Comments on: Online 787 First Flight: A Missed Opportunity for Boeing?

By: 787 Dreamliner

787 Dreamliner — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:37:31 +0000

I just love everything about this wonderful airplane. It is so majestic and looks like it wants to fly. The videos of the first flight really made me smile

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:41:57 +0000

Ludo,

Have to agree. Twitter updates went together with the live video stream to form the perfect partnership. Real events and real reaction in real time. Magical.

Also it was great to see the 787 trending on Twitter – speaks volumes about the anticipation of this aircraft.

Michael

By: carbonboy

carbonboy — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:45:38 +0000

Having spent three years at Boeing working on the qualification of the 787 composite structure, I have to agree with Tonya. Social media and Dreamliner fans are the least of Boeing’s concerns.

They let go 10,000 employees. Those remaining have been working relentlessly, and now they have to aggressively focus on delivering 800+ aircraft – provided flight testing goes without a major hitch.

Although social media has been all the buzz of late, billions of folks and millions of organizations function around the globe oblivious to it (and likely happier without it). I’m not saying it should be ignored (I’m a reluctant tweeter @karbonboy), simply it will remain low on their priorities relative to angry customers and worried shareholders.

By: ludozone

ludozone — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:25:20 +0000

That is exactly the point, the conversation is happening AROUND Boeing today, and there is very little they can do to control it. Their best strategy is to get involved and try to influence it.

By: ludozone

ludozone — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:16:42 +0000

I think the ROI is probably higher than that of running an ad on TV or in a national newspaper. In fact, your could probably do these kinds of things for a lot less than running an ad.

Upgrading the company’s image amongst the younger population and potentially attract new talent is a very important ROI considering the median age at Boeing is around 50.

By: Tonya

Tonya — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:51:35 +0000

My Boeing manager husband and I were talking about this very thing the other day. Unfortunately, many large corporations are just not on the social networking bandwagon. There is so much concern about individuals portraying the “wrong” image, security, and control. Plus, corporate legal departments have conniption fits about the very idea. The approval process for anything to be publicized is multi-layered and draconian — and very Dilbert. Once new generations of upper management emerge in corporations like Boeing, this behavior will probably lighten up, but it’s going to take a while (especially since the age of an average Boeing employee is 50, due to layoffs and seniority).

By: Craig

Craig — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:48:53 +0000

I think these are all great ideas, but the question arises what the end-value to Boeing would be to do all this? Unlike Victoria’s Secret, Boeing does not sell anything @ retail. What is the bottom line ROI for spending time and money on this?

By: Ed Peters

Ed Peters — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:26:45 +0000

Dude, I am surprised at your age discrimination ideas, how odd. I am sure you have read where young people really aren’t in to twitter and it is older people who really use it the fullest. IMHO, Boeing has no socail media strategy which is too bad. Until recently they had the local media pretty much under control but things they are-a-changin’.

I would suggest to all large publicy traded companies that they get an overall social media strategy movng quickly. The info and talk will be there anyway you just won’t be on top of it. It seems more people read @flightblogger to find out what is on the haps there than Boeing websites or Randy Tinseth all rolled into one.

@425talker

By: David Parker Brown

David Parker Brown — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:14:58 +0000

I was there too covering the entire event via Twitter and I had some of the same thoughts. I do think Boeing provided the best live coverage of the actual take off, landing, and post-landing, but there seems a lot to be un-used.

The Future of Flight did a great job connecting with aviation fans by having a big party and having guests watch from the Strato Deck. Boeing really didn’t have a party for their fans at all.

To most knowing when the strobes go on or when the door closes might seem like small details, but to aviation nerds, it is huge! Jon (Flight Blogger) was on the east side of the field and I was on the right. I was twittering what I could see and telling everyone around me what Jon was seeing.

I had people calling me 30 minutes after I Tweeted about the early landing, to tell me about the change. Boeing probably spent A LOT of money to cover the event like they did, but with an iPhone Jon was able to do a live stream and tweet what was going on, which to me is just as, if not more interesting than the live feed.

David
http://www.AirlineReporter.com

By: Michael M.

Michael M. — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:55:57 +0000

Airliners.net is another wonderful resource that I enjoyed using for the event. Super high-quality photos were posted within an hour of the takeoff and landing, and the discussion forums were on fire, with contributions from all kinds of aerospace professionals (and enthusiasts) around the world. I love that site!