Sean376 is dead. Long live Sean376
Today is a sad day in the echo chamber that is London’s social media/online PR agency scene. Sean376 has hung up his reins, with a passionate closing statement:
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.
The reason? Well:
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.
Which we think is a crying shame. The team behind Sean376 (and yes, we assume it’s a team) were providing an essential service to our industry. One very different to the role of trade publications like NMA, PRWeek and Reputation Online, but still valuable in its own right (and, let’s remember, very funny).
So, here’s the deal. For We Are Social, someone who is switched on, insightful, and most importantly has enough of a healthy skepticism about social media to be regarded as a Sean376 suspect should be seen as an asset, not a liability.
We say to whoever sent those fateful DMs, you’re clearly working for people that just don’t get it. There’s a job for you at We Are Social if you want it. Apply in confidence and let Sean376 live again. Otherwise, he will be sorely missed.