When I first dived into Twitter, my initial impression was “why is everybody yelling at me?”
For the first few months of my involvement, it seemed anyone I followed was ranting about/bemoaning the “bad behavior” of other Twitter users. Don’t do this, don’t do that. It was extremely off-putting.
And then I’d run into the “Don’t tell people they’re doing it wrong! You can’t do it wrong!” No wonder people drop off Twitter. Who can keep track of the etiquette when it contradicts itself? It would seem from all those ranty tweets and posts that you certainly COULD do it wrong. WTH, everyone?
Of course…I became one of those people! I cringe when I see the ALL CAPS TWEETS. Meaningless #FF tweets. Or on Facebook, which I joined after Twitter. Really, song lyrics as status update – are you a 13yo girl? Does your JOB know you play Pet Society this much? Hide hide hide hide.
Still, even as I was sucked into the etiquette police, I wanted to write something about not yelling at everyone so much. Especially lately. But this morning I woke up to this item from one of my favorite shopping sites, Modcloth.com: The social media citation pad.
Where are my programmer friends at? We need to digitize this. Let’s just do it. Like a version of someecards. We can just cite people in a tweet and get on with our lives. CITATION: ACRONYM ABUSE! CONSIDER THIS A WARNING. Each citation will be accompanied by a picture of a sad dog – maybe Jon Buscall’s basset hounds!
We can do this.
Oh, sure! Just steal pics from http://www.bassethounds.nu
Or mail me for more !!!
Jon, thanks for your support of this groundbreaking initiative. I’m glad the woofs are in on it.
LOL! OMG! U R 2 Funny! 🙂 I <3 U!
TTYL,
UR BFF
E
CITED FOR EXCESSIVE SARCASMÂ
Too funny!!! Let me know if some programmers get this up and running!
Thanks Laura!
Thanks Laura!
I wanna add some to the list of citations!
1) Auto-DMs. It’s like being greeted by a sales associate with a scripted welcome, and then you hear him recite it verbatim to each person who walks in behind you.Â
2) Sending me a tweet with a link when I’ve never spoken to you before, and when I check your feed (before clicking on that link), I see you’ve sent that same tweet w/a a link to 50 people. Blocked and reported.
3) Using a profile picture of yourself in a bikini or otherwise skin-flaunting photograph. Says to me, “I want congressmen to send me sexy pics so I can have 15 minutes of fame.”
I wish I knew some song lyrics to post. But all I can think of is Amazing Grace right now. Not fair.
There are so many social media crimes! Maybe @lauraclick:disqus ‘s husband can draft up some laws for this.
There are so many social media crimes! Maybe @lauraclick:disqus ‘s husband can draft up some laws for this.
For #2.. I’ve always wanting TweetDeck or Twitter to have an effect, like a bug zapper or toilet flushing. Only really, the offending spammer should get that in return but alas, they’re mostly auto RSS crap anyway. The other 2 are already on my lists.Â
Okay, I want the bug zapper. This is a great idea. We gotta go into business, Davina. We’ll sell the sound effect & citation to Hootsuite for integration. Who do you know? Let’s do this.
#2 kills me; it’s hard for me not to try and be helpful; what I hate is when I’m asked to comment on a post that’s 2 years old and I fall for that. Can’t find a date, but content is relevant, yet that’s just wrong, you know?
I have to take exception to the no song lyrics!
These are pretty awesome. Feel free to fine me in Kangaroo Court for my TMA, though in my defense I use pretty common phrases and expressions, often listed in online dictionaries. Tweeting songs NOT lyrics, guilty on a rare occasion. If something good is playing, and my stream is in need of a human personality update. And I haven’t been a teenaged girl in a long time. And I’ve turned off notifications and keep FB separate, so folks don’t know how long I can play Farkle in one sitting. Ahem.
You’ve read my rants; why tweet weather when tons of your followers ain’t there? I’ve done it.. if warning folks I’ve got storms and might lose power during a chat… otherwise, no. Too many motivational quotes? This is when I’ll call for a bot (seen some funny ones) .. say for every 10th consecutive uplifting tweet of drivel, that person is spammed with a demotivational one. Liking your own status?! Please when you invent your social version of this, you should be able to mock, unlike and unfollow all in one click.Â
You’re too funny. Whose blog just had someone comment about those acronyms Davina uses??? I LOL on that one, Friend!
Davina, I always understand you & your acronyms – I have a set of non-internet friends who use the lingo.
Being a music geek, I post songs on Facebook fairly often. I have geeky friends who post lyrics sometimes. I won’t kill anyone for that – the other stuff, Auto-DM’s – #follow-me-follow-back-team-follow-back, lists of #ff’s with no reason WHY I should follow them, those are offenses I care about. 🙂
The other stuff, really as long as they leave me alone, I am cool. Who am I to judge? Some days I am a fool, and other days I am not. The thing I think is really stupid is when people RT tweets that mention them – no matter what the tweet says (ick!)
Anyhow, I need to go take a picture of my genitals and send it to someone and them ask them to lie for me. Bye!
Thanks, Nancy, for sharing…I think we need a second installment of this post and add all the comments up into our own list! Jenn, wasn’t that your idea anyway?
I’m enjoying everyone sharing how “I do this bad behavior who cares? oh by the way I hate such and such other behavior.” I have my peeves, you have yours, it’s all allowed.
Let me know how the photos work out.
Has anyone ever checked out the right wing hash tags? I did during healthcare reform debate. Twitter is the wild west. Racism. Hate. Fear. Lying.Alive and well. Including name the GOP congressperson. Shocked at what I saw knowing what was tweeted was public.
Maybe before etiquette we can start with honesty and civility? Sorry on my phone can’t log in but this be yer chief alien!
Hey, Howie! We know who you are, Man. Watch that alien Twittering; you are on the list. Like that you’re here; keep it up.
It’s my buddy Howie! Yeah!
It’s funny you mention right-wing hashtags. When I read a particularly insufferable blog post from someone about using social media for business, etc., I then check the topics trending on Twitter. Yeah. Gives me some levity.
The left wing hash tags are just as bad. All the political posters should just mud wrestle
But I think people want to know I’m at Starbucks and I think if I tweet it enough somebody will eventually respond.
Auto DM’s big yuck.
I probably RT more stuff than original content; but like I said, I can only tell people I’m at Starbucks so many times.
That’s my story and I’m sticking with it………..
I’m gonna start tweeting that I’m NOT at Starbucks. What do you think about that? Will I get cited?
I so flippin love all you jamokes taking your sweet Saturday nights to respond on this blog. Me? I checked in at Starbucks today on Foursquare and Facebook places (to check that tool out) and I’m sitting in a hotel working for the last five hours. So what does that say about our social lives? We tune in here to have a good time. #SAD
Here’s my pet peeve. I call it TwitterSpam.  It is BAD. If the link shortener is the same, somebody is copying from somebody. If they are posted at exactly the SAME second by twitterfeed… I begin to wonder who’s idea it is. The end result is that to me the content is USELESS.  A waste of the 20 seconds it takes me to look at the same message twitterspammed at me…
That same thing happens to me–I just start overlooking their tweets–or at least if I think any of the content is interesting I get rid of all but one.
Look at this bio from a new follower:
“I am a future architect. Understanding me is no more complicated than building a nuclear reactor from wristwatch parts in a darkened room using only your teeth.”
It’s like looking at a train wreck. Morbid. Scary sense of unreality.
All in all, a must-follow for sure!
G’Day Jayme,
 I’m not on Twitter as befits my curmudgeon status. I am really but I never post anything. I’m too busy boosting my LinkedIn stuff. Anyway, what would James Cagney say about all this tehnobabble  nonsense. I don’t think that “Yankee Doodle” would find it very “Dandy.”
Independent your day Jayme
Regards
Leon
Oh, Leon; my muse, my dry humor Aussie friend. Was driving back from a weekend getaway with a gazillion other peeps. Took kidlet to Smokey Mountains area in Tennessee where it was 100 flippin degrees and a gazillion autos. But, I knew this to be true before I went.
Thanks for the independent thoughts and wishes; so glad for your time to say so, too!