Daily Mail Social Media FAIL!

Paul Dacre, Editor of the Daily Mail has got it wrong. Yes, where Social Media’s concerned, it’s a Daily Mail FAIL!

If you agree, please do leave us a comment or two and link your blog posts on the subject to this page…

We think that…

• The Government is not a ‘Bunch of Twitterers’ for hiring a new ‘Digital Supremo’. It’s a smart move to stay in touch with an increasingly online electorate.
• Facebook isn’t really a credible cause of cancer, or a factor of social disintegration. It’s a great tool for bringing people together, sharing ideas and communicating.
• Twitter won’t really ‘harm children’s brains’ or render them speechless will it? It’s a great way of staying in touch with people and accessing information we may otherwise miss.

We’re more than a little concerned about the Daily Mail’s one-eyed news agenda over the past week. Is it seeking to demonise Social Media? The above articles were published within the space of five working days. What’s wrong Paul? Are Social Media tools really such a dangerous waste of time and space?

We think it’s time for a more responsible view of what they are and the good they can do. We spend our working life helping people to use them effectively and responsibly to communicate with their audiences online. (We’re a group of Social Media and Online Consultants who do good Social Media work with a diverse bunch of organisations…)

As such, we can generally say that:

• Twitter isn’t for Twits. It’s a brilliant way of engaging in conversations with communities that care for any number of issues, subjects and debates – and doing so in one of the most direct ways known to man. Kind of like the telephone for the Interweb: easy to use and makes people and messages instantly accessible. From breaking news on terrorist attacks in Mumbai, to the inner thoughts of Stephen Fry, and debates about the value of the The Daily Mail, Twitter condenses it all into 140 characters on a single web page.
• Facebook (and Bebo, MySpace and LinkedIn) isn’t for sociopaths. It’s a loosely organised online space where people can meet, greet and maintain relationships, for any purpose imaginable: alumni groups, fan groups, shared interest groups, charitable groups and more. Kind of like a Rotary club, but easier to organise, implement and run – and importantly putting ownership into the hands of anyone with a computer and a web connection. Anyone who has the time and inclination can use these tools to stay in touch with old work- and classmates, raise money for charity, and express their opinions about The Daily Mail.

All of the aforementioned tools provide us with new ways of communicating, organising and mobilising. According to Hitwise (one of the leading web traffic measurement and analysis firms), 10% of all UK web traffic is to social networks and social media services like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Year on year, this is an increase of 20%… and it will continue to rise.

So, Paul, instead of scaremongering and worrying about the spurious damage Social Media will cause, we think you should cast around for some other opinions, do some research and look for ways in which Social Media is doing some good in the world.

Sure, we know that you have an agenda and that the ‘Twitter is Great’ story isn’t going to excite your readership as much as a Cancer scare; and we know you’d never feel easy about blessing a New Labour appointment that aims to harness the power of all of this new-fangled stuff…. But, really, can’t you see an upside?

Go on, check it out…. You never know, you might just attract some new readers in the process.