Mingchi Choo's Blog

Be funny. It sounds so much easier than it really is, but Tesco Mobile mixes a wonderful sense of humor and witty remarks in what may be the perfect blend. The fact that they’re relatively active, with over 40,000 tweets to date, has probably helped as well. In general, when corporate Twitter accounts reply to consumers, that alone is already enough of a pleasant surprise. Adding in a dash of laughter makes it all the better, as several other companies may have found as a result of their tweets going viral.

Entertaining to read as these tweets always are, there’d been a question in the back of my mind for a while: what was the point? Paying people to sit in front of a computer and come up with sarcastically funny replies to tweets didn’t seem like the best allocation of resources at first glance — but then, I read the following blog post by AdFreak. Although other companies likely have their own goals and focuses when it comes to creative use of social media, the aforementioned post provided an eye-opening, closer look at a specific company’s strategy for social media. To put it simply, they’re employing Twitter to change consumer perceptions of their brand name, something which I feel holds a lot of potential in this time and day. If people find things funny, they’ll probably follow for more. This way, they’re not forcefully shoving their content down the throats of consumers and hoping they’ll react. Instead, people are becoming interested in Tesco’s content of their own free will, which is an amazing use of social media in my opinion.

I’m looking forward to seeing what other strategies we’ll see from other companies in the future if they ever choose to be as open as Tesco was with theirs.

Related Links:

AdFreak: Why Tesco Mobile’s Hilarious Twitter Feed Is Actually No Joke

AdFreak: Is This the World’s Chattiest, Cattiest Corporate Twitter Account?

Mashable: 20 Funny Tweets Your Brand Should Take Seriously

Whether through Facebook, Craigslist, or other sources, the sale of U-Passes is a common occurrence despite TransLink’s constant reminders that such activities are illegal. UBC students pay $30 per month (included in their school fees) for U-Passes and resell them for prices typically ranging between $30-$50. It’s a profitable business, especially for someone who rarely uses public transit. However, few stop to consider what their actions really entail.

The U-Pass program has been criticized on several instances, with a certain blog calling it “the height of fiscal idiocy.” The blog in question also describes how U-Passes are more of a detriment to society than anything else, at least from an economic standpoint. Simply put, TransLink loses at least $15 million per year in exchange for an increase in the number of people utilizing public transit.

Looking at this from a different perspective, rather than that of a student needing some spare change, provides some interesting insight. Is it ethical for students to be profiting from a program already designed to give us a huge benefit out of the pockets of other members of society? It’s certainly something to consider next time before you make that ‘Selling U-Pass!’ post on Facebook.