Are We Becoming a Bunch of Twitter Tales?: Looking for a Code of Smart Tweeting

Recently I was speaking with a colleague in the industry who was perturbed by an entry she'd read on Twitter by someone she'd just met with, who consequently mentioned their meeting in his Twitter feed. There weren't many details; how much proprietary info can you fit into 140 characters? Still, she told me, it irked her. The meeting was set to determine suitability for partnering with this person's company. With more than 20 years in media, she wasn't accustomed to publicizing any meetings with potential partners or clients unless they resulted in something signed and on paper.

"Total amateur move," she said. "This guy's showing all of his cards."

Honestly, I wonder then, how many "amateurs" are out there, and whether we need to be worried about showing our hands, so to speak, on a platform that makes mincemeat out of the subtleties of in-person communication. Or whether my colleague needs to get with the program (or platform).

Reading my Twitter feed this week, I found many innocuous updates, many promotional ones, and sprinkled in were a few from professional contacts that were politically partisan in nature--most of which I agreed with--but which made me question the wisdom behind mixing political affiliation with professional networking. And then there were some that struck me as even more dangerous. One contact provided updates on his corporate fundraising. The positive spin he took was likely a construct for the public, and one that seemed unnecessary. I wondered why he would bother mentioning his fundraising at all.

In mentioning this topic I feel a tad hypocritical. I've been coaching companies and small businesses to default to transparency for well-nigh four years! What's the harm in sharing where your company stands? Isn't this practically the duty of any new media leader?

As much as I agree with transparency, I do believe there are limits. And platforms like Twitter that require abbreviated, less formal communication provides a deceptive invitation to share things that are counteractive to the purpose for why people use the tool in the first place. Someone with no business or promotional aspirations may not suffer any consequences for sharing such opinions as "McCain is an idiot," but for me, someone who manages a "clientele" of bloggers with political views ranging from far left to far right, and with corporate clients that observe all degrees of corporate discretion, I've had to think hard about what I divulge. I don't recommend that companies clam up online; I only encourage them to think about their purpose, and the entire range of the people they are broadcasting to, and consider messaging from there.

I was sent a copy of Peggy Post's latest book to review, Excuse Me, But I Was Next. Not my thing to review on my blog, but fascinating nonetheless. I'm impressed with Post (the granddaughter of the famous etiquette expert Emily Post), whose advice still supports what I fear may be a dying art while still taking into account the need to communicate. In reading her section on making small talk in social settings I found myself agreeing with her advice. Divisive issues such as politics are not necessarily hands-off topics, she says, but you must get a handle on the views of the people you are talking to. And even then, consider the alacrity with which you express your views. I say, consider the purpose for being in the setting. For instance, I agreed with the views of a friend who was vociferously against Proposition 8 out here in California, but given that we were at a PR luncheon talking about a research study, where we were sitting with people I'd never met before, I kept my views to facts, not opinion, and certainly not insults when pressed for my take.

"I felt strongly about the issue," I said, "and our community on BlogHer landed in both directions on the issue."

But unless you are only following people with your political/social/sexual affiliation you can't "feel out" your audience on Twitter. Twitter doesn't allow us (yet) to create distinctions for the different types of people following us. We can't send certain messages to, say, go to those who are only Democrats, or polyamorous. We can't possibly know all of the proclivities of the people with whom we network.

Increasingly, my concerns are not just for corporate communicators. Bloggers who want to partner with companies should think about them too. I've spoken with many marketing execs who follow bloggers. There isn't a blogger blacklist, but there are a few that won't be asked to review product anytime soon. To be fair to advertisers, they aren't looking for the "yes" bloggers, whose sole blogging/microblogging purpose is to push product, though frankly that kind of enthusiasm doesn't hurt. But they do question bloggers who mix very loaded political and sexual topics in their posts, who use their platform to criticize and create acidic debate, and who love the F word and to talk about how drunk they were last night. This list is not exhaustive.

Of course, we often love to read Tweets for their candid content, but what's the ultimate purpose of your Twitter feed: to get as many followers as possible, or to attract opportunities? You get the gist.

I would love to create a Code of Smart Tweeting, for bloggers and marketers, and wonder where to start. Where do you draw the line? I'll publish responses in my various outlets, including BlogHer and JackMyers.com.

 
 
 

Comments

[Kira Wampler]

Excellent post. I think, as with many of these newer platforms, people often forget some of the golden rules of communication. I recently saw a tweet that summed it up for me..."tweet as you would like to be tweeted."

[Virginia]

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[Jeff Janer]

I learned from my younger colleagues this week that it's bad form to RT a mention that includes your @name...I guess RT a shout-out to your company or product is fine; but bad form to mention your @name=)

[jen]

I know how easily emails can be misinterpreted and there's room for more than 140 characters in an email. I try to Tweet with my head not with my heart, and I always pause and reread before clicking submit.

[Melanie McBride]

This is a fantastic and highly valuable post - I have a number of clients who are asking about just these things (not how to use Twitter but these far more nuanced aspects - that are still emerging). Last year, I create a Personal social Media Policy to speak to the lack of social contracts within our social practices. What works for one person may not work for me and vice versa and yet, remarkably, people make assumptions all the time about what is globally correct (it's a bit like Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm - he's forever trying to make sense of other people's rules but running into challenges when others don't seem to know his rules). As a teacher, I face a unique challenge unpacking tools like Twitter to students from a living out loud paradigm. Many of these students are now coming of age and looking for jobs. Unfortunately, they're doing so in a climate of easy web searching. The behaviour that was OK for them in high school is very not OK in their new identities as emerging professionals. So this is where I found a lot of resonance in your post. I, too, have addressed the above issues (though with students in mind) in the post below (my name links back to it). Thanks again, I will be bookmarking this one for clients and students.

[Sara Rosso - When I Have Time]

1. Act like anyone, at any time will be able to see your Tweet. Just because your colleagues/lover/competitor isn't following you or doesn't have an account, doesn't mean they aren't seeing what you're saying.
2. If you think someone will misunderstand your Tweet, they probably will. Follow up with a clarification before the repercussion.
3. Define not only what you want from your followers / fellow Tweeters but how you're going to ask for it : @replies ? via surveys? is it enough they mention your #hashtag or your brand? Are you ready for honesty?
4. Monitor the conversation and realize that even though someone is not your follower, they can join and splinter off the conversation very quickly. Twitter is viral.

Need more? Email me :)

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I know how easily emails can be misinterpreted and there's room for more than 140 characters in an email. I try to Tweet with my head not with my heart, and I always pause and reread before clicking submit.

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