Given his view on twitter I am struck both by the fact that he posted actual tweets in his blog and that he responded so defensively. When people disagree with you it is a GREAT opportunity to ask questions and learn. I guess with only 140 characters you can't always say things as gently or nicely as you might like but I would expect a PR guy to have tougher skin. His response made me NOT be interested in anything else he had to say - not a very good PR move...
Danny Brown
· 11 months ago
That's another reason that Twitter is such a great tool to use - it does make you use your communication more effectively. 140 characters isn't a lot, but it sure makes you think about what you're typing a lot of the time. Yes, there are normal and personal conversations going on, but that's the point - Twitter is, by nature, simple conversation. Yet as a business conversation tool, it's hugely effective and less limited than some may feel.
David Mullen
· 11 months ago
Hmm... This isn't on-topic, but I'm surprised by Paul's incredibly defensive attitude at the hint of some folks not whole-heartedly agreeing with him. Isn't access to differing views that make us all think more about our own views one of the benefits of all these online tools? Follow up posts that call challengers "ilk" doesn't seem very professional or adult-like to me.
And I can speak from experience. On one of my first posts, Ari Herzog challenged my stance on the topic, after several comments on the post between us, we both "walked" away with a broader view of the topic. Now he and I connect often on Twitter, he's linked to me in several blog posts and I've linked to him in several, as well.
Your example with Ari - who, like you, I've connected with and shared some great conversations - is perfect at showing why open debate and conversation has such an important role to play in any medium, David.
While people will always disagree with each other (it's only human nature), there's a line between disagreement and denial. That's where the trick to good conversation lies (IMO).
Ari Herzog
· 11 months ago
Aww, you two are too sweet! This is the first time I've heard of Swiss Paul but perhaps the kicker is in something you already mentioned, Danny: he requires blog commenters to register.
Off the cuff, I've registered to post comments at the Guardian (the London newspaper) and ZDNet's blogs. But a personal blog? No thanks. Closed doors indeed.
If he forces his commenters to leap through hurdles to interact, no wonder he gets defensive. Maybe his way is the only way.
The Lovable Rogue
· 11 months ago
Danny,
You know that I am a big fan of diversity of opinion, but the comments made by Mr. Paul Seaman seem somewhat backward. Whilst he is certainly entitled to his opinions, I feel that he would find it a considerable task to defend many of his statements to the professionals that engage their efforts into defining and discussing the social media on a daily basis.
Whilst there is significant distaste towards the term 'social media', there is little denying the distinction between such platforms and the more traditional media. Whilst traditional media is charactised by the undeniably one directional capacity of its messages, the social media encourages discussion through the provision of an electronic voice. By allowing users the capacity to respond, the media has moved from static information to dynamic conversation.
Good points and I agree completely, Chris - the two-way communication is the defining difference between where we were and where we are. An example - look at social media press releases, that offer readers the chance to comment and give instant feedback to a particular campaign. This kind of market research would have taken weeks previously - now it's there in front of you, in a hugely cost-effective manner.
As you say, the clue is most definitely in the name.
Ari Herzog
· 11 months ago
How do you figure you can interact with Rick Sanchez? I followed him when he was a novelty, tweeted him several times to no reply, so I unfollowed.
Why limit "interaction" to one hour a day? Where's the value there?
Suzanne Franco
· 11 months ago
Well Danny ... I'm sorry to read all of this. There are some people who don't understand basic conversation - the kind where you can discuss issues and ideas - even if they're opinions differ - and do it calmly and respectfully of each other. Guess it's no different online for some. Maybe this whole "incident' will help him see that good, healthy conversation is OK to have without arguing. *SmiLes* Suzanne
I beleive social media has, and will continue to, change the landscape of all media because of the interactive nature of it. Everybody wants their voice to be heard. You mention CNN, and while it may be true that their feed streams news, you can also interact during the hour Rick Sanchez is on the air. This is where I see social media making the biggest impact, and I think we will see more and more of this type of interaction being offered by many other companies. The marketing possibilities are amazing. In my mind there is no doubt social media is not only here to stay, but will only get bigger and broader over the next few years.
The issue I see with twitter for bigger enterprises is that it's difficult to maintain a two way conversation when you have thousand upon thousands of people involved. Once you have several thousand followers, you're eventually going to start slowing the number of people you follow in return, otherwise you're going to have difficulty filtering out the noise, inevitably it becomes a lecture instead of a conversation.
One way I could see twitter being useful for them though would be if they were willing to empower their employees to use twitter to communicate on their behalf, and as a result they could have hundreds or thousands of representatives mingling with their customers, and getting a sense of what they could do to improve their business.
All Comments
And I can speak from experience. On one of my first posts, Ari Herzog challenged my stance on the topic, after several comments on the post between us, we both "walked" away with a broader view of the topic. Now he and I connect often on Twitter, he's linked to me in several blog posts and I've linked to him in several, as well.
I digress...
David Mullen's Recent post...The One Thing I Would Change About Marketing
While people will always disagree with each other (it's only human nature), there's a line between disagreement and denial. That's where the trick to good conversation lies (IMO).
Off the cuff, I've registered to post comments at the Guardian (the London newspaper) and ZDNet's blogs. But a personal blog? No thanks. Closed doors indeed.
If he forces his commenters to leap through hurdles to interact, no wonder he gets defensive. Maybe his way is the only way.
You know that I am a big fan of diversity of opinion, but the comments made by Mr. Paul Seaman seem somewhat backward. Whilst he is certainly entitled to his opinions, I feel that he would find it a considerable task to defend many of his statements to the professionals that engage their efforts into defining and discussing the social media on a daily basis.
Whilst there is significant distaste towards the term 'social media', there is little denying the distinction between such platforms and the more traditional media. Whilst traditional media is charactised by the undeniably one directional capacity of its messages, the social media encourages discussion through the provision of an electronic voice. By allowing users the capacity to respond, the media has moved from static information to dynamic conversation.
Arguably, the clue is in the name...
TLR
The Lovable Rogue's Recent post...Keeping the Conversation Alive
As you say, the clue is most definitely in the name.
Why limit "interaction" to one hour a day? Where's the value there?
Suzanne Franco's Recent post...What’s Up on the Blog in 2009?
Scott Mahler's Recent post...Content Management for Your Business Website
One way I could see twitter being useful for them though would be if they were willing to empower their employees to use twitter to communicate on their behalf, and as a result they could have hundreds or thousands of representatives mingling with their customers, and getting a sense of what they could do to improve their business.