Monday, September 28, 2009

Twitter Etiquette Rant



I am constantly amazed that people I do not know will ask me to "Re-Tweet" their messages on Twitter...OR... they write me and ask me to blog about their products and services. If I do not know anything about these people, why would I endorse their causes?

You would not show up at my house, introduce yourself, and immediately hand me 1000 brochures about your business and ask me to hand them to my neighbors (would you?).

But in the "social media" world too many people have forgotten the "social" part. The rules of etiquette and creating real friendships still apply. Establish a relationships first. Take actions to help them in some way. Make it something BIG, not some trivial thing (so that you can guilt them into helping you). After you have created and cultivated a mutually beneficial connection you have the right to ask for favors.

And to the total stranger who both asked me to Re-Tweet and Blog about them today... YES, you did inspire this rant!!!

Have A Great Day.

thom

7 comments:

Steve said...

Social spam. I fear it only has to work 0.001% of the time to motivate people to keep doing it.

Mariano said...

How true it is. I always try to advise my customers not to get involved in any social media tool if they're just going to use it as a sales pitch or to get exposure. It's not something you can pick up quickly and expect to use it as an effective marketing tool. It takes time and patience to build a reputation as someone worthy of a retweet or review.

That said, Thom, I feel like we know each other so well. Would you mind blogging about me? Um...no? How about a mention in a tweet? A rant perhaps?

Ah well. Had to try.

lindyasimus said...

Fortunately I have not experienced many requests like this on blogs or Twitter, though I have had the odd request from people I know nothing about on Linkdedin to write them an endorsement. Write them an endorsement? Hello?

But your raise an issue that needs to be brought back into the light as often as need be to get it percolating through the minds of all who use social networking. Numbers are not relationships. Followers are not friends and if you want engagement you need to be actively doing something to engage - and receptive to the approach of others who legitimately want to get to know you. Having said that, I am a far better Responder than I am an Initiator, by nature, and yet I can think of very few examples of network members actively seeking to know more about members in their network.

It rather begs the question, if not to actively network toward some purpose, what's the point?

Theresa said...

Well said, Thom. When I speak of social media, I remind people of the "social" aspect. Social media should be like a party. You read the room, maybe find someone who looks interesting, go up and introduce yourself properly and have a polite exchange; and if you are lucky, you have made a real connection where you can have a great conversation and maybe a new friend/contact.

I agree with Lindy re that numbers are not relationships. It's concerning to me that there a several webinars, some of which I have listened to, that tell you how to increase your followers on Twitter and your connections on LinkedIn. Twitter is one thing, but for the connections on LinkedIn, don't you want to actually KNOW these people? I guess it depends on your goal and purpose, which hopefully, is not to ask them to blog about their product or service.

Sue Rostvold said...

Nice rant Thom! I enjoyed the passion, or should I say, irritation, in your video. :)

Similarly, I've had a request from someone asking for a recommendation on Linkedin after one 30 minute phone call. Who are they kidding?

There are more and more people on twitter that don't think before they tweet. Perhaps it's because many people don't think of Twitter as a professional or serious tool, and that's where the trouble begins.

And there is a good chance that these are the same people who don't know how to network offline either.

Andrew Weaver said...

As I was watching this I wondered what your neighbors must have thought if they happened to be looking out the window as you were ranting. :) Haha...

Seriously though, excellent rant. Spot on and solid points. So many people just don't get it.

I have nothing further to add. You've said it well.

Steve Harper said...

Love it dude! Great rant my brother from another mother!

Ripple On!!!