Guest Post: A Response to "Let's Reconnect and Return to the Roots of Social Media"

To view the original post Steve is referencing, click here.

There are several themes in your article;

a)      The use or abuse of automation tools

b)      The propensity to buy followers

c)      Reconnect to the roots of social

As mentioned in my Tweet, it’s a challenging article, particularly to those people who; Don’t know what automation tools (can) do; Care less about buying followers in this acquisitive/disposable age; Really just don’t care what the roots of social are (or were)

I agree with you that the use of automation tools to send out ‘regular’ postings would appear to be a reasonable way to keep in touch with ones audience e.g sending out a newsletter on the same day each week, providing this kind of thing is done with a personal touch (being in the 'present')

The use of ‘blind’ automation i.e without behavioural rules of some form, appears to be nothing more than a repeat of email spamming mechanisms. This was never good in terms of etiquette or good manners, but then sadly it still doesn’t stop people doing it for whatever reason (I'm sure there are many)

This suggests that it is really people who need to become more sophisticated and discerning in their usage of the various tools, and particularly the automation software they use (in a Social Media context).

It’s not just down to the tools though. In their own right, they’re just ‘dumb’ responders to the ‘audience’ who set them up and use them (for whatever purpose they choose).

This brings us then to the old subject of human behaviour, particularly given the explosion in use of social media across (now) multiple devices (a much more significant difference to the basic Mobile phone revolution which occurred around 10 to 15 years ago)

Different groups demand different things from the tools or capability. Some people naturally see the tools as genuine enablers of positive social behaviour i.e good conversation. Others have rightly seen the various social media tools as enablers of different ways of working which will allow them to make a good ethical living.

And then there are those who see these things as just another way to make a fast buck. At that end of the spectrum, would they really care whether we step away from the roots of social (when quite frankly in any world they would probably behave in the same way).

In simple terms, it seems that Social Media tools can certainly transform the way we live and do business. That’s great/positive in so many ways.

However, now that the whole genre of social tools are beginning to mature (I stress the word ‘beginning’), more intelligent forms of usage (from their audience) would be expected, providing they do actually give a 'hoot'.

And it is this aspect of caring that gets me. Some are simply not aware of others concerns about how social media is used, some feel no shame whatever they do, some see this as a given right to behave how they wish, and quite honestly they won’t be stopped because Social Media now allows some of the less savoury aspects of human behaviour to rise to the surface faster and with more intensity than we saw in the  past.

The above sounds awful, unless someone comes up with an alternative, because of course we know they exist (as they always will)

That alternative requires articles like yours to get people to actually ‘think’ a little more, not just about the tools they use, but the reasons they use them in the first place, and critically the behaviours/manners/concern they exhibit when they use the things.

If at the very least people read articles like yours, and just think a little more before hitting a keypad, let alone using a particular tool, then a small vestige of progress has been made. This may mean the audience is actually considering what the very roots of social were originally intended to be (that is of course if anyone truly remembers what those roots were, whether these matter at all, and more importantly whether people actually care and are willing to consider or change their behaviour).

- Steve Martin*

What do you think? Where is the line between automated and real-time social media? Comment!

*Steve Martin was part of the Mobile Telecoms story for 5 years in the UK with Virgin Mobile. As part of that model (which then fuelled enterprises in different continents), he saw the quite phenomenal growth in products and usage (voice/sms) over a very short period of time. Back then of course, ideas were ahead of technology (hardware and software capability). Now, technology has essentially caught up, hence the burst upwards into the social media (applications and usage) sphere. At  least, that's his perspective. Find out more about Steve --> http://about.me/leomcgirr

UPDATED: @DeltaAssist Proves its Bark is Bigger than its Bite

“61 hours, 3 canceled flights, 2 missed flights, 3 actual flights, one lost (and then found) bag of luggage and one drive through the middle of nowhere at night--> I am finally here.” →My Facebook post from last week.

Oh, Delta, where to begin. Based on the above Facebook post, you can probably guess I have issues with Delta that span beyond their social media program. However, after hearing Delta praised for its @DeltaAssist handle that makes life easier for customers, I was thoroughly disappointed, and frustrated, when I figured out Delta’s bark is definitely bigger than its bite.

I won’t go into the details of my 61 hour trip that should have taken less than four, but I will let you know that the only thing worse than not responding to your customers, is responding to them with false promises.

After being moved through three different lines and two different terminals by Delta employees who had no clue, which eventually led to me missing my first flight, then being put on another flight that was canceled three hours later, I decided it was time to Tweet Delta. Best part? They responded with, “@DeltaAssist: @MarjiJSherman So sorry to hear that you are having so many issues today. If there is anything we can do to assist, please let us know. *RW”

Excuse me?! Now knowing I was going to miss an entire day of work, and not knowing where my luggage was, I was furious. MY issues? Delta, please.

While I came up with a million snarky responses in my head, I thought of my own position handling customer service complaints for my clients, and decided I would not taunt them and take the classy way out.

Then, a day later, not knowing where my luggage was, having two more flights canceled, missing a connection by two minutes (literally), and having my flight out of Detroit canceled because, as the PILOT told us, “We forgot to schedule a first officer for this flight. I am so sorry. I am going to try to find one for this flight,” I was done.

A first officer was not found, and Delta refused to compensate us, saying they do not help customers when it comes to “weather issues”. Dear Delta-- forgetting to schedule a first officer is not a weather issue.

That’s when I decided to Tweet about the ridiculousness of blaming the weather for their own scatterbrained ways. A second later, the lovely @DeltaAssist wrote me back, immediately defending themselves and telling me to direct message them. I did, and a certain JH said that he could help me get on another flight. Hopes up, and ready to take back my frustrated Tweet, I stepped out of line and waited for JH to find me a new flight.

Ten minutes later, I was notified that he could do nothing for me at all, and I would have to find someone in a red Delta jacket in the airport. Thankfully, I was able to get my place back in line.

After spending the night in the Detroit airport (finding out that Delta ran out of blankets, pillows and overnight kits), I was finally able to get to my client the next day.

What can we learn from Delta? I can tell you, the way JH and @DeltaAssist took no responsibility and toyed with me, made me a thousand times more frustrated than had I just not heard from Delta at all.

It is great to use social media as a tool to help your customers, but make sure you are actually able to help them first. Don’t just be there to be there. You will be a much more respected brand if you admit that you don’t have an immediate answer for a customer, than if you pretend you do and take them on a roller coaster ride.

Be authentic. Be real. Don’t make false promises. Believe me, you’ll be a lot more respected for it. (Originally published on 1/12/14)

Update (3/27/14): Nearly three months later, @DeltaAssist reached out to me and asked me to DM them because they were sorry for my issues (again). I did, and they sent me a seemingly genuine note that they read my blog post and took full responsibility for the issues outlined in this post. They offered me a $50 gift card for my troubles. Pros: Giftcard and acknowledgement of their fault in the situation. Cons: It took them nearly three months to respond to the blog post, that called out their handle every time it was published on Twitter over the course of those months.

What do you think of their response? Comment!

-Marji J. Sherman

The Rise of the Content Thief

So, there's this company-- and I'm not going to name them here because this issue is a lot broader than name calling and even though what they did was shitty, they do not deserve to be the scapegoat for the incredibly large cult of thieves polluting the social media atmosphere. This company just happened to respond via Twitter to one of my more challenging blog posts, and then published a blog post less than a week later that exemplified the very core of my own blog post. Granted, this could be a coincidence. There are only so many ideas in the world, and we could have just come up with the same one a mere few days apart. However, if they wanted me to believe that, they should have not responded to my original blog post, thus bringing attention to themselves.

Greatest part about this? I am not a usual reader of this company's blog, and would have never probably seen the post, if it wasn't for a naive Twitter follower who Tweeted me the blog post as support for MY idea. Ha.

Okay, enough venting. I think we can all agree that content stealing is a HUGE issue that is becoming worse at an ALARMING rate. To be honest, we are all guilty of it now and then, especially as content curators. However, while most of my Tweets are not articles written by me, they certainly include the link to the original article with the original author's name on it. Any photo I use is credited, as long as I can credit it to the source. I do not sit back and put my name on it as an author.

There is good news, though. While social media provides thieves with an easier playing field to "break into", it also puts a bright, big old spotlight on the thieves if they're caught. I watched some stories play out this week in the stealing of content, and it was relieving to see the original content creators actually see the stolen content and call the thief out. Even a greater thing I witnessed was people seeing stolen content before the original creator had a chance to even realize it was stolen, and they wrote things like, "Hey! That's so-and-so's. Not yours!", and then linked to the original post. Way to go, humanity.

It's critical that we step up as social media professionals and call-out brands and other professionals stealing content. It's also critical that we not contribute to the growing circus of thieves, and attribute material to the original creator, when possible. There's enough creativity to go around, and, believe me, people aren't going to view you any less because you admit the content is from another person. In fact, they'll look up to you for supporting other professionals in the field.

**Looking forward to seeing this paraphrased on another blog soon.**


- Marji J. Sherman

Let's Reconnect and Return to the Roots of Social Media

There is a disconnect somewhere. I think we can all agree for Tweets to be sent out from a designer an hour after she is found dead, we are missing something quite critical about social media. (For more  information on that mishap --> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2583297/Insensitive-disrespectful-LWren-Scotts-social-media-team-criticised-Facebook-Twitter-pages-continued-post-updates-death.html).It has significantly shifted from a 'social' space, into a business commodity that is treated like it is nothing more than an automated machine to push out so-so content. It has become so 'normal' to buy followers, that I was accused recently of buying my own Twitter following, because there is "absolutely no way" someone could genuinely attract a following these days. The best part? Someone casually brought this up to me at a dinner, as if it were the most normal question in the world to ask. For someone who has worked nonstop to build her career from the ground up, it was offensive. I would not ask the same person if she bought her way into her own job. If I did, I would be scolded for having no tact. 

My beef is not with this accuser, but more with the culture that's been created around social media as a profession. It was less this dinner guest's fault, and more the fault of society's casual acceptance of buying followers and automating all social media platforms. It was less L'Wren Scott's social media team's fault, and more the fault of professionals' abuse of automated systems.

Automated systems are fine to use when you need to send out a post at a specific time, but will not be by your computer. They are not okay, however, to rely on as the ultimate publisher for your social content, unless you are doing some of those posts in real time. Social media is about being PRESENT. It's about being a part of the social conversation that is happening NOW-- not three hours, or even three days, from now when you schedule your next post. It's time to step away from using automation as a staple, and step towards using it as a last resource to post when you can't make it to the computer.

Why? Because you don't always find out right away that your client passed away, hence, losing time to pull down those scheduled Tweets from their account. Because real life events happen in real time, giving you less than a second to halt anything you had scheduled for that day. L'Wren Scott's social media team is not the only one to fall victim to unforeseeable circumstances. Brands constantly are finding themselves in hot water for posting content that is suddenly insensitive because of a real time event that occurred.

The solution? Let's reconnect and return to the roots of social. We're in the social space to participate in conversations, not to broadcast our brand. Don't buy followers. Create content that is riveting enough to capture the right audience for your brand, and don't abuse automation. If you are going to use it, have a thumb on the trigger to halt content 24/7, and always have your eyes and ears on the news. Let's redefine the social media culture, and stop accepting buying followers and overusing automation as "norms", and start setting higher standards for authentic followers and authentic content.

-Marji J. Sherman