#KLMsurprise – KLM launches unmoderated hashtag feed. Surprise!
November 15, 2010
10 Comments
Learning no lessons from previous cockups, KLM has launched a website which republishes any tweets that contain the hashtag #klmsurprise - with no moderation. Unsurprisingly, it's now being abused (Update: the twitter feed has been removed). Here's the site:
KLM surprise site
Here's a tweet that they published from me.
My mild tweet
Here's one about a penis:
Penis tweet
Others included:
- The sound of flthy jets roaring over Thamesmead and Beckton? That's a #klmsurprise
- I do love your ability to bring tourists and marijuana closer together #klmsurprise #hashtaggeddit
- Service so crap you feel like an inmate and not a passenger #klmsurprise
- Seating so cramped you get off your flight without your feet #klmsurprise
- The best #klmsurprise is the discovery that train travel is actually the sanest way to get around Europe.
- Could we all be falling for a cunning ploy to get #klmsurprise trending? And then the twitterfall will magically disappear
- apparently KLM is being hijacked by "moronic trolls" due to their #KLMsurprise fuck up. so far it's all seemed fairly tame to me
- I haven't had a #klmsurprise since the devaluing changes to the Flying Blue program. Reflecting what the customers wanted of course...
- #klmsurprise travelling to Unrestricted Hashtags, you are delaying the flight, immediate boarding please at social media strategy
[...] [...]
[...] Malcolm pointed out, this is far from the first time this has happened. Previous campaigns such as the political [...]
I can't see the feed any more. Were they parsing links? Were they clickable?
Links worked. But they've removed the feed now ...
Hi Malcolm, I watched this in horror last night on my mobile the train home.. but surely the agency that did the work should be to blame? Who are advising these clients? Too many agencies saying they now do "social media" don't have a clue. I think their reputation should be burned, not KLM's..
Daisy - sure thing. I'm sure we'll find out which agency did it soon enough ...
A little bit of research leads me to believe that Boondoggle were the agency involved: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=boondoggle+klmsurprise
How could such an error happen these days? BTW, I think they should just moderate out all the "penises" and leave in and take on all the actual critical tweets with replies on how they're going to do better, commiseration &cetera.
This is a great example of the dangers of completely unmoderated Twitterwalls. While our customers are able to auto-moderate the 'penis' posts, there is no limit to human inventiveness. Moreover as TWOP points out, sometimes you just need to take your lumps on critical tweets and reply.
How can KLM do that. It's just like gambling.
I hope they don't make such mistakes again in the future.
A little forum if left unmoderated will be flooded with this kind of spam not to talk of big corporations like KLM