Wal-Mart Web site seems to try too hard to be hip
From the Arizona Republic:
Wal-Mart has started the Hub, which bears some of the features of a My-Space-like social network, but appears to be essentially an advertising vehicle that encourages teens to create commercials for the retail chain and post them to the site. The Hub allows users to create pages and videos, somewhat like MySpace. It tells them to express "individuality," but screens their posts and doesn't allow them to e-mail each other. The site is running a contest for the best video submissions about how much the submitter likes Wal-Mart (schoolyourway.walmart.com).
The Hub is a big part of Wal-Mart's effort to appeal to fashion-conscious teens, but it's not clear how many "Hubsters" have joined. The pages and videos featured on the home page have a highly produced quality, leading one teenager to wonder on adage.com, "Are these real kids?"
What do you think? Is the Hub cool?
Posted by - July 24, 2006 12:13 PM - Hard to Believe