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Q&A: Can Crane Bring Manners To Facebook?

Eliza-Brown

Any Facebook user knows social media needs more social graces, and Crane & Co. thinks it's got just the app for the job.

The stationery company, founded in 1801, has long positioned itself as an expert on all kinds of etiquette, with its Blue Books answering wedding riddles ("I'm getting married for the second time. What initials do I use on my thank-you notes?") and dinner-party dilemmas ("Formal dinner invitations are properly engraved on ecru or white letter sheets ... that fold like a book on the left-hand side.")

Now it has launched a Crane's Blue Book app for Facebook, allowing users to comment when friends' posts are either rude or polite. Eliza Browning, director of Crane Digital -- and a seventh-generation family member of the Dalton, Mass.-based company -- tells Marketing Daily why Facebook users need some coaching in courtesy:

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Q: Why bring etiquette to Facebook? Many people would say its charm is that there are no rules, and that people can say anything they want.

A: We think people want to see more courtesy online and have lots of questions. We've been known for our Blue Books for a long time, and people regard us as an authority. We thought, how do we extend that into the way people correspond now? So we partnered with Rosetta, a digital agency, and came up with this app, which allows you to Blue Book your friends on Facebook.

Q: Blue Book is a verb, too?

A: Yes. It allows you to give a certain type of Blue Book, like "Sunshine," for posting something that makes other people happy, or "BeesWax," for something the poster really shouldn't be commenting on. We think people will like using the Blue Book as a way to be witty, but also offer helpful reminders.

Q: Okay, but to quote Ann Landers, isn't it rude to tell people they are rude?

A: Facebook isn't about rules, and neither are these Blue Books. Facebook is sort of an open field for people to comment, and I think we all need to remember that it is open for everyone to see ... we're not trying to chide or chastise other people's behaviors. But there are some manners that should be respected, and some codes of conduct.

Q: There's a Blue Book for Knuckle Rap, for "tragic misspelling and grammar errors." Will people like having their knuckles rapped in front of all their friends?

A: Well, we'll see. We launched it last week and have gotten a lot of positive feedback so far. Pretty soon, we'll have a leaderboard, so people can see how often they've gotten, let's say, a "Chatterbox" or "Oversharing." I have come to love the positive ones -- I have used "Poet," genuinely and sarcastically. I also like "Golden Child." I think we've struck a good balance between gentle and helpful reminders, and positive accolades.

Q: Is etiquette passé?

A: I wish there were a better word. Our brand stands for manners and respect -- communicating in a way that makes people feel good. That still matters to people.

Q: How much credibility does Crane have with Gen Y, a group that prefers text messages and IMs to paper stationery? Is stationery dying?

A: Actually, there's a little bit of resurgence underway. In this age, when everyone is communicating by texting and tweeting, it almost devalues communication. So when people want to send a piece of correspondence that matters, they are going back to paper.

Can you ever replicate that emotional feeling when you get important information from a piece of paper in the mail, versus something on the Internet? It's true in business, too. People tell us they've sent handwritten notes to clients and partners, and the reaction is shock, disbelief and awe. And Gen Y places a lot of value on a personal brand -- people see personalized stationery as an excellent way to communicate their own brand.

Q: Will this app sell paper products?

A: It will be a brand-builder. The majority of people using Facebook have never heard of Crane, or if they did, it's because their grandmother used to write letters on it. This is a way to expose people to Crane -- we've been helping people connect since long before Facebook.

1 comment about "Q&A: Can Crane Bring Manners To Facebook? ".
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  1. Denise Dorman from WriteBrain Media, November 1, 2010 at 5:14 p.m.

    I will be fascinated to see how this evolves online. The "Transparency Generation" is all too proud of (a) how drunk they got last night (b) how hung over they are today and (c) oversharing their love lives.

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