Great post Crystal, I couldn't agree more. Whether it's PR pitching, or someone selling something social media ethics are required.
Reese
· 1 year ago
Promoting your business at a party is just plain stupid. Ha... I just don't like the idea of someone throwing in their work under false pretenses (social interaction).
That said, there have been times when I've added people on Twitter or Plurk without knowing them, and also without conversing with them. It's more like I want to see what they're all about first, and then figure out if I want to keep them or not, sort of like a trial period. I typically start reading someone's blog and not commenting for a long period of time until I finally decide that I just want to say something. Yeah... It's weird. Then again, I'm just a person, not a company. I'd never use my work's Twitter account and friend people all over the place like that!!
Gary Smith
· 1 year ago
As a member in good standing of 2 chambers of commerce, people actually do this to me in meatspace all the time. One woman walked up, unloaded a spiel about whether I was interested in renting commercial building space, and stood there blinking at me at a rate of once every 1.75 seconds (waiting for me to say "where do I sign"?).
When I said "my business is in a building owned by a family member, but let me tell you a bit more about what my business does..." (in so many words), she, and I am not making this up, said goodbye while I was in mid-sentence and began stalking her next victim.
Unfortunately, the Mary Kay lady (yeah, I just called her out) has been thoroughly coached by higher-ups who have done just enough research to have told her "hey, there's a new way to reach out and touch someone."
Gary Smith
· 1 year ago
I should have noted that we were at a chamber-sanctioned meet-and-greet, but that only makes it slightly less surreal.
crystallyn
· 1 year ago
@Reese I'm not really against randomly adding people--I do that too and I think all people do, but usually it's because as you said, there is an interest there. When companies are whoring for friends it's pretty obvious. One look at the profile and their content and you can usually see if they might be aligned in some way or if they have intent that goes beyond curiosity. Conversations often get started when someone friends for an interest...because the conversation continues, right?
@Gary WOW that's pretty brazen. More brazen than the MK lady, admittedly. I can just not friend Miss MK. That's something I hadn't thought of--that it's the corporate marketing team that has started to train their reps to use social media. If that's the case, SHAME on Mary Kay for making their reps look like idiots.
Gary Smith
· 1 year ago
That's just a guess on my part, but I wouldn't put it past them.
enSue
· 1 year ago
Great article, Crystal! I plugged this article on my del.icio.us, twitter, etc. Hope you don't mind.
I totally agree with your sentiments, and wish these "friend spammers" would take note, especially those on Twitter and MyBlogLog, where I personally witness the most offenses. Another similar group are the popularity fanatics who aren't trying to sell their company's product but rather their own image by friending everyone and anyone they encounter for the sake of feeling popular.
I usually don't friend anyone I haven't already been following in some form or another, and if I am friended by someone I don't know I will check out their posts and/or websites before deciding if their content relates or appeals to me before friending them back.
All Comments
That said, there have been times when I've added people on Twitter or Plurk without knowing them, and also without conversing with them. It's more like I want to see what they're all about first, and then figure out if I want to keep them or not, sort of like a trial period. I typically start reading someone's blog and not commenting for a long period of time until I finally decide that I just want to say something. Yeah... It's weird. Then again, I'm just a person, not a company. I'd never use my work's Twitter account and friend people all over the place like that!!
When I said "my business is in a building owned by a family member, but let me tell you a bit more about what my business does..." (in so many words), she, and I am not making this up, said goodbye while I was in mid-sentence and began stalking her next victim.
Unfortunately, the Mary Kay lady (yeah, I just called her out) has been thoroughly coached by higher-ups who have done just enough research to have told her "hey, there's a new way to reach out and touch someone."
@Gary WOW that's pretty brazen. More brazen than the MK lady, admittedly. I can just not friend Miss MK. That's something I hadn't thought of--that it's the corporate marketing team that has started to train their reps to use social media. If that's the case, SHAME on Mary Kay for making their reps look like idiots.
I totally agree with your sentiments, and wish these "friend spammers" would take note, especially those on Twitter and MyBlogLog, where I personally witness the most offenses. Another similar group are the popularity fanatics who aren't trying to sell their company's product but rather their own image by friending everyone and anyone they encounter for the sake of feeling popular.
I usually don't friend anyone I haven't already been following in some form or another, and if I am friended by someone I don't know I will check out their posts and/or websites before deciding if their content relates or appeals to me before friending them back.