In this age of overwhelming marketing, it’s rare to find venue, or space, that is free for people to come together in dialogue unencumbered by promotion or hype, no matter the subtlety.
Its my desire to inform those who wander into and participate in the weekly #CustServ chat on Twitter of the steps Marsha Collier and I have taken to create a dialogue space free of promotion and marketing.
In the third month of #CustServ (late February 2010), we were approached by a major Fortune 500, asking to financially sponsor the chat. We turned it down. Over the summer, another major corporation approached us, offering a fat cash sum to sponsor the chat. We turned that down as well.
While we don’t own the hashtag #custserv, we do feel responsible as creators of the weekly chat hour, to keep the chat free of corporate influence. We’ve always felt this way, continue to feel this way, and will strive to maintain this footing.
It’s a distinct pleasure to have talked with so many of you the last thirteen months.
Jeffrey J Kingman
