Some DMs come from unfortunate looking social media types who want us to rip into other social media types who have been getting on their tits. We've also twice been asked for an interview with PR Weak bloggers (we were too busy washing each other’s balls while flirting over Tweets during The Apprentice repeats to take notice).
We’ve even been approached by recruitment consultants via LinkedIn. It’s perhaps indicative of the desperation by the PR industry as a whole that it wants to hire digital people regardless of experience, intelligence, people skills, or in this case, whether they actually exist.
Bar the odd exception (the @funkymonkshit email a case in point) we don't usually respond to any of the above requests, and most pass without notice.
However, in the last week or so, and most recently on Friday, we received some DMs that caused us to pull the plug on things, just shy of our one year anniversary. These weren't messages from some over-sharing egotistical dickhead whose feelings have been hurt by a 'nasty' tweet or post.
These were from someone who came under some fairly intense pressure for 'being sean376'. Risk of ‘losing your job’ kind of pressure, for things that he/she didn't write here.
Sadly, there's no way to really prove that you aren't Sean376. There’s only a way to prove you are. And since we’re not coming out anytime soon, we’ve decided to close things down. When someone feels they might lose their job because they’re accused of posting this rubbish, then the fun’s gone for us. (Apparently we have consciences... who the fuck knew?)
A PR man once said:
Anonymous satirists have long been an important feature of Britain’s media. To unmask individuals such as Sean376 and The Stig is to spoil the fun, and there’s not nearly enough fun in life.
Oh lordy, how we wish that were true.
Granted, this hasn’t been the purest form of satire. It was meant to be a piss take, and a sometimes (okay, most times) a childish one at that. We never set out to be clever or provide a critical analysis of the industry, though sometimes that happened. But if that’s what you are looking for, then look to The Hillard Fleishmann people who are much more clever (and appear to have an actual budget).
Most of the people we’ve met in social media are OK in real life. But give some of them a platform and a ‘voice’, and you get a lot of wannabes, wasting their client's money as they fritter away time during office hours trying to build up their personal brands while talking about shit that they haven't actually done, or work that they are doing badly. While others, just tweet stupid shit. Constantly.
We make no apologies for fucking with these people.
Yes, there's a media (R)evolution (copyright Darth Solis) going on, but get over it. Most are just along for the ride, tweeting mashable and econsultancy posts. Or going to Foursquare superswarm meetups only to discover that the strength of most online friendships are in fact pretty weak (if they exist at all). The people that are doing really interesting work aren’t pretending to be thought leaders, writing top ten lists of Twitter tools or handing out Moo cards every chance they get. They are fucking getting on with it. And so should most of you.
Another satirical blog will turn up soon enough, and it will probably (ironically?) be by the people who’ve been trying to out Sean376 for the last year. Good luck to them.
The industry needs someone to take piss out of it, or at least keep it a bit honest. But, for now at least, that can’t be Sean376.
So on that note, we’re outta here bitches.
