In 2012, Alain Beauvieux published Social media, no blah blahone of the first books devoted to Web Listening, in which he describes one of the first experiments in serendipity on social media -Interview
Adwise : In 2011, one of your clients commissioned a study on counterfeiting on the Web...
Alain Beauvieux : Indeed, the Cosmetic Valleythe competitiveness cluster specialising in the perfume and cosmetics industry in France, wanted to organise an event on the subject and asked itself what socionauts thought of the issue ... and above all, how they behaved: in more direct terms, did the social Web represent a major risk for players in the sector, and in the luxury goods industry in general?
Adwise : And so you cast your nets on the web.
Alain Beauvieux : That's right: we're trying to identify all the places where people are not only talking about the subject, but also practising counterfeiting. That's how we came to realise that while the professionals are outraged by all the fake Louis Vuitton bags, the average Internet user almost considers the phenomenon to be a "normal" phenomenon. "fun sport Facebook, with its fan pages that are more powerful than the official one, is often the starting point for sales sites such asrealreplicate.comnow defunct, which offers "real copies - no "bad outcomes from China!
Adwise : What about fragrances?
Alain Beauvieux : The real problem is distinguishing the good from the bad - the essences that come out of the same vats as the branded products, but obviously much cheaper ... and some people talk about their disappointment when they open the bottle.
Adwise : So nothing really exciting.
Alain Beauvieux : No, just confirmation of what we suspected: that everything happens in virtual worlds just as it does in real life!
And then, as we continued surfing, we discovered that, in addition to counterfeit perfumes and tips on how to get hold of them, women were also exchanging recipes for making their own perfumes from essences: perfumes better suited to their personalities.
Little by little, we are discovering a new way of life - a little "trendya little "Green where perfume recipes are exchanged in much the same way as cookery recipes are swapped: "I'm wondering how to play the perfumer's apprentice at home. Do I need specific alcohol bases? How do you create a base note, a top note, a heart note?".
Here, the analyst becomes irrelevant: counterfeiting is a thing of the past, and we're entering the world of domestic craftsmanship head-on; we're discovering new questions, new insights... a long way from our starting point.
All without really looking for it: did you say serendipity?
