Death By Twitter: #HasJustineLandedYet

Nothing kills the holiday cheer like another Death By Twitter.

You know, we’ve talked about the “Death By Twitter” rampage lately.  And a lot of the tweets have left us confused, wondering if reactions are overly emotional or if the tweet is, in fact, completely inappropriate.

Well, friends, every once in awhile someone tweets something that throws all confusion out the window- other than the thought of “What in the WORLD were they thinking!”.  That is the case with Justine Sacco and her tweet about Africa.  Warning before reading on, this is offensive.

Why?  Why would you EVER think that was okay to say?  Here’s the real kicker.  Not only is this totally inappropriate, but this woman KNOWS better.  Sacco was (yeah, I say WAS because she has since been fired) the PR executive for the Internet conglomerate InterActive Corporation.  You may not have heard of the company, but you’ve certainly heard of all the businesses they own including Match.com and Dictionary.com and Vimeo.  A PUBLIC RELATIONS EXECUTIVE! Wow.

So, Sacco has written an official apology.  She is “ashamed” and was “insensitive to the crisis”.  All the right things to say when apologizing.  But, I just need to share this one part of the statement that still irks me.  It reads: “Unfortunately, it is terribly easy to be cavalier about an epidemic that one has never witnessed firsthand.”

WHAT?  No it’s not.  Sorry, Sacco but I don’t buy it.  There are epidemics that I have never witnessed firsthand that I would never, NEVER, be cavalier about.  Think about it.  I’ve never witnessed a massive flood or earthquake.  I’ve never witnessed mass starvation or poverty.  School shootings, hurricanes, the list goes on and on.  But my heart still goes out to those affected, though I am sure their pain is far greater than I may know.  So I don’t buy the whole “ignorance” claim here.  It just gets under my skin. 

Yet, in the redemption we find through the holiday spirit, some good can come out of this too!  Leave it to the Twittersphere to find a way!  A fake Facebook account under her name has been created where a post links to www.JustineSacco.com, which brings up a donation page for Aid for Africa.

I like that.  And I also very much respect the official statement of InterActive Corporation, who fired Sacco but spoke of forgiveness when speaking of her.  The company stated: “There is no excuse for the hateful statements that have been made and we condemn them unequivocally.  We hope, however, that time and action, and the forgiving human spirit, will not result in the wholesale condemnation of an individual who we have otherwise known to be a decent person at core.”

It is good to see love and forgiveness reign in the end, huh?  After all, that is what the holiday spirit is all about.

Will Facebook’s AutoPlay Videos Alienate Users?

Doesn’t it seem like every time Facebook makes a big change or announcement, people are up in arms about it? 

Well this week's news is no different!

Facebook confirmed Tuesday that it is rolling out video advertisements within users' News Feeds that will auto play on desktop and mobile.  

Yeah, kinda weird right?  So all of a sudden you are getting your daily updates from friend statuses and pics and then a random ad starts playing in your News Feed.  

It sounds annoying to me, and not what I want in my News Feed.  And I’m not alone.  Mashable has put out a flash poll and found 90% of people dissatisfied with this announcement.  Even more suprising is that almost 60% of people claim to hate it so much they would be willing to leave Facebook!

Now I highly doubt Facebook is going to lose that many of its users, but this certainly will change up your typical Facebook experience.  The company has been trying all different kinds of things to generate revenue through the otherwise free site.  Anything from paying for “stickers”, gifting to friends and the ever popular Facebook Ad.  These auto-play videos, though, are certainly the most aggressive of all the attempts.  

Do you think the ads will alienate Facebook users?  What do you think of them?

Online Engagement + Offline Action = Branding Win

Everyday, brands strive to create authentic, meaningful interactions with their customers.  Social Media has helped brands to do this on a larger scale.  But sometimes there is no comparison for good old fashioned, hitting-the-streets!  Creatively weaving off-line engagement into a campaign can create amazing results. 

Drum roll, please, for the best example I have seen of this- probably all year.

WestJet's Christmas Miracle Video.  I hadn't even HEARD of WestJet before today.  They fly mostly in Canada but also throughout the US and Mexico.  But this creative campaign of theirs found a direct route to my heart.  And not just mine!  The video has been viewed almost 2 million times in less than 48 hours.

If you haven't seen the video yet, the airline has an engaging online "live" Santa Claus that asks customers for their Christmas wishes as they approach the gate.  Within the time of the flight, WestJet pulls a Christmas Miracle and delivers the desired gifts to the passengers once they reach their destination!  The online/offline hybrid campaign has been a huge success for WestJet and the company's followup through Twitter has been equally impressive.  The company Twitter handle (@WestJet) is personally replying to tweets referencing the great ad and also coming up with the wittiest sayings to promote the video.

What a clever, fun and smart use of an advertising budget and Holiday campaign!  It's my favorite of the year!

Do you have any other favorite holiday campaigns?  Tell us below!

Death By Twitter: Rules & Lessons

My continuing editions of "Death By Twitter" have seen all types of fatalities due to stupid, offensive or otherwise not-so-Tweetable Tweets.  Whether it be a sports mascot, an Olympic athlete or a kitchen appliance, the Twittersphere  finds victims in all areas.

It seems the holidays is not turning out any differently.  Last week was particularly harsh on the world of social media. There have been severalfaux pas on Twitter the past week, from Nikki Finke's (Entertainment journalist and founder of Deadline.com) tweet following the death of Nelson Mandela that read...

to SpaghettiO's Pearl Harbor commemoration...

  

While I feel these are on two opposite ends of the spectrum, I want to take a different approach this "Death By Twitter" entry.  Instead of detailing the stories of Nikki Finke and SpaghettiO's and the backlash they received, let's try to take away a lesson.  While the tweets seem different in sentiment, they do have something in common.  Each took a tragic event and made it about something else.  Promotion.  While inserting your brand into a current event has proved viable for some (Oreo!!)  when war, famine or death are involved, it's safe to say that making the event about your brand is not wise. 

Use that rule of thumb when thinking about posting to commemorate events or pay respects.  After all, showing selflessness, even in something as small as a tweet, can go a long way.

What other "Rule Of Thumb" do you see playing out in Twittersphere?

Sneaky Social Media for Thanksgiving

Here's the thing.  Thanksgiving is all about family, friends and loved ones.  For many of us social media junkies, the same can be said for our social media habits.  Connecting with people continuously brings me joy!  However, our relatives might not all understand this.  There is nothing worse than getting vicious glares from Aunt Ida at Thanksgiving Dinner as I am uploading pics of the turkey to Instagram.

So, this Thanksgiving, I've got three sneaky ways to get your social media fix without ticking off the family!!

1) Spotify
Create a crowd sourced Spotify holiday mix!  You can have this playing in the background of your family meal, and even share your station with friends or family that can not be with you in person.

2) Pinterest
You need to OD on Pinterest TODAY and tomorrow morning folks! That is, before the gang gets together.  Searches for "Thanksgiving feast" or "Holiday table settings" will display a plethora of festive ideas. Get crafty!

3) Pic Stitch
Everyone will be taking photos this Thanksgiving. And of course you want to share these with everyone over social media!  Instead of posting each individual photo to your accounts- which takes time - use Pic Stitch to make a compilation of your photos and get all the awesome memories into one post!

And after you employ these moves, put down your tablet, mobile device and laptop for most of the day and connect with your loved ones. Afterall, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all the rest will still be there tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Black Friday Starts Early on Social Media!

COUNTDOWN BEGINS.
One week.

Thanksgiving will be over, our tummies will be time for.... SHOPPING!

Black Friday is almost here but it seems like every year things start earlier and earlier. And one place you can surely keep up with what's going on is on Twitter. In fact, Amazon announced that it is going to be blasting out deals every 10 minutes starting this Sunday!
Of course, Amazon is completely online so you'll need to be glued to your computer to find the deals but some of these savings are steep! A Vizio 55-inch smart HDTV for $479.99 (usually it sells for $775.98), a Google Chromecast for $29.99 (usually $35) and I am sure many many more.

Now, this is not intended to be an ad for Amazon. It is interesting to me, though, that their "every 10 minutes" marketing plan syncs so well with the fast-paced style of social media. Black Friday is totally going social this year, you guys! In fact, many retailers have created special Twitter handles or Facebook pages just for their Black Friday deals! My favorite is Target who is giving away $25 gift cards through an app on Facebook and have a special Twitter handle -@ChristmasChamp - giving out advice on all things Black Friday at Target!

What makes a Tweet Trashable?

Now you see it, now you don't!

That's how things have been lately in the Twittersphere. Unintentional, unwise and unsavory tweets by companies, brands and individuals are being deleted from Twitter feeds now more than ever. Of course, in today's world, even when it's off of Twitter, it's not gone forever. I've collected the best of this week's deleted Tweets in what I'll call: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

The Good:

Not all deleted Tweets are terrible. Yet, with all the fire-able offences out there today, it's dangerous to be even a little risque. That was likely the case with this Charmin tweet that was deleted earlier this week.

 

If you don't get it, Asgard is Thor's home planet. Also, Charmin "guards" your derriere. And because I love a good pun, I digress.

The Bad:

News Flash to sports figures!! Do Not Tweet When You Are Upset About Your Game! After Matt Barnes's ejection from the LA Clippers game last night, he tweeted some choice profanity about the incident. Bad idea. Barnes has been slapped with a $25,000 fine for his behavior and profanity. Of course, the tweet is deleted now, but- really- when will these people learn!!??

The Ugly:

Downright racist or demeaning tweets are another category altogether. Just ugly. Home Depot has been blaming its previous ad agency for their tweet that depicted two African-American drummers and a third man wearing a monkey mask with the caption "Which drummer is not like the others?" The tweet is now deleted, as is Home Depot's relationship with that agency and the job of the employee who posted the tweet. Home Depot's basically deflected all responsibility for the tweet. But for me, it's hard to believe Home Depot would give free reign to an agency to completely control their Twitter. Shame on them.