The [Dis] Influencer- One Year Anniversary

[lazyboy97o]

Nothing being posted on the internet fan community really has any baring on what Disney does (clearly). Even going back to the Al Lutz days.

Disney got Marty Sklar to publish a deceptive letter attacking fans because of Al Lutz.

 

[el_super]

Disney got Marty Sklar to publish a deceptive letter attacking fans because of Al Lutz.

And? They still went through with the Small World changes, the fans were still upset, and the rainforest was still downsized. Ten years later and no one even cares about it anymore. Pandemic aside, Small World is still chugging along, characters and all. So in the end what was it all for?

 

[lazyboy97o]

And? They still went through with the Small World changes, the fans were still upset, and the rainforest was still downsized. Ten years later and no one even cares about it anymore. Pandemic aside, Small World is still chugging along, characters and all. So in the end what was it all for?

They still did something besides ignore it. Reacting to justify your actions is still reacting. The Imagineering Story also felt the need to exaggerate the issue years later as a defense.

 

[_caleb]

To what end? You paint this vast deception of men-in-black conspirators operating in the shadows, attempting to subvert the fan community, control the narrative and enact their agendas, all in order to ... increase popcorn sales at ODV Carts? Convince people that Carsland was a good idea? And you're trying to convince us that Iger/Zenia reaching out to the fan community is somehow a bad thing or something that should be admonished? WHY?

Nothing being posted on the internet fan community really has any baring on what Disney does (clearly). Even going back to the Al Lutz days. Most of the insiders here turn out to be wrong more often than not, and almost nothing posted here is worth getting riled up over, at least until it's confirmed on the parks blog.

Long story short: none of it really matters and it's all for entertainment anyway.

Disney absolutely cares what’s posted here. The information shared here, even with relatively few active participants, has the potential to be very valuable:

• Lots of regular fans hold Disney stock. Some of them likely buy/sell based on the “inside” info and opinions shared here. “Insiders” rode through town with doom and gloom just before the Aug. earnings call to lower expectations, and then the sentiment was “whew, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been!” Shares jumped from $117 to $130.
• A YouTube personality (who is known to post here under at least a couple different accounts) recently moved to Orlando to pursue his channel full-time. With nearly 200 videos in the last year, each averaging 50K views, he has incentive to aggressively pursue a platform for influence. (He also has incentive to pose as an insider here and post ”inside info” that he can then quote as his source in his videos.) Multiply this by however many pro/amateur YouTubers are out there, and you have Disney responding by creating the DisneyMomsPanel/PlanDisney site to try to harness some of that influence.
• Disney is a huge company fraught with politics and agendas. Don’t like whoever is currently the head of your department? Use anonymous fan sites/social media to discredit him and praise whoever you want as a replacement. (See: SaveDisney)
• Disney is very risk-averse. If they want to know how the public might respond to new ideas (Frozen in Norway, for example) post it here, watch it spread through social media, and monitor the response. If it’s positive, green light. If it’s super negative don’t proceed, but win-win, all publicity is good publicity and paying Troy Porter is much cheaper and less risky (you can Burn him if word gets out) vs. posting an official statement on the Disney Parks Blog.
• Disney has lots and lots of young employees and interns who have access to at least some information that could be damaging to the brand. Though they might technically be bound by NDAs, disgruntled CMs and former CMs can always anonymously (See: T-Rex/Covid)
• Literally every major company in the world engages in some level of reputation management. Whether internally or externally, they all employ people to bounce from fan sites to reddit to social media posting reviews, opinions, and inside info to help sway public perception.

Of course people at Disney pay attention to this site.

 

[el_super]

They still did something besides ignore it. Reacting to justify your actions is still reacting. The Imagineering Story also felt the need to exaggerate the issue years later as a defense.

Because there was still value in defending their employees and their design decisions on a personal level rather than a corporate level?

So other than making Marty feel bad, what difference has the fan community ever made?

 

[VJ]

Some might say it’s mysterious how you won’t answer any questions regarding your involvement/interest in the article, but I’m sure there is a good reason for that too.

Bingo.

 

[el_super]

Of course people at Disney pay attention to this site.

Of course, people people at Disney are still people and still want to talk. But as a company? No Disney does not care what gets posted or argued about.

 

[_caleb]

The hubris to think TDA has been paying someone since the usenet days- so 1998- to sway public opinion on Disneyland by targeting a niche group of die hard fans on the forums is astounding. There may have been a few people reading Micechat in the 2000s and maybe the occasional corporate plant but the whole TP angle is just ridiculous.

Don’t think of Troy Porter as an official Disney employee (though I understand that he has been). Think of him as a contractor/consultant that Disney can go to for help with certain campaigns.

The reason he stays super active in the fan community is because we are what he’s selling.

 

[VJ]

Troy Porter lives in all of us.

What if the real Troy Porter is the friends we made along the way?

 

[_caleb]

Of course, people people at Disney are still people and still want to talk. But as a company? No Disney does not care what gets posted or argued about.

I find it funny that you think “Disney” is a single-minded entity that can “care” about anything.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I find it funny that you think “Disney” is a single-minded entity that can “care” about anything.

Marketing cares they get scooped by leaks. The rest of Disney doesn't care if marketing gets scooped.

 

[tirian]

Marketing cares they get scooped by leaks. The rest of Disney doesn't care if marketing gets scooped.

Accurate.

Disney marketing seems to spin a wheel and connect idiotic words into meaningless statements.

 

[el_super]

I find it funny that you think “Disney” is a single-minded entity that can “care” about anything.

I mean... yeah... that's kind of the point. Disney isn't making critical business decisions based on what gets posted to the internet. They make decisions based on what makes the best business sense, not on what they personally care about. They spend millions of dollars on research and metrics, so they can find out what makes the most business sense.

Accurate.

Disney marketing seems to spin a wheel and connect idiotic words into meaningless statements.

That's just marketing in general. It's all pretty terrible. Disney's marketing just seems ... uncomfortable.

 

[tirian]

The hubris to think TDA has been paying someone since the usenet days- so 1998- to sway public opinion on Disneyland by targeting a niche group of die hard fans on the forums is astounding. There may have been a few people reading Micechat in the 2000s and maybe the occasional corporate plant but the whole TP angle is just ridiculous.

Especially now with a site that only has a few active posters- I hate to say it but I just don't think we're important enough over here for TDA to give us that much attention.

TDA doesn’t care about this site.

TDO has cared many times in the past, but not so much anymore.

They’ve successfully hijacked access media to maintain a steady stream of nonsense articles about cupcakes, “Top 10 Facts You Didn’t Know about MSUSA” (despite being in every Top Ten list since the 1980s), and other Magical Blogs about how everything is Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious (sp?).

 

[_caleb]

TDA doesn’t care about this site.

If this was true, we‘d probably have to go elsewhere to keep up with @TP2000.

 

[Stevek]

And? They still went through with the Small World changes, the fans were still upset, and the rainforest was still downsized. Ten years later and no one even cares about it anymore. Pandemic aside, Small World is still chugging along, characters and all. So in the end what was it all for?

Generally, nobody cares about any changes X number of years later with a few exceptions. We'll probably say the same thing about the Pirates auction scene 5 years from now...or has everyone already forgotten about already

 

[Stevek]

Marketing cares they get scooped by leaks. The rest of Disney doesn't care if marketing gets scooped.

Disney does care about this, their copyrighted artwork being shared, and false rumors getting spread. Do enough and you won't be invited to free cupcake parties, movie premiers or any other blogger/vlogger event. Hi Tom (I could) Careless!

 

[_caleb]

Disney isn't making critical business decisions based on what gets posted to the internet. They make decisions based on what makes the best business sense, not on what they personally care about. They spend millions of dollars on research and metrics, so they can find out what makes the most business sense.

But there you go again with “Disney” making decisions. We’re talking about factions, groups, and teams within Disney. Some of these are large divisions, others are small groups, but they each have different goals and interests. Sometimes those goals and interests compete with one another. When one team becomes invested in the failure of another, drama ensues.

 

[_caleb]

Disney does care about this, their copyrighted artwork being shared, and false rumors getting spread. Do enough and you won't be invited to free cupcake parties, movie premiers or any other blogger/vlogger event. Hi Tom (I could) Careless!

Also, their legal team seems to care about Sonswa, Spikes, etc. Despite the fact that those clowns can’t figure out how to build their own brand around their misadventures, the stories have had a ripple effect through the Dis-sphere and generated LOTS of monetized content.

 

[el_super]

Generally, nobody cares about any changes X number of years later with a few exceptions. We'll probably say the same thing about the Pirates auction scene 5 years from now...or has everyone already forgotten about already

Yep just like the Market House being converted to a Starbucks. Or Plaza Gardens being converted to a meet n' greet. Or the expansion of Club 33. Or the relocation of the Disney Gallery. Or the firing of the old Disneyland Band. For all the effort and energy expended on putting words on the screen, nothing has really had that much of an impact on what direction they are going.

Disney does care about this, their copyrighted artwork being shared, and false rumors getting spread. Do enough and you won't be invited to free cupcake parties, movie premiers or any other blogger/vlogger event. Hi Tom (I could) Careless!

Yeah but really... how much of that is just individuals feeling perturbed with the idea that their job is pointless? I mean what's the point of going to 27 meetings about marketing messages if someone on the internet could just leak something within minutes of hearing about it?

When one team becomes invested in the failure of another, drama ensues.

Yeah, interpersonal drama. The feeling that Tom hates Harry because Harry stole that promotion of his, or stole his lunch from the breakroom fridge. The failure here is tying that interpersonal drama into the overarching goals of the company as a whole. That's not really how it works. At the highest possible level, the company is run to make money and appease Wall Street, and generally Wall Street does not care if Tom and Harry don't get along. Wall Street doesn't care if America was added to Small World as long as the money keeps coming in.