BP supposedly employed 76 social mediaites pre-crisis. I wanted some verification of this claim, so as any social media user would do, I took to Twitter. If BP actually had 76 employees in social media, a timely response via Twitter seemed reasonable. So I waited and waited some more… and nothing. Even after repeated attempts, my question fell on deaf ears. BP doesn’t understand social media; that is, BP isn’t using it to engage their users and answer their questions. This could be one reason why they’ve had a PR nightmare on their hands. I might appear to be on a tangent or a rant, but I’m actually taking this somewhere.

Let the grand experiment begin

Here we go… After BP’s overall fail, I wondered how many other large corporations tout Twitter friendliness, but aren’t actually “Twitter friendly.” Lo and behold, I found a list on Mashable with the 40 Best Twitter Brands. The article seemed a bit like digital networking and corporate back rubbing, so I stopped at number 15. I took matters into my own hands from there. It was time to find out which of the 15 were worthy of being a “best” Twitter brand.
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It seems print publications are finally learning how to evolve: go digital or go home. Covet Garden found a way out of the print Dark Ages. And now, a new joint venture with The Daily Beast seems to be Newsweek’s method for adapting. Whether the publication will thrive or die is yet to be seen, but I can’t help but believe this is a step in the right direction.

It’s almost comical how companies who have spent countless hours trying to discredit the legitimacy of online publications (foremost blogs) are now embracing it. They are realizing this is where the public gets their news. Credibility of blogs is always increasing. Even the news corporations are getting their news from Twitter. “Head in the sand” must have run its course for traditional publications, and it’s about time.
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