The dumbest tweet ever? A major Twitter mistake
Dan Thornton | March 18, 2009As an advocate and evangelist for social media and Twitter usage for business and individuals, I’m a big believer in the power of transparency and authenticity.
However…
It’s essential that you always remember anything you publish anywhere on the internet can, and will, be found. Even if you’ve got privacy settings enabled, I’d still only ever publish the same things I would happily say in front of my family, colleagues and boss (luckily by being consistently open with them throughout my life/career, there are few times when it would become an issue, and I’ve built up a reasonable amount of trust).
I had a little sympathy with James Andrews, when he managed to slur the entire city of Memphis en route to speak about social media to a company based in Memphis. (You can read his own response)
But the current hot story is mindnumbingly stupid (especially in the current climate):
Someone offered a job by Cisco posted the following tweet:
‘Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.’
(Sadly the account, @theconnor, is now private, ruling him out of Tweet of the Week).
Within hours he got a reply from Tim Levad – Cisco channel partner advocate:
‘Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.’ (Original here)
Info via I’m Not Actually a Geek.
And because I can’t resist:
Ok, someone made a mistake. Are you happy now? I
quirkyalone | March 18, 2009Ok, someone made a mistake. Are you happy now? I think you should tame your malevolence.
It's a fair point, and I certainly wouldn't want to
Dan Thornton | March 18, 2009It’s a fair point, and I certainly wouldn’t want to seem as if I’m taking any enjoyment out of someone’s misfortune – and networks which move as fast as Twitter do lead people into responding with haste, making errors of judgement more likely.
But as I posted, I can have sympathy with someone who posts a negative comment about a location etc far more easily than someone who is weighing up a job offer and then criticizes the company hiring him. That’s a bigger mistake, for example, than the young lady recently sacked in the UK for saying her job was boring on Facebook, because when you’re in a job, you could at least use your productivity etc to demonstrate your worth.
It’s a mistake, and one that has cost someone a job at a bad time for the economy, but hopefully a lot of people will have benefited from the example, and it won’t be something held against the individual concerned in the future.
I'm actually more impressed that someone from Cisco is paying
Mark Bockenstedt | March 18, 2009I’m actually more impressed that someone from Cisco is paying attention to their name on Twitter than I am that someone said something stupid. It IS the Internet, after all
Check out this opinion, and what the writer uncovered. http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/41777/114/ I
Lauren Hoff | March 19, 2009Check out this opinion, and what the writer uncovered. http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/41777/114/
I think it is important to note that the actions of people on the web were pretty horrible, and borderlined on harassment. Additionally, not many people are addressing the unprofessional manner in which the Cisco employee conducted himself.
Hi Lauren, many thanks for the link - it's an
Dan Thornton | March 19, 2009Hi Lauren, many thanks for the link – it’s an interesting point of view, although one I pretty much disagree with completely. I posted a response over there, but just to close the loop I’ll repeat some of it…
(The article is basically critical of Tim Levand’s response and the resulting internet witch hunt)
I totally agree that people targeting theconnor by trawling for information and reposting it are wrong to do so – but it has to be understood that absolutely anything you publish online can and will be found if people have a reason to take an interest.
I don’t agree that Tim Levad has been hypocritical – in my post, I mentioned that the lines blur if you’re been employed by a company for a while, and it depends on the specific company in question – if I claimed, (very hypothetically) that a task is boring, I’d be able to balance it with 8 years of working for the same company, and an established relationship with my boss etc. If you do it as a new hire, you don’t have anything to balance your comments with.
I’d also disagree that it was possible to handle this internally with any ease – contrary to the link, you can’t private message people on Twitter unless they are following you – so a public reply makes sense, with the only other option to trawl through the internet looking for ways to contact someone who has just criticized a job offer.
And also contrary to the article, which states employees of large companies shouldn’t speak on the company’s behalf – that’s exactly what the social media/social networking would enables and encourages businesses and employees to do.
As I said, I have sympathy for theconnor due to the internet vigilante mob that has sprung up around this, but it’s not a new phenomenon, and some awareness around making information publicly available was needed – the same internet response has also had some positive responses – for example, tracking a car stolen by a member of a popular car forum, or raising the alarm when a student was arrested overseas.
Tim’s comment may not have been as diplomatic as it might have been, but in the context of the situation, it makes a lot of sense, and certainly doesn’t make me believe him, or Cisco, to be unprofessional. As Mark said, the fact they caught it and responded builds their reputation, and I’d rather be interacting with company representatives capable of human responses than automated PR machines any day!
[...] I offer the following blog posting highlighting this point
Searching for Jobs on Twitter- Can Twitter help you get a job? : SouthwestSEO.com | March 19, 2009[...] I offer the following blog posting highlighting this point The dumbest tweet ever? A major Twitter mistake [...]
I frankly don't get the hysteria, hysterics, hysterical, gasps that
Zane Safrit | March 24, 2009I frankly don’t get the hysteria, hysterics, hysterical, gasps that have spawned from this story.
The first tweet that started this whole drama aren’t unusual for new hires. Everyone assesses the prospects of a job. They use the information they have at hand. Clearly, if there was an inspiring opportunity for this prospect it remained unbeknownst to him/her. At the end of their interview they were offered…a job. Great. Good for all involved. They weren’t offered a mission, a purpose, a vision that mattered to them. They were offered a job, a fatty paycheck. And they assessed the fatty paycheck vs the commute and the day at a job they may hate.
I’m not sure why they feared they may hate the job. But clearly, their visit to the company left them with the fear they may hate it.
We’re in a free-agent economy. Gasp. They’re taking the job for the money. OMG! And it’s but a job to them. OMG! I’m shocked and dismayed at humanity.
What’s not clear nor mentioned is the responsibility of the company, the hiring manager, to communicate the opportunity. What’s the upside, the buzz, the sizzle, the Purpose, that makes this position more meaningful than a job, with a fatty paycheck and a long commute. What’s the purpose of this tribe, this community, they may be joining that makes this so much better than a job, with any paycheck, much less a fatty one.
Success in that endeavor pre-empts these types of tweets from new hires.
The hiring manager’s job is also to assess whether said prospect understands and values the opportunity, the values and purpose of the tribe and the community that make this company meaningful for them, and would add the greater meaning for the new member.
Success in that endeavor pre-empts these types of tweets from new hires.
Now. Let’s say hiring manager assumed success in their responsibility. And they were to find this tweet from their new hire. “Clearly what we have here is a failure to communicate.”
This failure is no different than a customer complaining on twitter about a product or service that failed to deliver. The company now has an opportunity to reach out and engage and communicate. Rather than a brooding threatening note in response (would you do that to a customer? And what is a prospective hire, but a prospective customer of your brand?) why not a note that accepts some responsibility for the failure to communicate why this company and why this position was so exciting, what opportunities awaited?
Success in that endeavor pre-empts the need for ‘that’ response from the tribe’s enforcer on twitter.
Granted, it’s twitter. And that means 140 character limit. But, if brands like Typepad and Comcast and Zappos and others can handle unhappy brand ambassadors with twitter, then surely a company as ‘versed’ in web2.0 as Cisco’s enforcer claims could surely turn this situation into an opportunity to showcase their excitement in text that’s meaningful to ‘others’ outside their company.
Oh, c'mon guys. Like you've *never* poked fun at
Jessica Walker | March 24, 2009Oh, c’mon guys. Like you’ve *never* poked fun at someone. (I don’t believe you!) Sure it’s not right, but shit happens and it lightens the load for the rest of us because we’ve all been there (fucked up before.) It’s call life.
Wow....cheers for the lengthy reply and really interesting points. As
Dan Thornton | March 24, 2009Wow….cheers for the lengthy reply and really interesting points. As you say, everyone has to weigh up the benefits and problems of a job offer, but I’m not sure many would do that publicly.
I totally agree that Cisco should probably follow up with explanations of why they might be a great company to work for, but presumably if the post was ever advertised etc, there’s a reasonable assumption that someone might agree with the positive side of working for a company if they’re attending an interview and getting a job offer from that firm?
And although we’re increasingly in a free-agent economy, I’m not sure everyone is in the financial or professional situation to necessarily operate as a free agent, and publicly badmouthing your current or potential employer is pretty certain to make you a free agent whether you want to become one or not! We all know there are some roles in companies which can be dull or mindless, but if you’re being paid to do those roles, then you have some element of responsibility to the company to keep criticism internal in exchange for your wages – if you take the criticism external due to frustration for example, you might be justified morally in doing it, but you also have to accept the fact that the company has the right to terminate giving you money.
It’s a really interesting time to be seeing what happens to the employer/employee relationship in private and public thanks to the growing levels of opportunity and interaction that fixed and mobile web is bringing. And I’d agree that a business like Zappos probably wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with due to their innovation in hiring and employee strategies, but would also have probably reacted in a more constructive way….
Oh and @Jessica – I make mistakes all the time, and regularly poke fun at colleagues and even my boss – but the important difference is that I think about what I’m publishing online and make sure that it’s not going to reflect badly on me, my colleagues, or my employer – even when my blogs are not linked in any way to my employment and don’t reflect their views or opinions. And the other difference is that I’ve got almost a decade of working with the company which means I’ve developed relationships with colleagues and bosses which means they’ll hopefully be more understanding should I ever accidentally cross the line, and I can also point to those years of work as possible justification for not terminating my employment.
(For the record, I’m definitely of the opinion that, for example, Facebook images of someone getting drunk or partying in their personal life shouldn’t be seen as a reflection on their professional abilities or demeanour, and companies are definitely over-reacting if they believe otherwise, but while things are still new and evolving, we have to accept that not everyone thinks that way yet)
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No company should have to prove to anyone that they
Renee | April 16, 2009No company should have to prove to anyone that they are great company to work for. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
If you do not like the work that you get paid to do, there is always someone better to replace you. Life is too short to waste everyone’s time and money.
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[...] Many people thrive on putting their daily activities and
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