Fear of Change or A&M's Big Blunder
Recently I posed a YouTube video of A&M's new video, and I have since learned that it has been removed. Why, you ask? Here the reason YouTube gave:
This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Texas A&M University because its content was used without permission.
Although technically and legally true, I can't understand a single benefit of removing this video from the internet. Can you? Maybe they were afraid someone would deface the video and use it to mock A&M. That's absurd because I coul grab the video when they play it on TV and do what I please to it. Maybe they were afraid to be associated with YouTube and it's scandalous videos. I can't even think of a reply to a question as absurd as that.
I'm guessing that A&M, along with most gray-beards across the land, fear the loss of control associated with media posted to the internet. They can't control where it is or who looks at it, and therefore it causes fear among those who no longer comprehend marketing of today. The saw the video being used without permission and reflexively chose to yank the video from the internet.
So why's this a big deal? Honestly, it's not, but it does make me question the leadership and vision of those calling the shots in A&M's marketing department. Their response should have been, "Sweet. Our video's on YouTube. Let's build on the buzz and think about ways to promote A&M through online video." But instead, they feared the change and pulled the plug. So sad.