Tag Archives: costs

Online Video

Social Media to Save Government Money?

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Of all the nonsense about social media, I can’t say I have heard it represented as a money saver until I read this interview with Jane Postlethwaite (Social Media Can Save Council Money). Man it’s weird to call a YouTuber buy her full name when you basically barely know her first name. She’s StylistBrighton, damnit (and SytlistBrightonStyle). I met the fashion stylist/model in London, but who knew her name was Postlethewaite?

Anyway the former fashion model and YouTube weblebrity is now the Brighton and Hove City Council Social Media Officer, and she’s opening the UK government’s eyes to using social media to reduce costs. It’s a fair point. When you have 9,000 employees and take 400 calls a day, there’s got to be an efficiency angle… keeping or improving relationships with the public without the burden and cost of mail and phones.

Could social media one day permit these people to see sunlight?

I have a client that receives 500 calls daily in a customer-service department with only about 4 or 5 people. If customers could gain access to basic information (the 80% of the calls that represent the same 10 questions), why shouldn’t social media provide cost offset?  As an example, I no longer call stores to check their hours or directions… Google covers that for me, and its’ faster and has zero cost to me or the company.

So kudos to Jane for being brave enough to enlighten a government office to social media (far braver than me trying to do it for pharmaceutical firms). And extra credit for conceiving it as an efficient channel of communication that can maintain or improve public relations and also reduce calls, letters, lines of people…

One day, when the US catches up, I hope I can update my driver’s license in a single tweet. A girl can have her dreams.

YouTube

AngelCheeks Foundation Auction

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suzibluepeace.jpgThe AngelCheeks Foundation was created by Brian Nessel, an active YouTuber. He and his wife Abby lost their son Evan one year ago. Brian assembled a wonderful educational video to launch the program, which helps parents cover costs of funerals and counseling when they face the tragic loss of a young child. This is a great example of the YouTube community’s strength, and the power of video to generate interest in a charity.

sandfrog.jpgHere’s a resulting video about an auction MuggleSam is holding to raise funds for AngelCheeks. A few of my kids’ drawings are in the mix. The portraits are on eBay, but they’re bundled together. So if you really want my lame cartoon, you’ll unfortunately have to buy ZackScott‘s horny toad (kidding).

It may be worth bidding, just for this lovely drawing of a princess by suziblutube. And it’s certainly a noteworthy cause, driven by the unwavering human desire to turn loss into love.