Blogger Conversations: Maybe It’s A Good Thing They Run In The Same Circles
May 26, 2008 – 11:45 pm | by Daryl TayAwhile ago I questioned whether bloggers with overlapping audiences is a good or bad thing. Last weekend at Social Media Breakfast: Singapore 2, I found out the power of overlapping audiences in conversations to be very powerful indeed.
Case Study: Tommy Print
I don’t know how it works in other countries, but in Singapore, everyone has a name card. So I asked Sheylara (one of the co-organisers) where she got her name card from, to which she said it was a place she didn’t recommend, but that everyone was using Tommy Print. So I asked around a little more and Jayden and Nadia were using it as well. Later on I also got a really nice namecard from Ennn and I asked where she got it from to which she said “some place in Funan” which turned out to be… you guessed it, Tommy Print!
Honestly, Tommy Print couldn’t have gotten better word of mouth if they tried.
So in these conversations you see a couple of things at work. People like me overriding the “blogger” category in the influencer scale, and reaching out to more people who share the same network helps to reinforce the message.
I do, however, suspect that it worked so well in this instance because
1) It happened in real time, face to face as opposed to online
2) The product was a suitable one.
Do you think this is an accurate case study? Are there other variables that should be included?
Tags: blogger outreach, case study, influencers, overlapping audiences, people like me, social media, social media breakfast singapore, tommy print
8 Responses to “Blogger Conversations: Maybe It’s A Good Thing They Run In The Same Circles”
By yixiaooo on May 27, 2008 | Reply
omg, i asked the same question about the cards and -you guessed it- got the same answer too!
singapore = small world
By Domin_itis on May 27, 2008 | Reply
*Hopes he is not out of point*
Well the wonderful thing about social media networks like SMB is that we can talk about the resources we have on hand and share those which are useful to others. For example, Daniel from Tech65, actually introduced a channel for video podcasters to post their videos free. (unfortunately I 4got and you have to ask him for it). And now I am also going the passing on.
I may even follow suit and buy the same camera which Tinana and Marina has- a Cannon Ixus 80 becos of the design, functionality and price. To be honest, I still buy stuff based on WOM and forums as I viewed them to be more accurate.
As long as the community is open to sharing resources and recommendations to improve each other, I can see our community striving and progressing. (Btw thanks for rss and feedburn feedback)
By Jonathan Wong on May 27, 2008 | Reply
I don’t think it’s necessarily a good thing.
If you only have the same bloggers all reading and commenting and conversing with one another, you run the risk of forming an echo chamber where everyone just harps on the same things over and over again without any new ideas or opposing points of view.
The purpose of a social network of any kind, whether it’s Twitter or Facebook or blogs, is for sharing and discovery. But the value of a network is only as great as the number and diversity of its participants.
Therefore, in my opinion a diverse network will always be more interesting and vibrant than a small group or circle.
By Daryl Tay on May 27, 2008 | Reply
@Yixiao: Proof!!
@Domi_itis: You’re right about the cameras also! Great secondary case study!
@Jonathan: I agree with your angle about talking about ideas/pov/etc. That’s one big problem that all of us really need to break out of. However I wrote the post from the point of companies like Tommy Print and Canon in Dominic’s example, and maybe it works to focus efforts on multiple individuals in one tight network because the reinforcement if very high, rather than target one individual in 5 separate networks.
By Sheylara on May 27, 2008 | Reply
I vote that we get Claudia to represent us and demand a bloggers’ discount for printing at Tommy Print! Claudia’s the first one to discover that place.
I’m not quite sure what to say about the discussion on overlapping audiences, but to me, this just proves the point that advertising through bloggers is the way to go these days. We just need to get more companies to realise this.
By claudia on May 27, 2008 | Reply
LOL @Sheylara! Thanks for the recommendation leh! Haha! Actually, after I blogged about it, then I discover u-zyn and some other people also printed their cards from TP. Just that none of them blogged about it. I guess it all depends on individual and whether or not they’re a “sneezer” like myself.
Hmm… but perhaps I sure take Sheylara’s suggestion to TP! Haha! Tmr I might pop by to print my spanking new namecards! Woohoo!
By Jonathan Wong on May 27, 2008 | Reply
Ahh… OK. I get your point.
But even then, I feel the proposition is 50-50 at best.
Hypothetically, if you target 5 individuals in 5 networks of 10 - as long as you target the right “maven” or “salesman” of the group, you have a better than decent chance to reach out to 50 people.
However, if you target 5 individuals in one tight network of 10, no matter how much positive reinforcement there is, at most only 10 will get the message.
Then again, I ain’t no PR expert - I’m just spewing unprovable hypotheticals and conjuncture.
By Daryl Tay on May 28, 2008 | Reply
@Sheylara & Claudia: Yes pls! Blogger’s discount!
@Jonathan Wong: I think I’ll go with 50-50 as well. It does depend on what the product is and who the audience is. When one of my friends says X is cool, it’s a passing remark. But if two or more say the same thing you start to think “hey maybe this is worth taking notice of”. That effect, in this case, is pretty strong. And hey, no worries about hypotheticals and conjuncture, I think that’s what most of us use anyway