Spirited News & Observations II -- NGE/Baxter

[Clever Name]

Saw OZ today. Totally agree Franco was weak. Kept thinking how good it would have been with someone like Robert Downey Jr. as the lead. They needed someone more cocky and arrogant.

I agree. Donald Trump would have been great for that role.

 

[Darth Sidious]

Yeah Oz exceeded my expectations, but it deserves no higher than a C+ grade and that's being generous. Franco was bad dude. Besides a couple of the scenes he had with China Girl, I felt for the most part his material was weak and forced. Yeah it would be nice if WDW were able to use Marvel in their parks, but I'd perfer other IP's/lesser known characters they have as opposed to Iron Man (but I'd take that too). But anyhow back to NG, when can we expect the next rollout group testing for MM+/magic bands? I know they already did one for a sample group that stayed at the AKL.

I don't think Franco was bad, but he wasn't good either. It was just obvious that RDJ was meant for the roll. Once you set that aside he wasn't bad, just not memorable. The movie itself was a B, it could have been better but it wasn't bad at all.

I think it also is hard to make a 'prequel' to a classic without using any recognizable elements of the Judy Garland movie.

 

[Genie of the Lamp]

They went to the movie because pretty much everything else at the theater was either R or G rated. I'm beginning to wonder if Oz's success was about timing, not the movie itself.

Oz's success was about timing. Think about it, what movie was coming out the same time as Oz that the film industry insiders though were going to give Oz a run for their money. 21 and Over? Snitch? I credit Disney here for selecting a good release date as it was right around Spring Break for most colleges like mine and putting it at an opening date where there really wasn't much competition. And add to that the marketing bonanza spree they used for the film and you get where were at today with the film. Plus you have to consider Implicit revenue (personal satisfaction) factors for the average moviegoer as well being that it's an Oz film.

 

[WDW1974]

So, let's say you're a Disney social media and you want to look more important to the company than you really are (and, let's be honest, none of them are very important at all), so what do you do?

You buy thousands ... maybe tens of thousands of followers overnight for a sum of money. Then, you can tout those to Disney, regardless of the fact those people aren't really following you at all. Just something to think about.

 

[WDW1974]

Since many Disney geeks also worship at the Cult of Jobs (I most definitely am not one of them), I found this story interesting. Maybe you guys will too!

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/03/23/apple-acquires-indoor-location-company-wifislam/

 

[flynnibus]

You buy thousands ... maybe tens of thousands of followers overnight for a sum of money. Then, you can tout those to Disney, regardless of the fact those people aren't really following you at all. Just something to think about.

Anyone worth their chair in social media already knows about the practice of paying for followers.. and also knows about the simple services you can use to evaluate the legitimacy of someone's followers list.

 

[Rodan75]

So, let's say you're a Disney social media and you want to look more important to the company than you really are (and, let's be honest, none of them are very important at all), so what do you do?

You buy thousands ... maybe tens of thousands of followers overnight for a sum of money. Then, you can tout those to Disney, regardless of the fact those people aren't really following you at all. Just something to think about.

I have no pity for execs who cannot see thru the BS of the social media parasites.

 

[WDW1974]

If one wanted to check out merf on the twitters, what would his h@ndle be?

I would take it that you have it by now, but if not, send me a note ...

 

[Genie of the Lamp]

Since many Disney geeks also worship at the Cult of Jobs (I most definitely am not one of them), I found this story interesting. Maybe you guys will too!

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/03/23/apple-acquires-indoor-location-company-wifislam/

Another way of tracking us and being glued to your IPhone. What a shocker. Let's use your local indoor mall for example. They all have those big directory maps that shows you which stores,etc. are in the mall and where they are located at. Will it simply be in the future that instead of looking at that map you'll essentially be looking down at your smartphone screen with the mall map and your location being shown on there?

 

[WDW1974]

Epcyclipedia - don't expect much tho. The conversation in question is really an amateur trying to call pros to the mat and looking bad doing so.

That's not his handle (close). ... And while Merfie may be an amateur, I in no way feel he looked bad. When you start calling people names and running away from a discussion, that's not being a pro at anything beyond CYAs. And, yes, if you are a seven figure a year social media analyst/strategist (what a made up thing those are) you certainly are a pro at something!

 

[WDW1974]

We can't help ourselves. We are unwitting sycophants.

OK, you're quoting someone here ... who is it? Not split-personality fish farmer that likes dining on PattyMelts? How about the 'insider' who wasn't (but you had to admire he had game and took quite a while to flame out all on his own)? Can't be one of my pals because they've never even heard the word nor possess the ability to spell it. ... But I know someone else said that ... who?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

How about the 'insider' who wasn't (but you had to admire he had game and took quite a while to flame out all on his own)?

Who is the insider that wasn't? M.rudolf of someone else?

 

[flynnibus]

That's not his handle (close)

One letter typo

Maybe merf should have gotten some marketing advice before picking his handles... it helps to have names that are easy to pronounce, easy to recall, and if it has to be typed.. not error prone i still can try to pronouce that handle without being disconnected/abrupt.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Who is the insider that wasn't? M.rudolf of someone else?

M.Rudolf

 

[the.dreamfinder]

One letter typo

Maybe merf should have gotten some marketing advice before picking his handles... it helps to have names that are easy to pronounce, easy to recall, and if it has to be typed.. not error prone i still can try to pronouce that handle without being disconnected/abrupt.

Come on... It's encyclopedia and you substitute the n for a p...

 

[WDW1974]

He tried to call the guy out as getting a paid endorsement for the piece.. and based on what? Not any fact that the piece was sponsored or paid for by Disney - but purely on the premise that the publisher and Disney have other business relationships (the mentioned conference). You know as well as I those are very different beasts. It also doesn't connect any dots between the author's objectivity and the other relations the publisher has.

He took a blind leap and there was nothing there.

Having other business transactions between companies.. or even being 'friendlies'.. does not equate to getting 'paid endorsements'. Then he demonstrates his lack of tact and professionalism by accusing the guy openly without any direct supporting material to say so.

Not so fast. While I agree that Shel Holtz wasn't paid for the placement of that story per se, the fact he advises Disney on the VERY subject he praised them for and advocated for their strategies is close to the same thing. Ragan also has a large business relationship with TWDC. Those things can't be simply brushed aside and ignored with a 'well, they're being objective here because no money changed hands.'

I mean, let's say you work for a company and they pay you in one division but you write a piece about the work of another division in glowing terms, most people would say there is obvious bias and intent. Now, imagine you're writing for the same division as he was writing about and for social media. Conflict, maybe?

Shel is directly involved in Disney Social Media. His lifestyle is dependent on convincing Disney of the importance of the Lifestylers. There is NO WAY possible the man is objective.

BTW, the Newswire turned down a more balanced piece on NGE a while back with no reason given.

You don't have to like the piece.. or even buy into people quoting metrics provided by the topic of the piece themselves.. but to jump to accusing people of unethical behavior with nothing to stand on.. is juvenile and unprofessional. Merf sees what he thinks is SLANT - and jumps right to worst case scenario.

The guy stopped responding to him not because of fear of the truth.. but because Merf didn't have anything and couldn't hold a professional exchange with him.

Again, we disagree (social media and technology, what a shocker!) ... Everyone here can point out the truth when Merfie calls Holtz out on his lies about the DPB. I would hope that everyone here could agree on that. Now, when you add in the business relationships that are out there and known between the author/publisher and WDW Co., how can anyone say there isn't bias present? And shouldn't the guy have simply disclosed the issues with one line at the end that said something like ''Shel Holtz is a social media consultant for TWDC and has had a financial stake in the above content's release''? ... Merfie's biggest flaw was he didn't nail him completely when he had his chance. It's all about transparency and folks like Holtz and Ragan want their work known to other top corps, but they definitely don't want folks questioning them in their own world.

Oh, an interesting (to me) aside, but couldn't help but notice when I stepped into a Barnes and Noble an entire section dedicated to social media and metrics with titles like ''How to tell the value of your Google ads'' and ''Selling Social Media to the Doubters'' and ''Social Media for Dummies" etc... if social media and tech are all that, then why even have books? Who's reading them? No one, right? Everyone's getting their information online. No one cares about books. They're like a Commodore 64 next to your shiny new MacBook!

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

M.Rudolf

Had a feeling. He hasn't posted in quite some time (dunno whether he left or was kicked out or whatever), and his information conflicted with that of other insiders here.

 

[WDW1974]

So your THE Batman does that make Lee your Robin...

I am the Spirit.

Lee is a.) Lee, a disgruntled ex-Imagineer; b.) Lee, the man who can belt out Disney showtunes better than anyone here; c.) Lee, the man standing between me and his wife; or d.) Lee, at least two out of the above.

 

[flynnibus]

Come on... It's encyclopedia and you substitute the n for a p...

I am well aware of it's root.. That doesn't make it any more marketing friendly. It's long.. its not very distinct.. it does not have a good oral pronunciation, etc. But we are also talking the guy who uses his 'professional writer' account to have all his little personal tirades from.. so maybe my expectations should be lower.

 

[HenryMystic]

One letter typo

Maybe merf should have gotten some marketing advice before picking his handles... it helps to have names that are easy to pronounce, easy to recall, and if it has to be typed.. not error prone i still can try to pronouce that handle without being disconnected/abrupt.

Hey, give him credit! He named his book after @EPCOT Explorer. That's a strong brand!