How much does Disney Social Media/TDO check on WDWmagic?

[WDWFigment]

The difference between Twitter and this forum is that we are moderated. So take the recent Twitter/Facebook posting by the supposed "Joe Rohde", regarding the Yeti. If that had originated here, it would have been shut down, yet on the unmoderated platforms, it spreads like wildfire, with nobody able to prove/disprove its validity.

I will agree, forums are far from being 100% reliable, but I believe that long established forums such as this, with users having a proven posting history, threaded discussions that are persistent and not just a moment in time, make for a more reliable information source than Twitter as a whole.

I didn't see that Joe Rohde rumor spread like wildfire anywhere, in fact, I only saw it here--and to your (and everyone else's) credit, it didn't spread like wildfire here, either.

Individuals with a proven history have a greater "voice" on Twitter or Facebook, too. If some random guy with 10 followers posts an out of left field rumor, no one is likely to engage it. However, if your @wdwmagic Twitter account (with your thousands of followers) tweet something, it's going to reach a far larger audience. Same result through different means.

I think the more appropriate criticism of Twitter is that it's difficult/impossible to have a meaningful/fleshed out discussion like you could on a forum. I'll unequivocally agree with that!

 

[Kuhio]

No. Twitter accounts are not verified in any way, and can be 100% false, not requiring any name at all.

There are, in a few cases, Twitter verified accounts, that are used for celebrities and public figures, but certainly not for the masses.

Wait... so @mynameismickey isn't really Mickey Mouse?

And here I was, all impressed at Mickey's apparent fluency in Portuguese...

 

[wdwmagic]

I didn't see that Joe Rohde rumor spread like wildfire anywhere, in fact, I only saw it here--and to your (and everyone else's) credit, it didn't spread like wildfire here, either.

Individuals with a proven history have a greater "voice" on Twitter or Facebook, too. If some random guy with 10 followers posts an out of left field rumor, no one is likely to engage it. However, if your @wdwmagic Twitter account (with your thousands of followers) tweet something, it's going to reach a far larger audience. Same result through different means.

I think the more appropriate criticism of Twitter is that it's difficult/impossible to have a meaningful/fleshed out discussion like you could on a forum. I'll unequivocally agree with that!

This illustrates another big issue with Twitter. A posters worth is in some eyes, viewed by the number of followers they have. As you know, Twitter has all kinds of follow exchange schemes, where users have 10s of thousands of followers, all who have been gained through a follow me exchange. In fact, I'm sure there are a good few in the Disney Twitter world who have upwards of 30,000 followers, yet them-self follow 35,000 people. So using follower count as any kind of gauge of credibility is pointless.

 

[wdwmagic]

Wait... so @mynameismickey isn't really Mickey Mouse?

And here I was, all impressed at Mickey's apparent fluency in Portuguese...

LOL sorry to burst your bubble!

 

[DisneyJoe]

This illustrates another big issue with Twitter. A posters worth is in some eyes, viewed by the number of followers they have. As you know, Twitter has all kinds of follow exchange schemes, where users have 10s of thousands of followers, all who have been gained through a follow me exchange. In fact, I'm sure there are a good few in the Disney Twitter world who have upwards of 30,000 followers, yet them-self follow 35,000 people. So using follower count as any kind of gauge of credibility is pointless.

Agreed! Engagement and conversation with your followers is a much better gauge.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Haven't people, in the past before Disney realized it was a mistake to use such public measures, found Disney job postings in which the job description included monitoring and sometimes engaging with fan websites?

 

[WDWFigment]

This illustrates another big issue with Twitter. A posters worth is in some eyes, viewed by the number of followers they have. As you know, Twitter has all kinds of follow exchange schemes, where users have 10s of thousands of followers, all who have been gained through a follow me exchange. In fact, I'm sure there are a good few in the Disney Twitter world who have upwards of 30,000 followers, yet them-self follow 35,000 people. So using follower count as any kind of gauge of credibility is pointless.

And on forums, a user's credibility (by some) is judged by their post count. The internet is an imperfect system. I think the cream rises to the top most of the time, but it's definitely imperfect.

 

[Kuhio]

In fact, I'm sure there are a good few in the Disney Twitter world who have upwards of 30,000 followers, yet them-self follow 35,000 people.

Frankly, I don't get the appeal of following hundreds or thousands of other people. How can you possibly process all those tweets, even if you're perpetually and obsessively checking your account? Isn't it all the more likely that tweets from the people that are actually important in your life -- your friends, family members, etc. -- are going to get lost among the dozens of bad jokes and pointless observations that are being tweeted and re-tweeted every minute?

 

[wdwmagic]

Frankly, I don't get the appeal of following hundreds or thousands of other people. How can you possibly process all those tweets, even if you're perpetually and obsessively checking your account? Isn't it all the more likely that tweets from the people that are actually important in your life -- your friends, family members, etc. -- are going to get lost among the dozens of bad jokes and pointless observations that are being tweeted and re-tweeted every minute?

Yep I think that is exactly what happens. Although those that are part of the follower exchanges are not using those accounts for personal use, they are for blog/site promotion.

 

[wannab@dis]

Haven't people, in the past before Disney realized it was a mistake to use such public measures, found Disney job postings in which the job description included monitoring and sometimes engaging with fan websites?

I'm sure they have people "monitoring" and reporting on the trends. But the "engaging" is a select few with controlled and crafted messages. I know some around these parts think Marketing is just a bunch of idiots spewing pixie dust, but the opposite is closer to reality. The messages put out for consumers through their controlled mediums is specific, targeted, and researched. Whether we agree it's effective or not is beside the point. In fact, I bet they would probably do a little better without the controls and focus groups, but they would also lose metrics - and marketing is all about metrics.

 

[Clever Name]

It is just ludicrous to think that Disney has the time, expertise or interest to monitor social media. They do the same for social media as they do for the general press. They hire other firms to do that sort of work. Disney uses Radian6, Collective Intellect, Lithium and Attensity360 just to name a few. These companies specialize in monitoring social media for their clients.

Disney doesn’t care what is said or done on this site or any other web site. All Disney wants to do is shift and control social media for their advantage. They pay other companies to do that for them. You’re being delusional if you think anyone at Disney monitors this site in any official capacity. As I said, Disney employees killing time come here.

I understand that people like to think that they are being heard and that their opinion matters.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Disney doesn’t care what is said or done on this site or any other web site.

In all likelihood, they are only looking for high level aggregate trends, which those firms you mentioned can get for them.

 

[Clever Name]

In all likelihood, they are only looking for high level aggregate trends, which those firms you mentioned can get for them.

Bingo, we have a winner!

 

[tomman710]

I'd submit, based on all the "exciting announcements, additions, changes" coming to WDW, that not one TDO executive has ever read anything once on these boards.

Out of touch with the market is an understatement.

 

[Lee]

I think the more appropriate criticism of Twitter is that it's difficult/impossible to have a meaningful/fleshed out discussion like you could on a forum. I'll unequivocally agree with that!

This.
Twitter was never meant to be used as a "chat" or "discussion" tool, yet people tend to treat it as such.
That's why a don't really use it. I hate looking at someone's Twitter feed and seeing just a series of "Yeah", "Cool", "I know, right?" and such...

 

[ptaylor]

It is just ludicrous to think that Disney has the time, expertise or interest to monitor social media. They do the same for social media as they do for the general press. They hire other firms to do that sort of work. Disney uses Radian6, Collective Intellect, Lithium and Attensity360 just to name a few. These companies specialize in monitoring social media for their clients.

Disney doesn’t care what is said or done on this site or any other web site. All Disney wants to do is shift and control social media for their advantage. They pay other companies to do that for them. You’re being delusional if you think anyone at Disney monitors this site in any official capacity. As I said, Disney employees killing time come here.

I understand that people like to think that they are being heard and that their opinion matters.

I think when people are saying "Disney", they are referring to Disney and all of the consultants and contractors that they hire to do the job.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It is just ludicrous to think that Disney has the time, expertise or interest to monitor social media. They do the same for social media as they do for the general press. They hire other firms to do that sort of work. Disney uses Radian6, Collective Intellect, Lithium and Attensity360 just to name a few. These companies specialize in monitoring social media for their clients.

Disney doesn’t care what is said or done on this site or any other web site. All Disney wants to do is shift and control social media for their advantage. They pay other companies to do that for them. You’re being delusional if you think anyone at Disney monitors this site in any official capacity. As I said, Disney employees killing time come here.

I understand that people like to think that they are being heard and that their opinion matters.

This is like saying a local business doesn't bother to clean their store because they contract a janitorial company to do it at night. Disney clearly has some social media staff, they post on their own blog and I doubt that is all they do each day. If Disney had no concern, they would not do it themselves or hire a company that specializes in such matter to do it for them. Such companies report what they see to their clients.

 

[WDW1974]

Oh Drew, what's wrong with ya dude, bored this summer?

The last time I tried a real, rational, adult discussion on Social Media and the Mouse ... well, surprisingly like this one, it was ... but it also led to me leaving a site I had been on off and on for a decade for good.

Since Social Media and Corporate America is all about talking points, I'd like to get mine out.

First, for those who cynically choose to believe that Disney pays no mind to this site or its posters (some more than others) or threads (no, no one at Celebration Place really cares whether you'd rather dine at 'Ohana or Cape May), I want to throw some water (cold water, not the recirculated stuff from the Casey Junior Pee While You Play Fountain) on that.

I think many people in both the real world, and this crazy MAGICal community, can't think outside themselves or their own life experiences. So, if you aren't particularly significant in your daily life, if you don't travel extensively or deal with major corporations, if you don't have knowledge of how media companies operate well ... then, you likely sit back and say 'I'm not important. What I post isn't important. Therefore no one else here is important and their words are also not important? So, why would anyone waste their time reading about why I love WDW and think it's never been better?''

This is what I often run into with folks who have never been to DL or any of the international Disney Parks/Resorts or UNI or visited WDW prior to the late 1990s in the last sentence scenario above.

Just because YOU do not know something or because it doesn't make sense to YOU because YOU don't feel you (or the community YOU are a part of) has value, doesn't make it so.

Disney social media staffers read and monitor sites including this one (one would say with respect to WDW, that NO other site is followed as closely as this one). It is regular reading for people who are paid to monitor, analyze and react to what's going on here. No, everything isn't read, not even close. Disney, like all major media corps, have filters to determine what they are interested in reading. This does change from time to time. For instance when Disney makes an announcement for something new (or a competitor does) that data is more valuable. Obviously, they have companies and consultants who are paid to tell them what it all means (I think these people are absolutely clueless and just enjoying the giant paychecks because there is no science to this ... this is why Disney suddenly believes that Mommy Bloggers from Ohio are more important to growing business than real media or even sites such as this one)

(and as I write this I am watching the Aurora, CO police chief talking about monitoring social media in regards to the mass murder at the movie theater there)

I can't tell you what metrics Disney uses to determine what they will read and how they interpret it. That's something you might want to address to Josh Hallett or Shell Holtz or any other of the 'top' consultants that Disney pays to direct their dealings with social media ... everything from what is posted here to reacting to something someone like Kevin Yee wrote about to what Mommy Blogger needs to be wined and dined on a company Visa.

I'll also tell you that everyone from execs to Imagineers to real media read these boards. To what level, I can't say because I don't know. Only Steve does and he may well not because one can't assume that Meg Crofton doesn't read this just because her ISP at TDO never appears on his radar (just an example). Also, if Steve does know who/where his readers are coming from, he can't say because they are all entitled to the same anonymity that we are unless we choose to tell the world who we are.

Some very top level people have been known to read certain threads (yes, even if it printed out with highlights and notes for them) on sites like this one. Again, that is a fact.

If you disagree, then you do so out of ignorance and world views, not out of knowledege.

As to plants (not trolls), well, that's another subject. I have no idea why anyone would doubt their existence. Corporations have been paying people to appear on online forums for years now. The closest example to theme parks I can think of would be the cruise lines who openly and actively pay people to appear on sites like CruiseCritic.com and spin the company line and also shout down anyone who has had a less than desirable experience with a company.

Facebook and Twitter are certainly monitored as well, but they aren't as easy to follow as a thread on Avatar on WDWMAGIC.

I do have other thoughts, but frankly I am a bit distracted watching coverage of yet another mass murder in the USA ... when are we going to wake up?!?!

 

[WDW1974]

Not me. Didn't Disney recently start some sort of forum format with their chosen fanboy children to be their voice? Wasn't that their attempt to counter the unofficials they can't control?

Yes, the InsideEars. It was all the rage of the Disney Lifestyle bloggers ... yet another attempt to control the message.

Much like the typical characters like Brigante, Corless and Mongello who never have a bad thing to say about Disney ... didn't 'The Mongello' recently call the new kiddie coaster at MK an E++++ attraction? That's the type of 'opinion' Disney wants out there.

 

[WDW1974]

There are about 5 million posts on this forum about WDW. If you were working in the Internet marketing division of WDW, wouldn't you want to see what is being said? I would bet anything that there are Disney employees looking at this and other large forums as part of their job.

Nah, all that FREE consulting (yes, you have to wade thru the sludge, but they have ways of doing that).

Much better to simply ignore it. ... Why do some ... many (most?) people have so little common sense?