How Not To Connect With Fans: Let Them Vote And Then Ignore The Vote

from the nice-going-kiss dept

Someone who prefers to remain anonymous sends in this example of how the band KISS tried and failed (miserably) in its attempt to "connect with fans." Apparently the band held an online contest to get fans to vote for where KISS would perform -- calling it the "You Demand It Tour." Well, people voted, and the second largest vote getter was Manchester, New Hampshire. So what happened? The band ignored the vote and booked a show in Boston instead. In response, some local radio folks are starting a petition to try to get the band to actually live up to its promise to go where fans demanded:

Three months ago - when KISS launched their "You Demand It Tour", Buzz Lumpa's jumped all over it in an effort to bring KISS back to the Verizon Wireless Arena. The deal was that the band would rout their tour to the cities that wanted them most - and that meant the cities that cast the most votes. Manchester NH did just that - beating out EVERY major U.S. city! We cast more votes than New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and yes- Boston. Over 240 cities were vying for the band - and Manchester NH placed 2nd in the U.S.! And yet, when KISS announced their tour itinerary, Manchester NH was NOT on it. The band chose to play Boston instead. KISS lied to you.

Of course, given Gene Simmons' comments on new business models and the experiments of bands like Radiohead to better connect with fans (Simmons claimed it was killing the recording industry) perhaps this is no surprise.

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UK Police Create Facebook App For Sending In Tips

from the e-snitch dept

We've heard plenty of stories about police using social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to catch criminals who brag about their crimes on these social networks, but Alimas points us to a story about how police in Manchester are going much further. They've created a whole Facebook application designed to let people submit information and (they hope) help the police solve crimes. The app has a running news feed of stories about crimes, sometimes with requests for help in getting tips or even identifying people in a surveillance cam video. While some people may think of it as an "e-snitch" program, it's interesting to see the police go this far in trying to tap into a social network, and seems a lot more useful than just trolling social networks for dumb criminals. It's nice to see the police realizing that part of a social network is the two-way communication aspect, rather than just monitoring what's happening.

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