Gamu Nhengu
If you haven’t heard of Gamu Nhengu, you’ve either been out of the country, your TV is broken, or you don’t buy newspapers.
The story of the eliminated X Factor contestant has been everywhere – even making it into one of the major showbiz blogs in the US.
If you subscribe to the theory that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, then Simon Cowell is playing a blinder. But there’s evidence that his brand is being badly damaged by the current controversy, which – like many major news stories these days – started on the social networking sites. One of your judges – Cheryl Cole – receiving death threats is not a happy state of affairs. A campaign on Facebook to have Gamu reinstated gathered more than 220,000 supporters in a matter of days. Some of the comments have now become racist and nasty, adding further tarnish to the whole sorry affair. Her audition for the show is also one of the most popular clips on YouTube, with nearly 3 million views.
The effect, of course, has been to magnify an issue that has always been in the background – is the show fixed? My view, for what it’s worth, is that there will be further controversy ahead – something, perhaps, like last year’s battle for the Christmas No 1, which Simon Cowell lost thanks to a Facebook campaign.
The big lesson here is that the social media have changed the rules of the game forever. gem can help you manage the implications for your public image, whatever your business happens to be.
