You Bug Me and You’re Doing it Wrong

Nobody wants to hear this about themselves. The natural reaction is to become self defensive and angered, followed by bewilderment and curiosity. These are not words you want to hear in the bedroom either, trust me. No, today’s rant blog discusses what many are saying on social networks and why I (and many) feel their communication is, for the lack of a better term, crappy.

I felt so much better after discussing this issue with some close friends, sitting around a table as we babysat with beers, but that’s a blog for another day. I’m not alone and I’m hoping you see things our way. To make things easier, I will carefully lay out exactly what we’re referencing. Taking a page out of Jeff Foxworthy’s playbook, you might be an Internet dumb dumb if…

You RT your horoscope

It’s bad enough that you auto-feed your horoscope that nobody (even your parents) care about but to then RT it for the entire world to see…that’s just silliness. Stop it!

You #FF a list of from your network

We get it; you wanted to cram as many of your peeps in one tweet as possible, good for you. Only problem is you’re not really accomplishing anything other than demonstrating your ignorance. If you really want to recommend someone in your network, pick one and let us know what it is that makes them worthy of consideration to check out. Much like you would for a LinkedIn recommendation, let us know what makes them special. For those that don’t know, #FF = Follow Friday, a way to recommend people in your network.

You RT every time your name is mentioned in a Tweet

If you want to thank someone for giving you a compliment or sharing your content, go ahead and do so but there’s no need to RT because someone mentioned you. It doesn’t come across very well and while others might not feel comfortable telling you, I just did.

Your tweets are too inside

Talking with friends online is fine; we all do it, but when your tweets have NO meaning to anyone other than the person you’re referencing it’s better to call them or send them a text message. We don’t care.

Your tweets are cryptic

Are you seeking attention or feel so important that your network hungers for your every word? When you send cryptic messages, you come across as desperate. If you have something to say, say it otherwise keep it to yourself.

You #hastag your tweets to death

There’s a time and place for using hashtags. In many cases, referencing a conference you’re at or a speaker’s talk makes sense. That way other’s who are unable to attend or just want to follow along can do so easily. If you’re listening to a webinar or participating on a webchat and want to share nuggets of wisdom by attaching the created hashtag #teenchat, go for it. On occasion, we end our tweets with a hashtag to give emphasis on our point #sarcasm.

While it’s true that our twitter experience and expectations vary from person to person, there are some common sense principles to apply when thinking about effective online communication. If you find yourself doing one or many of the things above, I’d strongly encourage you to rethink your strategy. What are some other words of wisdom you can share that might help someone in your network?

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