How Not to be a Key Online Influencer | Hacker News Reader

How Not to be a Key Online Influencer

davidhenderson.com

18 pointsnickb17 comments

The mention of Memphis and FedEx makes me think of a problem set I did in college, I think for an AI class.

It involved calculating different types of distance, such as Euclidean distance, Manhattan distance, and Memphis distance, where the Memphis distance was calculated by routing everything traveling through a single hub. We were told that it was called this because it used to be that all FedEx packages, no matter where they were going, were sent through Memphis. Googling for "Memphis distance" didn't seem to turn up anyone else using the term the same way though, so I'm beginning to wonder if I imagined it... I don't suppose anyone else has ever heard of it?

In analysis class we used a similar metric. The "British Rail metric" is the distance between any two points when you travel via London!

I haven't herad of that phrase, but that is how FedEx operated for the first several years of its existence. FedEx a package from Boston to Cambridge and it would go through Memphis.

I've got the impression that FedEx wanted to fire Ketchum and now they have found a good pretence. If I am wrong, couldn't they just be quiet about it?

he was already hired, he was just pitching a new niche` in the relationship.

On the other hand, now @keyinfluencer got really well known, by means of a single tweet. I bet he even got a couple of hundred of even thousands of followers more now. Copy that...

Also not sure what the solution is, except having different twitter accounts for professional and private life, and in general training a positive attitude.

> I bet he even got a couple of hundred of even thousands of followers more now.

And FedEx got a whole lot of publicity.

Yeah, I had never heard of them before I read this. Apparently they ship, like, physical objects through meatspace. Does anyone know why you'd want to do that?

You're funny :)

"a person in the FedEx corporate communications staff apparently took umbrage"

That someone on FedEx's communication team posted that child-like tirade about a TWEET indicates just how much help FedEx needs for social media interaction. And if Henderson thinks Andrews was in the wrong, he has issues.

I'm from Memphis and I used to work at FedEx. I'm really proud right now of the way that FedEx handled it. People need to realize that you can't know a city unless you live there for a long time. There are bad things about it, but there are some really great things about it too.

I'm sure many visitors to Memphis have not been happy to be there. There is no reason to expect everyone to like your city. Imagine how many people (now including me) have spent time investigating the simple fact that one person landed in Memphis and wasn't impressed. Who cares!!! Its not a PR problem. Its just one guy from Atlanta saying what he really thinks. Or is FedEx sending the message that they don't want to hear what people really think?

Look at this part: "FedEx Corporation pays Ketchum annually for the valuable and important work your company does for us around the globe. We are confident however, it is enough to expect a greater level of respect and awareness from someone in your position as a vice president at a major global player in your industry".

In other words, a PR firm is only supposed to spread sunshine, and money equals respect. FedEx needs to wake up to the realities of the Internet. Instead of punishing people that are not impressed with your home town, try to fix the real problem.

PR firms are supposed to spread sunshine. That's the market they're working to make money in. I think FedEx's message was don't hurt our image when you work for us. You should know that when you are the vice president of a PR company. A corporations base of operations is an important part of it's image and an important aspect for hiring and retaining employees, which is probably a big problem for them since they cut everyone's pay there within the last month.

I have no ill will toward FedEx or Memphis. You are correct, but only to a point. If it wasn't this guy in his position that said what he said, it could have easily been someone else. The best solution is to fix the root problem. If people get this feeling from landing in Memphis airport, thats the key problem to be addressed.

The Memphis airport, like many airports, is constantly under construction. Construction projects take years. For an airport that is cargo first, passengers second, they've done a good job of squeezing in passenger facing improvements. Baggage claim being the one thing that definitely needs to be addressed. It seems to be the same as it was when the airport was first constructed.

Also, FedEx didn't publicly call the guy out or try to punish him. An employee sent him an email and cc'd their director. The employee's email got leaked out somehow later.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/collaboration/?p=189

http://shankman.com/be-careful-what-you-post/

has anyone heard of that guy? I mean seriously if you were going to hire someone to talk about social media, wouldn't you want someone with a little bit more clout and more than 1500 friends?

i.e someone like Gary Vanderchuck(or however you spell it), he at least puts his money where his mouth is

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