I learned a valuable reminder
https://www.ordinary-gentleman.com
today. Last night while tweeting on my Blackberry while at a client welcome reception watching Monday night football (Bears win), I RT’ed a tweep’s tweet. She is a respected high-level marketer from a respected large company. In fact, I’ve done business with her, although indirectly.
Here’s the re-tweet I made, and what caught my eye was the hash tag “#quote.” I knew this did not encompass the entire definition of marketing yet I liked the “authentic voice.”
RT @margaretmolloy: A marketing agency’s greatest value is helping the client find and express its authentic voice. #quote #in
Today, two individuals in my stream called me on the content of the RT I sent:
@FocusCom said: @Soulati gotta disagree. The purpose of marketing is to attract interest in products & services that result in sales.
@BruceServen: @Soulati that’s as good as calling it dead and irrelevant.
I wasn’t clear without searching for the original tweet what I had said that prompted these tweets:
@FocusCom: @Soulati It was an RT. “Authentic voice” sounds lovely, but in reality the role of marketing is to sell stuff.
What I read as a quote from a respected colleague made for a different point of view by others. People RT on the fly, they don’t open the links others post before sharing with their streams, and what results are the varying perspectives that make Twitter so rich. My interpretation is not yours, neither am I attempting to make yours mine. We share opinions, perspectives and information; it’s all good.
Thanks to @FocusCom and @BruceServen for your unassuming blog-post prompt and questions pertaining to this tweet. It gave me a healthy pause and prompted this post that encourages everyone to think before they RT and expect healthy rebuttal when someone takes the time to respond.
Hey Jayme
I always enjoy exchanges with you and I usually learn a lot each time. Loved this blog post as it’s a great reminder that, despite moving at the ‘speed of light’ these days, we do need to pause and absorb what we’re reading and sending. Goes for me, too, so thanks for nudging us all!
Funny how your exchange on that tweet prompted a blog post, but it really had me thinking. Why do we RT, anyway? Is it to get brownie points from the originator? Is it to truly share good and resourceful information? At the end of the day, it’s all of the above. So, thanks for offering me your perspective, as always!
And, I’m hoping you might engage in my new next deal — the SMB Collective. There are references about it on the blog when you have some time. Of course, nowhere near ready to launch and when time comes, you’ll hear more.
This is a timely post for me, Jayme, as I actually did something yesterday that I NEVER do and that bothered me the whole day. I RTed something I hadn’t actually read.
It was a link from someone I usually get good content from and the title made me think it would be a good post. I was mobile at the time and I just RTed it without thinking.
Nobody commented on it, but it bothered me a lot. I pride myself on providing something of a service to my followers by being a “content curator” and picking and choosing good content to pass on. I felt like I had kind of failed at my job in that moment! That and your post are reminding me to keep true to my goals and approach and not make that mistake again. Thank you!
Hi, Neicole! You saw when I RTd the post in question, too. I think we do have a responsibility to gatekeep the content before we send it along, although many of us are rushing to respond. I am very guilty, as well.
I think we tend to beat ourselves up a lot, too. Why? Because we are responsible; because we are accountable to the people in our streams.
Perhaps a good thought-provoking post could be “Why do you RT?” May remind all of us to “think before you RT.” Appreciate your input! Thanks!
Hey Jayme!
The comments got me thinking – why do I RT? For me, it’s about giving credit. Someone tweeted something I liked – I could just tweet it myself and take credit for finding it. But if I came by something great from someone else, well then, I let my followers know where I got it.
Also, the Tweet MeMe widget on your site formats my link to your blog post as a RT !
Thanks for this comment and now it’s become a post. I’ve been thinking along these lines and you pretty much nailed it, Jenn. Why do we RT? Take a look at today’s post to launch in a jiffy. Thanks, as ever, for your support here, Lady. Make it a grand weekend!