What we can learn from The Onion about the fickle nature of social media…

One day they love you, the next day they leave (ahem), unfollow you.

Seeing as this is a blog about social media slip-ups, it is impossible not to talk about The Oscars Onion debacle on Twitter this week. Everyone else is talking about it, so why not add more rubber to the tire fire?

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read this and get yourself caught up...

Yes, despite what Miley Cyrus believes, “can’t” is in fact not the real "C" word.

Firstly, I’d like to point out what most media outlets have neglected to mention: The Onion’s twitter account has not only retained its over 4.5 million followers but has added some 6,000 new followers since the fiasco was first picked up by major media outlets.

I’m not going to play the sage and say whether The Onion has acted right or wrong throughout the course of this perceived public relations crisis. However, I will make a couple of surface level observations, in the form of a Top 2 List (just because Top “__” Lists seem to the be all the rage these days):

1. We all must learn to exercise prudence in the real-time world that is social media.

Everyone’s had a status update or tweet (sometimes done in haste, sometimes crafted in a state of drunken rapture) that they would love to take back.

There must be some vetting process in any good social media strategy –whether it be in regards to professional or personal accounts. I don’t want to hear about every single initiative that a company is involved with, nor do I want to know that you are going to the gym and your max weight is 400 lbs, bro.

2. Sometimes controversy in the world of social media is not necessarily a bad thing.

Since Sunday, overall mentions of The Onion have spiked according to social media analyzers NetBase, suggesting that new communications methods are blurring the line between notoriety and fame in the digital realm.

Perhaps we are harkening back to a time where any publicity is good publicity, or as Oscar Wilde famously said, “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”

Maybe we should ask young Quvenzhané for her opinion on that.

Let's all stamp out posts of poor length…

This week we’re going to discuss length... and no not that length, get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about post-length. 

Post-length can sometimes be like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears; some posts seem two long, some posts seem too short and some posts are juuust riight.

Check out this Facebook update:

Apart from some harebrained proposition about re-posting this status to create a “positive intention avalanche,” this post is far too long. The only avalanche I experienced when coming across it on my phone was an avalanche of bother.

But too short can also be equally frustrating at times. A tweet or Facebook update that is one word or an acronym, can similarly annoy people:

...Tbh? Really? To be honest, I think it’s time to sever my social media ties with you, because as social guru Jefferson Lebowski once put it, “the dude does not abide.” 

That being said, if your one word post is this:

...the one word is completely appropriate, because it is in the running for best word in the history of the English language.

The fact of the matter is, apart from Twitter, there are no hard and fast rules for post-length on Facebook and other social media. Too long or too short? The matter will always be up for debate.

At the very least, we all must be aware of the length of our posts. No one would read this blog if each post was 1,500 words long. Nor would they read it if each post was 15 words. Come to think of it, no one reads it anyway. 

That’s all folks!

Respect Your Network. Don't Be An Overposter.

Okay, this week we’re going to discuss overposting – both from companies/organizations and individuals.

It’s a sure-fire way to find yourself removed from newsfeeds, “unfollow”ed on Twitter or perhaps the cruelest of all the social media fates: unfriended on Facebook.

Though frustrating while on a laptop or a desktop, overposting is particularly unwelcome when cruising your desired social media outlet on the small screen of your mobile device.

There is nothing worse than having your morning tinker on your smart-phone (perhaps from the comfort of your own bed, someone else’s bed, breakfast nook or porcelain throne) and seeing 80% of your newsfeed filled with a myriad of inspirational pictures from one single user.

You know the type of pictures I’m talking about:

I get it. You’ve found a quote to live by, and I am very happy for you… but six of them in the row? Posted two minutes apart, rapid-fire, over the course of an hour? 

Now let's check out another example of rapid-posting, as seen on through a Facebook timeline. This fellow's timeline undoubtedly induces seizures on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Ecard... but not every seven minutes.

          

And it’s not just individuals who are guilty of overposting. For some reason, some companies think that if they ignore their social media accounts for an extended period of time, they can make up for it in one spurt of overposting. Unfortunately, five posts in the one day is not equivalent to one post a day, over the course of five days.

A good social media strategy requires constant attention, nurturing and consistent engagement. If you’ve been ignoring your Facebook or Twitter account for a week, don’t think that you can make up for it in one afternoon of overposting.

But don’t take my word for it: a new study has found that the top two reasons users cite for unfriending or unliking on Facebook are “overposting” and “overcrowded walls.”

Check out more on this subject, along with some snazzy graphs, here.

In the end, I am a simple man, trying to make a simple point: Don’t post just for the sake of posting. The last thing you want to be is the “Johnny (or Janey) Overpost” of your social network.

It's a social media website, not a dating website...

A wise man (with a gnarly blog) once said, “The best sign of a healthy relationship is no sign of it on Facebook.”

Despite the comment receiving upwards of 65 “likes” on Facebook, it also initiated fierce backlash from a couple of users who were particularly fond of airing their relationship-related laundry on said social network.

Admittedly, the comment may have exaggerated the issue of relationships on social media to a hilarious and clever extreme, but the general point is still an accurate one.

If you do find yourself entangled in the throws of a budding romance, exercise discretion with updates and profile picture choices. If the first dozen or so pictures one sees when viewing your profile look like this:

  Followed by comments like this:

        
     
…Then it may be time to think about toning it down a tad. This young lady appears to have done nothing else but kiss her boyfriend (from a variety of angles) throughout the latter course of 2012.

At the end of the day, we must remember: It’s a social media profile –serving as a digital representation of our physical lives– and it shouldn’t look like a drunken sexcapade through the photo booth at the mall.