Eugh, "Crowdsourcing"

As someone who has/does kinda work in the social media space, I'm on thin ice when I start throwing around criticism of the methods, buzzwords, and hype that it entails. After all, a lot of my time is spent chasing around after that hype, and trying as hard as anyone else to harness it's delicious, reputation-boosting power.

But this article about GAP this morning really got me thinking about the troubling reality of the direction the social web is making brands move in.

The situation for GAP is a simple and common one these days. The brand changes its logo. The public speaks out critically on the web. The brand metaphorically (and maybe literally) cacks its pants.

It's often raised as a great tenet of the brave, new, socially connected world that we live in - this instantaneous connection a brand can have with the wider world through an internet. "Isn't it magic", we all say. "You can literally see what people think of you, all the time."

Yeah, it's magic. In that, it's creating a grand illusion for all concerned.

1. That the consumer has some "power" over the brand.

2. That the brand is listening, and really gives a shit.

Of course, the reality is that, almost everyone who jumped aboard the critical "I hate GAP's logo" bandwagon probably hates GAP anyway, and doesn't shop there. So realistically speaking, the actual GAP consumer doesn't have power over the brand. The critical, semi-design interested Tweeter does.

And the brand isn't really listening - not really. Listening is just a by-word for "searching Twitter for our company's name" in the social space, and the reality of Twitter, as I've just mentioned, is that it's a large noisy room full of the most critical and opinionated people in the world.

So the brand doesn't really give a shit. They just want to look like they give a shit in the hip, happening, buzzy world of social media.

What's happening is that social media, and "people power" is creating a whirlwind of bullshit in which brands fail to function properly any more.

They're too busy getting their customers (*probably not their customers) to redesign their logo, or come up with ideas for new products and services for them

Stop crowdsourcing. Start dictating again. Brands need to lead, not follow. People will always bitch and moan. Just because it's happening on Twitter now, doesn't mean it's going to damage you more than it used to.