How do you explain this one?

So the rather large (and significant) financial services company I work for FINALLY decided to tap into social media.  Okay tapping is a bit of a hefty word, let's say we're, er, well sticking a finger into a room adjacent to a room with an old pc (DOS) in.  

We have been given our own blog space on one of our partner's blogging sites.  (It's like that 3rd cousin twice removed thing which I'll never get).  They feel extremely honoured that we were given this space for free (blogging being so costly and intense and all :) and that we don't need to pay for it.

SO, they told me that they don't know much about blogging but they think a good idea would be to just take the archived content from two of our other partners' sites and paste it into the blog along with some of our ads... s-s-say what? 

So I took some time and explained in my own words what a blog is.  That is not an advert or a corporate mailer, that it is not an article, that it has an entity, a "voice", a "person" behind it (whether that person be fictive to suit a purpose or not... people believe they are reading a human's thoughts).  A blog has personality.  IT doesn't FOLLOWnormalRULESofSPELLINGandGRAMMAR or any other formalities.  Though you can advertise and refer people to other sites or content, this is subtle, and done in an effortless way. A blog's power lies in that tone and personality, and in the way that the writer interacts with the readers.  I also said a bunch of other things, but I don't think they really heard me.

It took me some time to grasp the full extent internet (and social media) illiteracy that abounds.  The thing that bothers me most is probably that we're such a huge company, that we're in the marketing department, that we're in charge of the brand, that this company pays a fortune to employ people with some savvy on training for those without and let's not forget what they spend on marketing and advertising. How could you not at least KNOW something about internet marketing, AdWords, Social Networking.  

I think I realised what the problem was... after reading the paragraph I just wrote and thinking over our campaigns and communication over the last year, it's clear to me that they think they don't need to tap into this market.  They do things very old school (no matter how "innovative" they pretend to be).  Things take ages to change here.  They only sell to a certain market, the rest of the country is not privy to these exclusive offers.  Our exco, with their bi-weekly (*subject to change*) game ranch meetings, do not know the little people.  They do not think the way the little people (the majority) communicates is proper, it's child's play in their eyes, a passing frenzy, a market fad... they think that blogging, SEO, social networking, internet, remote offices, skype meetings... are just passing by and used by those unprofessional and lower class people they don't really associate with.

Haha.  Well, I'm waiting for them to realise the power at your fingertips, the vast expanse of virtual reality and digital domains out there which feed markets and businesses or cripple them.  I'm not holding my breath though, this might take a while.

SO... I'M OFF TO DO SOME COPYING AND PASTING.

Ciao!