[Update] Quite a few blogs have picked up this post and to correct any misquoting saying I called it a “Publicity stunt” etc. I have not. As I write below I am not opposed to the idea. Just what the first curator tweeted, particularly during his first day. Since then there’s been some brilliant curators and lovely, insightful tweets. However, it doesn’t change the fact that social media does need to be monitored.
Yesterday I went to the Swedish Church’s Lucia celebration in St Paul’s here in London. It was beautiful and the Swedish ambassador Nicola Clase delivered a great Christmas message. So did the Very Reverend Michael Persson. In both their roles they were great ambassadors for Sweden. Just as they should in their official and trusted roles.
VisitSweden’s english twitter account @sweden are normally also great at promoting Sweden and their tweets are valuable even to live abroad Swedes. Yesterday they tweeted this:
How cool would it be if we would let potentially any swede use this twitter account?
It got 6 retweets and 2 replies. I wasn’t one of them. I like(d) the @sweden account the way it was. I’m not interested in hearing what any Swede has to say. If so I’d follow a bunch of random Swedes.
Today some random Swede has taken over the account. It’s a disgrace.
The idea
The take over of the @sweden twitter account is referred to as ‘The curators of Sweden’ and this is how it’s described on the accompanying site:
Every week another person receives exclusivity over the Twitter account @sweden, which aims to present the country of Sweden through the mix of skills, experiences and opinions it actually consists of.
The idea with Curators of Sweden is that each curator will share both their own and relevant third party’s thoughts, stories, information and other content that is somehow linked to Sweden.
The idea is that the curators, through their tweets, create interest and arouse curiosity for Sweden and the wide range the country has to offer.
It sounds interesting enough and from reading the full description from the site the take over could actually have been nice.
The reality
Well, that’s very different from what the About page is portraying. The take over started today and the tweets from the first so called curator of Sweden has so far included very little that’s promoting Sweden, in a good way. Instead this is what’s filling the @sweden twitter stream:
First, it’s the warm welcome from the so called curator of Sweden:
Listen up, folks! I’m @kwasbeb, a regular swedish dude, and I’m taking over this goddamned account for a week! Expect bad sex and slapstick.
— @sweden / Jack (@sweden) December 10, 2011
Then he goes on telling us regular @sweden followers what we’re apparently now interested in
You’re following me because you’re interested in Sweden, right? Wrong! You’re interested in what I do! Thats what you’re interested in now. — @sweden / Jack (@sweden) December 10, 2011
This is the kind of tweets he means and that according to the idea behind the take over are supposed to promote Sweden (includes an image of his bare legs btw)
So, let us talk, minions. This is me, swedish marketer and writer, in my full glory: instagr.am/p/YTnDi/
— @sweden / Jack (@sweden) December 10, 2011
…and this type of tweets
Well, ok, I’ll swede the LOT of you: meat balls äre guud, änd naked girls make me sæy “jaa!”.
— @sweden / Jack (@sweden) December 10, 2011
…and this
Actually, I don’t think George has any problems with the possible misinterpretations of this: 11points.com/images/classif…
— @sweden / Jack (@sweden) December 10, 2011
…which includes a link to this image:
Not everyone likes the new direction the account is taking and this is the response from the curator to what’s happening on the account:
Noting that this account has lost about 40 followers since I took over. AM I NOT SWEDISH ENOUGH FOR YOU?!! — @sweden / Jack (@sweden) December 10, 2011
And when Odd, one of the @sweden twitter account followers points out that Sweden deserves better than his tweets the curator replies:
@mastefixapara jag gör faktiskt det här för mig och ingen annan! — @sweden / Jack (@sweden) December 10, 2011
Translation:
“I’m actually doing this for me and no one else”
The idea behind the account hasn’t even hit home to the current and first curator of Sweden.
Odd’s and Jack’s conversation goes on and Odd rightfully says that “We need a strong and loud voice that can portray the Swedish people and the beautiful landscapes from their best points. Is that you?” to which the curator arrogantly responds:
@mastefixapara i en vecka är det nog det. Det är ändå för mörkt för att ta schyssta skärmbakgrundsbilder av stan.
— @sweden / Jack (@sweden) December 10, 2011
Translation: “For a week it probably is. It’s too dark anyway to take cool desktop background pictures of the city”
Dear @sweden. I’m sure this is not what you had in mind when you said:
The idea with Curators of Sweden is that each curator will share both their own and relevant third party’s thoughts, stories, information and other content that is somehow linked to Sweden.
For all the wonderful things Sweden has to offer I highly recommend visiting www.visitsweden.com, just not the twitter account, for now.