When it comes to Twitter and social media in general, I’ve noticed that some businesses and organizations are slow to adapt simply because they’re afraid of what their employees might say or do online. Reputation management is a serious concern that some of our clients have, but I have to point out to them that they have telephones in their offices and their employees have free reign to say stupid things telephonically all day long. Still, no one would consider not having telephones in an office. You’d just take some time and train your employees on etiquette and propriety. It’s the same thing with social media and Twitter.
To help people preview what kinds of mistakes they can make and avoid them, I’ve compiled my top four favorite social media gaffes with a special bonus blunder at the end. Here they are:
1. D.C. Comics 4chan fail
For the uninitiated, 4chan.org is an anonymous image posting site that is used as a forum for all sorts of stuff. (Warning: I wouldn’t go there unless you know what you’re looking for. Even then, don’t go there at work.)
Last week, somebody got on 4chan and started posting about why D.C. Comics are better than Marvel Comics in “every way conceivable.” About half way through the post, however, it appears the person accidentally pasted in the instructions for his or her “assignment.” Here’s what it said:
1) Many forum administrators well allow you to add a signature to all your posts. The more you participate, the more your assignment will be displayed throughout the forum pages.
2) Some forums are indexed by the search engines so if your site is found by the search engine spiders then it may help you rank in some of the search engines.
Try to participate in use forums that relate to your assignment’s theme. If you assignment is about comics, then try to find forums that cater to comic books, such as IGN, CBR, 4chan, etc.
Post as many helpful messages as you can. If you build up a reputation as a forum member that people can go to for guidance, it will enhance your credibility and people may be more inclined to further vector your assignment.
Great stuff. For the full post go here. (Warning: explicit language) What’s funny to me about this is that there isn’t anything wrong with an employee of D.C. Comics posting about how much better he thinks his group is than his competition. What makes this scandalous and embarrassing is the attempt to do it surreptitiously. From this we learn that it’s important to always be upfront about who you are and what you represent. Still get out there and chat up your company on social media, just don’t try to do it incognito or in a manipulative way.
2. Journalist meltdown on Twitter
This one comes via @iancapstick from Media Style. Apparently, a journalist called a PR person for some info and she didn’t return his calls. As a former journalist, I can understand the frustration. People complain when you don’t talk to them, but then they don’t call you back until minutes before your deadline.
When the PR person finally did return his calls, it appears the conversation didn’t go well, and @aprildunford posted this on Twitter: “Reporter to me “When the media calls you, you jump. OK!?” Why, when you called me and I’m not selling? Newspapers will get what they deserve”
Not too bad, but it’s gets better. The journalist (who used to be @sirdavid) flipped out, spewing expletives and invective all over the Twitterverse. It’s a wonderful train wreck, check it out here. (Warning: explicit language, once again) From this we learn to always keep your cool. Never blow up at anyone or it will be documented, circulated, blogged about, and then archived for future generations.
3. Utah AG Mark Shurtleff’s massive twoops
Utah’s attorney general had a plan to challenge Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) in the upcoming elections, but was waiting until May 20 to announce it to the world. Timing is absolutely essential in political communication, which makes this Twitter mistake all the more funny.
More than a week before his announcement, Shurtleff accidentally started tweeting all his plans to the entire Twittersphere, thinking he was sending private direct messages to only one person. My favorite tweet was this:
“all of the legislative conservative caucusus and other senators and representatives there endorsing me. Time to rock and roll!”
It reminds me of a Twitter version of Howard Dean’s infamous “yehaw!”
It’s still too early to tell if anyone who uses Twitter will be able to take him seriously. I guess we’ll find out in November. You can read the full story from the Salt Lake Tribune here. What we learn here is to understand the tools you are using. I’ve made the same mistake before, but it wasn’t a big deal because I treat all my communications on Twitter as if they were public. Never assume that you have privacy on a social media site. If you’re discussing sensitive or private matters, don’t do it on a social media site. That’s not what they’re made for.
4. New Yorker fires a reporter in front of the world
The New Yorker is by far my favorite magazine. I love it. But even I have to admit this would be embarrassing. Dan Baum was a staff writer at the New Yorker for a few years. When they fired him, he used Twitter to let the world know that he was not happy about it. You can read the entire saga in 140 character paragraphs here.
This is just a sample of one of the ouch parts that came in a series of four tweets:
“And that the real reason Remnick fired me was that he took a personal dislike to me after our conversations.
I was pretty bitter for a while.
A New Yorker writer should be able to have a straight-up exchange of views with his editor.
And a guy as accomplished and powerful as David Remnick shouldn’t be so insecure that he can’t take some pushback.”
The lesson here is perhaps the most poignant. If you’re not talking about yourself on social media, somebody else is. Does David Remnick Twitter? I don’t know, but he should seriously consider it. Having a properly managed social media presence helps you address disgruntled former employees as well as the ever-churning rumor mill. For example, in the last couple of weeks the rumor has gone around Twitter that the New Yorker was going to two issues a month.
BONUS gaffe
Here’s a hilarious bonus gaffe for you. The difference with this is that it has nothing to do with social media at all.
In June 2006, Greenpeace, an environmental activist group, sent out a memo to the press challenging Pres. Bush’s nuclear energy policy. It started off well enough, but a little farther down the page, this showed up:
Oops. This huge embarrassment came in the form of the tried and true press release. It’s a strong reminder that social media won’t cause you any more reputation problems than your old school devices do — i.e. fax machines, telephones, telegraphs and semaphore flags. So stop delaying. Learn the tools, learn the etiquette, and be proactive about your online reputation.