HMV tweeter unapologetic, hopes firm has learned its lesson

HMV social media intern Poppy Rose has said she's not at all sorry about using HMV's official Twitter feed to detail its lay-off process last week.

“It's been an amazing two and a bit years with HMV. Such a shame it had to end on that note. Someone had to speak," the former HMV staffer said on her personal Twitter account.

“I would apologise for the #hmvXFactorFiring tweets but I felt like someone had to speak. As someone without a family to support/no mortgage I felt that I was the safest person to do so. Not to mention, I wanted to show the power of Social Media to those who refused to be educated."

Rose said she did not "hijack" HMV's social media presence, as she had been given sole responsibility for both Twitter and Facebook as an intern two years ago.

"When asked, I gladly provided the password to head office. I also set another member of staff up as a manager on Facebook, and removed myself from the admin list. I didn’t resist any requests to cooperate," she added.

“Since my internship started, I worked tirelessly to educate the business of the importance of Social Media – not as a short-term commercial tool, but as a tool to build and strengthen the customer relationship, and to gain invaluable real-time feedback from the consumers that have kept us going for over 91 years. While many colleagues understood and supported this, it was the more senior members of staff who never seemed to grasp its importance.

“I hoped that today's actions would finally show them the true power and importance of Social Media, and I hope they're finally listening.”

It seems they're not, as Rose was later noted patiently repeating her instructions to whoever is now managing the account.

HMV fired 190 staff last week, and a further 50 at minimum this week; Rose live-tweeted her inclusion in this last group, but it was over in minutes.

"We've all been fired, in a group, of 50+ people! And those who ruined the business are safe. Hooray," she said.

At least 100 HMV stores are on the chopping block, according to reports.

Thanks, MCV. Twitter links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15