I watched the film, Be Kind, Rewind, on my way back from South America this week and discovered a line in the film sums up the ethos of the social web and social web in one nifty phrase.
In case you're not familiar with it, the film is about a couple of guys running a VHS-only video store who accidently wipe their stock. faced with the prospect of going out of business they set about making their own versions of blockbusters. As the film progresses and their idea becomes popular they start letting their customers appear in their self-produced hits.
Jack Black describes this as:
"Making our customers stockholders in their own happiness"
Ok it's a bit schmaltzy, but isn't this what social media and the social web is allowing us to do? The moral of the story is that their customers loved being involved in the film more than simply watching it. So let's see more of us PR people advising our clients that involving and empowering our customers isn't just a fad or marketing ploy - it's a reality that makes people feel good and drives sales (if you're cold hearted enough to only care about the cash).
PS. as a footnote I could add that the moral of the story could have been about the signifncant tensions the social web is putting our outdated copyright laws under. There's a scene involving the film industry's copyright police which isn't fully explored - but then it's a Hollywood film so they aren't going to examine their dirty laundry in public are they?
Technorati tags: Be Kind, Rewind, copyright, customer service, public relations
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