Comments on: Twitter and the lack of context http://directmarketingobservations.com/2009/01/09/twitter-and-the-lack-of-context/ Quick hits on Social Media, Marketing, and Technology Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:38:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: What’s up with Twitter? http://directmarketingobservations.com/2009/01/09/twitter-and-the-lack-of-context/#comment-2957 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:53:34 +0000 http://directmarketingobservations.com/?p=1370#comment-2957 [...] 2 of them) dedicated just to talk about how to twitter. And of course, there are people who have a different opinion about it as [...]

]]> By: marc meyer http://directmarketingobservations.com/2009/01/09/twitter-and-the-lack-of-context/#comment-2745 Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:42:42 +0000 http://directmarketingobservations.com/?p=1370#comment-2745 @Daria, thanks for the inspiration, though it was in my head, your thoughts got it going again.
@Angela going back to a simplistic form of communicating may be the answer, I agree.
@Sonny Hiccups in every industry indeed Sonny, thanks for bringing perspective and reason to the convo.

]]> By: Transparency - The Double-edged Sword | SonnyGill.com http://directmarketingobservations.com/2009/01/09/twitter-and-the-lack-of-context/#comment-2741 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:09:03 +0000 http://directmarketingobservations.com/?p=1370#comment-2741 [...] yesterday. We had a great chat as we talked about an issue that’s been on his mind of late – the lack of context on Twitter. He had some deep thoughts on the matter and got the perspectives of several other great people as [...]

]]> By: Sonny Gill http://directmarketingobservations.com/2009/01/09/twitter-and-the-lack-of-context/#comment-2740 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:55:02 +0000 http://directmarketingobservations.com/?p=1370#comment-2740 Great write-up on an intriguing topic on Twitter. In the end, it’s a very fine line that we have to cross and will only get easier as this industry grows. There’s going to be hiccups along the way and things we, as a community, have to deal with to get it there.

It was great chatting with you yesterday, Marc and look forward to more great stuff from you!

]]> By: Angela Connor http://directmarketingobservations.com/2009/01/09/twitter-and-the-lack-of-context/#comment-2738 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:59:36 +0000 http://directmarketingobservations.com/?p=1370#comment-2738 This is going to sound like a really simplistic viewpoint, but think back to all of the conversations we had about context and e-mails. Remember when you’d be completely upset with a person sitting three cubicles down or on another floor because you found their email totally out of line and offensive? You may have thought you were on the brink of being fired because your boss sent a one-liner via e-mail that stated: “We need to talk.” You impart your own tone into that then you work yourself up about the fact that he or she didn’t even say good morning when they saw you earlier in the day. Couple that with their body language in a meeting three weeks ago and the way they looked at you in the hall and you’re already packing up your desk! My thought is this: Just re-read it before you hit update. Just like you reread an e-mail, start doing it with your tweets. If it doesn’t sit well, erase those 140 characters and start over. We cannot eliminate context, but we can go back to what we know, and this was a big deal with email and it really isn’t anymore. We’ve refined our methods, or we simply pick up the phone when we know the email just won’t work.

]]> By: Daria Steigman http://directmarketingobservations.com/2009/01/09/twitter-and-the-lack-of-context/#comment-2737 Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:48:04 +0000 http://directmarketingobservations.com/?p=1370#comment-2737 Hi Marc,

Good food for thought. I’m so glad you’re continuing this discussion about Twitter and context and that moment where we realize someone just didn’t get what we were saying. Some of this is inevitable, and that’s okay. Because the alternative is either tweet paralysis or a lot of people composing stilted missives devoid of any personality.

What I really struggle with is how we should respond when the crowd decides to interject itself and essentially starts screaming online, either with stridency, sheer volume, or both. I’m not so worried about one person taking something out of context; we can always move the conversation off line and clarify or apologize. It’s when that person decides to make it personal and public that the real problem starts.

By the way, if someone doesn’t accept your clarification or apology, it’s their loss, not yours. What counts is that you tried.

Best,
Daria

]]> By: motownmutt http://directmarketingobservations.com/2009/01/09/twitter-and-the-lack-of-context/#comment-2735 Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:41:11 +0000 http://directmarketingobservations.com/?p=1370#comment-2735 Good post, and very true. The good thing is that when it happens to you, (being misunderstood), it does make you assess the “bloody nose in the mirror” and be more careful not just of what you say, but how you say it, and the many ways it can be taken out of context.

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