Social Media 101: Beware Of Twitter Bullies

I'm a news junkie, so I love Twitter.  It gives me a variety of up-to-date information at lightening speeds.  I get tidbits of national news, local politics, business tips and pop culture in a matter of seconds.  If you're in PR and you're not using Twitter as a resource?  *side eye* 

Anywho... I enjoy Twitter.  But like everything, it's not perfect.  Case in point: A lot of people use Twitter to bully, degrade and harass folks.  They sit behind their computer (lurking, I imagine), spewing out mean and hateful comments whenever they want.  Twitter bullies.  *sigh*  Unfortunately, most them do this on a daily basis.  And what's more troubling is, a lot of Twitter bullies have a large number of followers, which essentially fuels their twisted egos.   

They think it's cool to make fun of celebrities, laugh at children's shortcomings and tell people they're ugly, fat and unwanted.  I personally don't know what's going on with your spirit that allows you to put someone else down on a regular basis.  You've got to be a sad bucket of broken dreams to do that, and enjoy it.  

In 2012, a study showed that there were 15,000 bully-related tweets posted every day. That's more than 100,000 tweets that pollute Twitter each week.  Terrible.  But there are things we can do to stop this Twitter bully nonsense: 

• Don't engage with them or acknowledge them (Ignore them)
  
  
• Block them (Prevents a person from following you or seeing your timeline)
  
  
• Reporter them to Twitter (Twitter has a strict policy about bullying, abuse & harassment)

Most important, always focus on the positive.  Twitter is not a bad thing.  Don't let others ruin it for you. 

PR Tip: Newsjacking - It's Legal & It Works

If I had a $1 for every friend or associate who asked me for PR help with their business, project or personal brand, I'd be able to buy all the cupcakes in the world!  As much as I love cupcakes and helping people, realistically it's impossible to help everyone, so I don't.  I can and do give PR tips all the time though. 

So here's one of my favorites: Newsjacking.  Yes, it's legal.  No, it's not unethical.  PR folks do it all the time.  

News is constantly happening.  Every hour. Every minute.  Newsjacking is simply injecting your ideas (i.e. your business, your product, your service, etc.) into a hot, current news story. The key to newsjacking is timing, so make sure you're following your local and national news outlets daily. In other words, stay ready!

Once that breaking news happens, create something (blog post, video, tweet, article, etc.) relevant and appropriate (that's key too!) that will grab the media's attention.  Newsjacking is responding to a news story, and adding value to it that will be beneficial for the audience/readers.      
Here's an example: 

The Super Bowl is a big deal, right?  You already know the media is going to be talking about the teams, the plays and the halftime show. (Remember, stay ready.)  So, remember last year when Beyonce shut it down with her halftime performance?  Like, she literally SHUT IT DOWN!  The power went out and the game was delayed for about 20 minutes.  Well, here's what the Oreo cookie folks tweeted minutes after that happened: 

Perfect!  They newsjacked the Super Bowl outage.  The tweet went viral because it was savvy, fun and relevant.  

Last thing - Be careful and use good judgement with newsjacking.  You don't want to newsjack a negative, somber story and/or make light of it.  You do that and you'll be looking at a PR disaster. If you don't believe me, google "Kenneth Cole Cairo tweet."  #Yikes

The REAL Issue With That Racially Offensive Home Depot Tweet

Last week, everybody was up in arms about a racially insensitive tweet that Home Depot posted from their company account.   

Take a look: 

Pretty offensive, right?  Yep.  There's no need for me to go into details about WHY it's offensive. If you don't know, I honestly don't have the time or energy to break it down for you.  But take it from me - a reasonable, rational, super nice, liberal black woman with a great smile - It. Is Offensive.  

OK-enough about me...  

So, listen.  I like Home Depot (told you I was nice).  I shop there often and when I purchased my new home five years ago, I visited their store 4-5 times a week for months.  I was there so much the staff knew me by name!   

From a PR perspective, I commend Home Depot for taking swift action after this tweet was posted. They acknowledged it was wrong, stated their zero tolerance policy for things like this and terminated the agency and employee who were responsible for the post. They're also reviewing their social media policy so that incidents like this won't happen again.    

But here's the real issue with that tweet.  It shows first-hand the lack of racial diversity among employees in major corporations and national advertising agencies in this country. In other words - I can almost guarantee you, there were no African Americans in those initial meetings about the content of this post. That tweet was posted by someone who didn't know any better and/or someone who has had little to no racial sensitivity training. Either way, it's bad. 

I'd like to think if there was an African American employee working on this project and someone suggested this terrible tweet, that employee would have paused and said, "Wait. A monkey and black men?  Hell no."  Crisis averted. 

Companies aren't perfect. What happened with Home Depot could have happened to any Fortune 500 company in America.  But if corporations want to continue to grow and prosper, they should have a diverse and inclusive employee base - from the board room to the mail room.  Why? Diversity breeds a culture of fresh creativity and innovation.  It allows people from various backgrounds to contribute to the success of the business.  

If companies don't embrace diversity and understand the importance of cultural sensitivity, we'll continue to see these kinds of public mishaps and crude blunders.  

Note: Diversity = Attributes such as gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, physical ability, age, etc. 

  

Unwritten Twitter Rules - What They Don't Tell You When You Sign Up (Vol. IV)

This is my fourth installment of Unwritten Twitter Rules!  Tremendous milestone, I know. :)  In case you missed Volumes 1-3, here you go:

Volume I: http://dld.bz/cwwD2

Volume II: http://dld.bz/c52tT

Volume III: http://dld.bz/cHySq 

You're welcome.   And now for your reading pleasure....Unwritten Twitter Rules - Volume IV: 

• Never let your momma know your Twitter handle.  NEVER.  :-)
  
  
• If someone retweets you five times a day, ya'll go together.  #TwitterBoo
  
  
• A tweet that takes two tweets to express is usually wack. (I do it all the time though - Lol!)
  
  
• People who live to bully folks on Twitter always have some type of real life issue(s). Pray for 'em.
• It's hard to believe, but people embellish A LOT on Twitter. *side-eye*  Always remember that they're just people...sitting behind a computer.
  
  
• Being a black person who tweets vs. Being a part of "Black Twitter." *sigh* (There's a difference.)
• The same people who create drama on Twitter do so in real life also.  #Fact
  
  
• Just because you have a Twitter account doesn't mean you have to comment on EVERYTHING.  Feel free shut-up on some topics.
  
  
• Twitter Beefs - People fight allllll the time on Twitter.  It's best to stay out of it because more than likely there's way more to the story than 140 characters.

Unwritten Twitter Rules - What They Don't Tell You When You Sign Up (Vol III)

This is my third installment of "Unwritten Twitter Rules."  Click here to read Volume I.  And here for Volume II.  You know above all, I'm here for the people so please let me know if I've missed anything.  :-)  

Sweet Dreams Twitterville - You don't have to tell Twitter goodnight...you can just shut up.  (Ditto for Facebook.)

Following Folks - Following people only because they agree with you is sooooo boring.  Mix it up.  Take me for example.  I follow Sarah Palin.  Not because I agree with her thoughts.  NOPE.  But, I do think she's funny.  BOY is she funny!   

Sarcasm - If you're sarcastic like me, you gotta be careful.  A lot of folks are too sensitive for Twitter.  The issue is...sarcasm gets retweeted and subsequently offends someone who's cat just died or something.  *sigh*

Twitter Beefs - It's pointless getting into arguments with people on Twitter. Too much flawed logic to even know where to start.

The Infamous Subtweet ("Subliminal Tweet") - Listen.  If you think everyone is subtweeting about you, you got issues - real talk.  And Twitter will only make them worse.  So, stop tweeting and get some help. (Sounds like a public service announcement, right?)  :-)

Twitter Friends - Twitter is a great place to meet interesting, fun people who share common interests, BUT....it's NOT healthy to only have Twitter friends.  Go forth & find real-life friends whose personalities don't originate in a 140-character field, K?

Your Twitter Civic Duty - Careful.  Before you jump on the civic duty bandwagon...hold up.  Twitter is THE place for short lived civil campaigns.  Remember the huge KONY campaign of 2012?  No?  My point exactly!  

Calm Down, Breathe...It's Just Twitter - If EVERYTHING someone says on Twitter makes you hop on the defensive and go off on a tirade, then maybe--just maybe....you should just stay off of Twitter.

You MIGHT Be A Tech Snob If....

Disclaimer - I may or may not be a tech snob.  Spend some time with me (about an hour will do) and you'll know the answer.... *whistles and walks away* 

• You think the new Twitter app "Vine" is stupid, hilarious AND fantastic!
  
  
• You feel sorry for people who are super active (& thriving - in their mind) on Facebook.
  
  
• You judge people by their cell phone.  (If you're under the age of 50 and you have a flip phone?  *sigh* )
  
  
• You judge people by their cell phone provider. (T-Mobile users....)
  
  
• You defend Apple products profusely - as if you own stock in the company.
  
  
• You own stock in Apple.
  
  
• You'd rather drop cold, hard cash on your tech accessories than buy groceries.
  
  
• You put serious thought into your profile name (and picture) on social networks.
  
  
• You have little to no patience for people who refuse to embrace technology.
  
  
• You sleep with your cell phone on your night stand - next to your bible, a bottle of Fiji water and a picture of Idris Elba your momma. 

Unwritten Twitter Rules: What They Don't Tell You When You Sign Up (Volume II)

This is my second  "Unwritten Twitter Rules" post.  Click here to read Volume I.  If you're new to Twitter or you just love to tweet, be sure to keep these things in mind. *wink*  And please let me know if I've missed anything.  I'm already working on Volume III. :) 

• Extra exclamation points don't make your tweets louder.
  
  
• Be careful with the ALL CAPS (especially after 11:00 pm on a work night.)  It can be perceived as aggressive and.....RUDE.
  
  
• Twitter provides everyone with a platform.  That kinda sucks.  Cause everyone doesn't deserve a platform.
  
  
• Understand this.  EVERYONE on Twitter is living amazing, successful lives.  All rich, thin, gorgeous and whatnot. *side eye*
  
  
• People who use more than two hashtags in a tweet are labeled as...how can I say this?  Annoying.
  
  
• People who use more than three hashtags in a tweet are labeled as...how can I say this?  Annoying.
  
  
• It's possible to be friendly and likable on Twitter without everyone knowing EVERY detail of your life.

• Thursday night at 10:00 pm (EST) is #Scandal time.  Get into it or log off.
  
  
• Don't be alarmed when you see the name Neveah (Heaven spelled backwards) a lot on Twitter.  It's very, very popular.  *blank stare*
  
  
• Don't drink adult beverages and tweet.  Trust me. - Don't. Do. It.
  
  
• People rarely look like their Twitter avatar in real life. The sooner you accept that, the better. 

Unwritten Rules of Twitter: What They Don't Tell You When You Sign Up (Volume I)

It's no secret.  I love Twitter.  When I joined the Twitterverse a few years ago, I admit--I was a little naive. So, I jumped right in (Look Ma, no hands!)  There were no instructions, no warnings...I'm still waiting on my "Welcome to Twitter" muffin basket.  Nada.  Nothing.  Zero.

And I realized very quickly there were a lot of things the Twitter Welcoming Committee doesn't tell you.... (Thank me later):

• Typing the word "your" on Twitter when you mean "you are" can be dangerous.  Jesus himself could get on Twitter and say "Fear not, child. I know that your going to heaven," and someone will respond to him and say..."Actually, it's you're."
  

• There's no reason for you to combine your "hahahas" and "lols" in the same tweet.  Way too much.  Nothing is ever THAT funny.
  
  
• Don't ever say ANYTHING bad about Beyonce.  Her fans are ruthless and will come for you with the ETHER.
  
  
• Unfollowing Folks (Part I)
  Listen.  The unfollow struggle is real.  People (including me) always think waaaaaay too much about it. Then...they do it anyway. Just know that this is normal.  Don't beat yourself up about it.
  
  
• Unfollowing Folks (Part II)
  If you unfollow people, don't tell them.  It's like announcing you're leaving a free concert in a room full of people. Awkward and...lame.
  
  
• "Twitter After Dark" is real and in full effect after midnight on weekdays, 11:00 pm (EST) on weekends.  If you can't handle the raunch & ratchetness, log off and come back during daytime hours.  No shame, just go.

• Deleting Your Twitter Account
  There's no need to let the Twitterverse know you're deleting your account.  No one really cares and you'll be back after a week or so.
   
• If you're a Kim Kardashian fan, you might want to keep that to yourself.  People go IN on her (and her fans) on Twitter like you would not believe.

•  If you're not careful, Twitter will harden your heart.  It will darken your soul, if you let it.  Before you know it, you'll be slandering dead celebs and sick kids with the quickness. So....think before you tweet.
  
  
• Non-parents, be careful.  Tweeting about kid topics (potty training, disciplining, homeschooling, etc.) could get ugly.  Tread lightly here or else.... #MommysDontPlay

Hi, I'm An Egg With No Bio (Twitter Woes)

I love Twitter.  I can't live without it.  Not for the obvious reasons you think, either.  See...I'm a bonafide, unapologetic, Grade A news junkie.  With Twitter, I can connect with reputable newsmakers anytime and anywhere I want.  Whew. Yes. That's incredibly dope to me.  #nerd

I love the cadence and speed of it too.  It moves fast.  Like, Danica Patrick fast!  Fact: Twitter broke the news about Michael Jackson's death, the Hudson River plane crash and Osama bin Laden's raid & death. THAT's how fast it works.  If you don't "get" it.  I advise you to get into it.  If you're in PR and you're not on Twitter....drop the "P" and the "R" from your job description, pack your stuff, do not pass Go and kindly....leave.  Yep, I went there. *files nails* 

Anyway, I digress....  So yeah, I love Twitter. 

Here's the problem.  *sigh*  You know the small area at the top of a person's/company's Twitter profile?  The area that should have a picture/image/logo and a description listed?  Yeah, that one.  I really want people to stop leaving that section blank. STOP.   

First of all, it's 2012.  We gotta move past the default "Twitter egg with no bio" purgatory place.  I mean, who wants to connect with an egg?!  Come. On!  Having an egg as a profile picture (with no bio) is equal to someone showing up to a Democratic dinner party wearing a Mitt Romney costume.  Awwwwkward.

And Eggheads...listen.  I won't follow you.  I won't talk to you.  I won't acknowledge you.  No. No. No.  Not gonna happen!  Not until you take a sec, upload a picture and create your bio.  My tip: Don't stress about it...keep it simple. Think about your interests, prioritize (business vs. personal) and remember key words (Twitter is a search engine.)  Click here to see mine.  If you need more help, hit me up.  Remember, I'm here for you. :)

Exhibit A