The frustrating case of Harrison Ford
Celebrity Websites
We’ve been getting our news from Google Trends for quite sometime.
Scanning the trends gives us a quick way to scan the hot topics online to see what people are searching for, and, usually, what’s making news online.
Generally, it’s major news topics, celebrity scandal and sports results.
When we popped in to check this morning, there was Harrison Ford, sitting atop the trends.
Unfortunately, Ford doesn’t appear to have an official anything online.
No Social Media. No website. No Twitter. No Facebook. Nothing.
The best we can tell, people are searching for Harrison Ford because of the new trailer for Cowboys and Aliens.
In the movie, Ford plays Colonel Dolarhyde who rules the town of Absolution with an iron fist but is forced to team up with Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) to stop an alien invasion.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJixNxFxhT4
Far be it to question the man who played Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Not to mention the president and a 70s badass, but the lack of a web presence says a lot about this mega celebrity.
Mainly that he wants to be left alone.
He’s not getting sucked in to Social Media, Twitter, Facebook or even a web site.
And that’s a shame.
It’s a shame because each provides such an opportunity to give something back to fans. In Ford’s case, he doesn’t need to worry about getting more gigs or increasing his fame — they’re on cruise control.
But it would be nice for fans to have an “official” voice from one of Hollywood’s most beloved film stars. And it wouldn’t be too difficult to do, either.
Just hire an interactive agency to manage it all for you. Seriously, 99% of the entire operation could be managed without your involvement. The other one percent would consist of approving hot content and maybe sitting down for a chat every once and a while.
Instead, fans are left with a void — one that is left to be filled by unofficial sources. Aside from being a bit frustrating for fans, this also is potentially dangerous.
Any time you are letting others be the official source of record for you online, you are opening yourself up to risk.
We would encourage Ford to course correct as soon as possible. We’re sure he doesn’t give a rip about the Internet or what people are saying right now (good or bad).
But, it’s such a simple way to give a nod to the people who support you and a proactive way to deal with potential crisis.
About Cody Swann
Cody Swann is an entrepreneur, developer, strategist, banged up ex-football walk-on, retired body builder and former journalist born and raised in South Florida. He currently splits his time between his hometown of Stuart, FL and Los Angeles, CA. Cody founded Gunner Technology, a highly sought after digital agency, specializing in helping companies maximize profits through custom web development, technology efficiencies, social media strategy and search engine marketing. As a manager and developer at ESPN for nearly six years, Cody led development and vision for two of ESPN’s most popular online features: Sports Scoreboards and GameCasts. Additionally Cody oversaw all aspects of MyESPN and ESPN’s social network, ESPN Fan Profiles. Cody worked with Technology, Editorial, Sales, Marketing and relevant business stakeholders to mold ESPN’s social media strategy, develop custom applications for it and execute it. Under his direction, ESPN successfully ported large portions of its core product from a proprietary Java stack to an open source Ruby on Rails stack, capable of standing up and performing under the tremendous load world's most popular sports site delivers. Cody began forging his technological knowledge more than 10 years ago, developing and designing websites in college. His development work has included web development, web design, content writing, digital photography and digital video production for award-winning sites like Gainesville.com, GatorSports.com and ESPN.com. He has helped set digital strategy and direction for companies in the New York Times Regional Newspaper group, ESPN, ABC and Disney. He is a recognized expert in web development, social media strategy, search engine optimization, conversion optimization, analytics tracking and business planning. He has worked with large interactive media companies to small and medium sized businesses. Cody motivates and inspires creative teams to deliver superb, polished work under tight deadlines.
2 Responses to “The frustrating case of Harrison Ford”
Hi Cody
While I agree that there are huge benefits to ‘people brands’ as well as ‘company brands’ having a presence online, especially via social media, I don’t agree with encouraging people, like Harrison Ford, to get involved if they are not prepared to invest their time. The idea of 99% of the operation being handled by outsourcing defeats the very idea of social media – and that is to be social – in this case for Ford to connect with his fans. People are smart, they know when a celebrity is engaging with them and when it’s a wizard behind the curtain.
Sarah
Thanks Sarah,
Speaking from experience, I can tell you that most celebrities (and athletes, for that matter) have little- to no- involvement on their Social Media accounts — especially super stars. (Usher, Lil’ Wayne, etc, etc).
They’re certainly not social as most of them would like to avoid their fans rather than interact with them. They’re basically just there for quick hit promotion and preventive measures in case of crisis.
Obviously, there are exception, and those are the ones that really shine. Sean Kingston comes to mind. But most are outsourced.