When I read that post on Maddox's page I was like, man, Orbitz is fucked. But... were they really? Who knows. I've never bought from them.I've heard here and there that TV networks were going to push to advertise in different ways because of the DVR popularity these days. The stuff you're saying in this post is the first example I've seen that it's a reality. I might be out of touch, though, since I just download everything haven't owned a TV in over a year.
In some ways you're right. Orbitz didn't go out of business when Maddox posted that so we can debate the actual effect all day. And TBS certainly isn't going to fail because I, and a lot of other people, hate their new ads.
But in a way I think that your comment also proves my point. You've never bought from Orbitz and, after reading Maddox's post, unless you really like horrible experiences you'll avoid them in the future. And the more you read about how intrusive and annoying advertising is on TV, again unless you're an idiot, you're going to keep downloading your TV shows. Reading about how bad the experience is keeps you away from buying a TV and paying for cable.
Look at what happened to Dell. Obviously there were a lot of people who were unhappy with Dell's customer service before Jeff Jarvis starting writing about his experiences trying to get a computer fixed, but in writing about it, he became the flashpoint for a huge outpouring of anger at Dell that forced the company to make real changes in the way they deal with customers
And that's the point of my previous post. It doesn't have to be an avalanche or an immediate effect. If I reach a few hundred people and the next blogger reaches a few hundred people and the next blogger reaches a few hundred people, pretty soon there are a lot of people who are mad about something and now they're all talking to each other. That's pretty powerful. When you get enough people together, it can have a real effect.
Posted by Ben Corman at 1:28 PM