I appreciate that proud grandparents are always keen to share photos of their bundles of joy, BUT unless they are family and close friends, the rest of us are bored rigid ! I've lost count of the times (usually on cruises) that I've fell into conversation with couples who are all to ready to produce the dreaded snapshots, and then I've looked for the nearest exit. Why do people do it ? I wouldn't dream of flashing photos of my dog to unsuspecting victims, so I don't want to be ambushed with images of Sophie or Tarquin doing the splits. Likewise Ali K should restrict her enthusiasm to those who are in the slightest bit interested, and not to the viewing audience.
Totally agree. Sharing your photos is normally done in a social situation. I don't regard presentations on selly telly as a social situation. I think guests are sometimes primed to ask... and of course I think they search for and use tweets in to the presenter as the slight pretext for going on about them. Thing is, we don't really know any of these people, so how is it relevant or informative about the
brand or
products being sold to us? Are they using said brand/products in the photos? No? Then please don't show them.
If you get presenter training, as you do in many professional roles, the first thing you get told -
know your audience and therefore to tailor your presentation to that audience.
Bit by bit, the professionalism that used to set QVC apart has been eroded. I think it comes about not because of social media, but because of age-range of QVC's behind-the-scenes teams. They are all conspicuously younger than the average QVC customer, and presenter, and guest. It has become entirely normal to conduct your life with social media at the centre of what you do - and that seems to be where the emphasis is going for QVC.
You're having toast for breakfast - tweet it on twitter, and maybe put a picture on instagram... You "socialise" on facebook... and umpteen other outlets. It's great as part of your life if your immediate social circle either doesn't share your interests or cannot understand your experiences in life. But it's not appropriate on a sales presentation to focus on social media interactions to the extent they have been doing it. Nor in the obtrusive way they are doing it. Presenters glued to ipads rather than listening to guests doesn't make for good viewing. Other tv outlets do use social media, and do it far better. QVC should look around at how other broadcasters work in social media interaction to their programming and take note. I still think it's pretty lame when people tweet in response to deaths, or other news, personally.
I do worry about the accelerated ageing that Ali Keenan is now showing... it's edging into Madge from Benidorm territory, I'm afraid. I know she absolutely loves her sunshine, but it's not doing her any favours.
