members are bumped off. Messages are moderated. Communispace acts as the buffer zone between the world of real consumers and the corporate customers.

I tried searching on the Communispace website like a harried customer who needs quick information to see if one could become a member of any of the communities there. Couldn't find much, only the feeling that the membership is by invitation only?

Sounds very strange, at least to me.