Last week, I Twittered that a tar truck was idling on my street, leaking fumes into everyone’s home while the driver sat on his buddy’s stoop and chatted for at least 20 minutes. Fellow Twitter user Ben Atlas (who’s been very anti-social media lately*) asked if it wouldn’t have been more productive for me to simply walk outside and talk to the driver, rather than Twittering about it, which would solve nothing.
In this particular case, no, because the driver was Mexican and I didn’t have time to learn Spanish. But in general, Atlas is right. In fact, I wonder if he (and everyone else who thumbs their nose at social media) isn’t anti-Twitter so much as anti-whining.
Instant sharing platforms like Twitter and Facebook seem to be turning us from a nation of doers into a nation of passive-aggressive whiners, whingers and complainers, not so much interesting in oversharing as we are in making sure that the world knows just how tough we have it. For example, search Twitter for almost any brand name — especially tech-driven ones like Comcast or Verizon — and you’ll see legions of people complaining about that company’s service, products or employees. And while commiserating with your fellow citizens who’ve been fucked over by the corporate system can momentarily soothe your jangled nerves, it’s equally true that complaining to someone other than the person or company who’s causing your distress will only be so beneficial.
In light of these hand-wringing habits, social media-based customer service methods like the Comcast Cares account on Twitter may seem less like web-savvy approaches to an age-old problem and more like a devaluation of the Twitter experience, empowering people to complain more often in the hopes that they’ll be (over)heard and rescued from their mediocre problems. (On the upside, at least people who are new to Twitter won’t see a litany of “What I had for breakfast”-type tweets on the front page anymore; now those tidbits split time with missives about “How situation X is ruining my day.”
So, in honor of Ben Atlas’s proactive bolt of clarity, I’d like to make a suggestion: what if we all DIDN’T complain on Twitter for a week? Think of all the things you could do with those extra twenty minutes! (Like maybe actually solving your problem…)
* Bonus points to anyone who mentions that Ben Atlas using Twitter to complain about the existence of Twitter is meta-hypocritical.
Tags: branding, Business, comments, common sense, facebook, networking, perception
Social Media Needs Backbone
Last week, I Twittered that a tar truck was idling on my street, leaking fumes into everyone’s home while the driver sat on his buddy’s stoop and chatted for at least 20 minutes. Fellow Twitter user Ben Atlas (who’s been very anti-social media lately*) asked if it wouldn’t have been more productive for me to simply walk outside and talk to the driver, rather than Twittering about it, which would solve nothing.
In this particular case, no, because the driver was Mexican and I didn’t have time to learn Spanish. But in general, Atlas is right. In fact, I wonder if he (and everyone else who thumbs their nose at social media) isn’t anti-Twitter so much as anti-whining.
Instant sharing platforms like Twitter and Facebook seem to be turning us from a nation of doers into a nation of passive-aggressive whiners, whingers and complainers, not so much interesting in oversharing as we are in making sure that the world knows just how tough we have it. For example, search Twitter for almost any brand name — especially tech-driven ones like Comcast or Verizon — and you’ll see legions of people complaining about that company’s service, products or employees. And while commiserating with your fellow citizens who’ve been fucked over by the corporate system can momentarily soothe your jangled nerves, it’s equally true that complaining to someone other than the person or company who’s causing your distress will only be so beneficial.
In light of these hand-wringing habits, social media-based customer service methods like the Comcast Cares account on Twitter may seem less like web-savvy approaches to an age-old problem and more like a devaluation of the Twitter experience, empowering people to complain more often in the hopes that they’ll be (over)heard and rescued from their mediocre problems. (On the upside, at least people who are new to Twitter won’t see a litany of “What I had for breakfast”-type tweets on the front page anymore; now those tidbits split time with missives about “How situation X is ruining my day.”
So, in honor of Ben Atlas’s proactive bolt of clarity, I’d like to make a suggestion: what if we all DIDN’T complain on Twitter for a week? Think of all the things you could do with those extra twenty minutes! (Like maybe actually solving your problem…)
* Bonus points to anyone who mentions that Ben Atlas using Twitter to complain about the existence of Twitter is meta-hypocritical.
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Tags: branding, Business, comments, common sense, facebook, networking, perception