What makes you CRINGE at an author or musicians use of social media?
I’m leading a social media intensive tomorrow at B&H publishing.
You know what that means?
They want to know about YOU.
Because you are the cat’s pajamas.
ANSWER THIS PLEASE ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA AND AUTHORS OR MUSICIANS.
What makes you cringe at their use of social media?
What makes you smile at their use of social media?
Los
Please SHARE this with your tweets and facebook amigos so I get a good set of answers!
RAIN IT DOWN
Can I offer up a pet peeve about BRANDS instead? I hate it when a brand rep on social media consistently publishes fluff and ignores something larger they were put in touch with.
Give an example. I love this.
One example I can think of is how most of them make use of the Facebook Page. They use status updates for ad space instead of engaging the fans/product users.
It’s more than slightly obnoxious when it becomes obvious that their only use of twitter and other social media is to promote their “brand” ie. books/music/etc. When using social media becomes nothing more than a billboard, you get ignored like all the other forms of advertising. Be GENUINE with your fans/followers, be OPEN, SHARE your life.
I agree
Total agreement! If I “follow” or “friend” someone, that means I’m interested in them, not just their product. I have actually stopped following/friending and NOT bought into their service or product because they appear as only interested in selling something at any cost! Social media is for connecting. Endless self promotion is as boring in social media as it is in real life! Don’t get me wrong, let me know what you’ve got (‘cuz if I like you, I’m gonna buy it) but don’t let it be the only form of “communication”.
I couldn’t agree more!
Love this.
With social media in general, I find it irritating when public figures, corporations, etc. post irrelevant information simply to be able to have a social media presence. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
On the other hand, I like it when public figures give you a glimpse in to their personal life without getting too personal and compromising the integrity of their closest relationships.
Perfect.
When they are constantly trying to SELL me something. Hey, I already like you. Offer me a peek into who you really are and I will like you more. Then I will even tell my friends about you. I may not buy something tomorrow, but when I need something you sell I will remember.
personal life.
Cringeworthy: When they use social media merely as a megaphone, missing that it is…..social media. When there is no interaction, I tune out really fast.
Smileworthy: See above. Big props to musicians when they engage with people like a neighbor instead of just a fan.
Yeah…agreed.
When they use it like a megaphone…one way communication. Using social media as a voice and not a conversation…ugh.
I like the “here’s what I like, what do you like” kinda posts. Sometimes a preference of coffee…sometimes about homosexuality…whatever…good conversation.
It’s definitely when more than 10% of all their posts are RT’s (or posts) about the great things people are saying about their product. “RT @1234 Just read ______. It was so good.” Aren’t you just RT’n to the people who already follow you and like your product already? You don’t need to tell me again how much I liked it.
Hope your session goes well man.
aka The Self Promoting RT
Cringe – quoting their own lyrics or lines from their book(s).
Smile – genuinely engaging their followers and posting things that help me understand who they are as a human being.
I love when musicians use social media to communicate:
1. Their hearts, passion, or vision for their calling.
2. Information about projects they’re working on, photos, video updates, etc.
Things that make me cringe… Self-promotion, advertising themselves, ME ME ME.
I have a hard time with (like everyone else) too much self promotion. And re-tweets aren’t great if in excess, but sometimes they are good. I have found some great people to follow off of retweets. And then there is the Constant intagramers, like LosWhit. That guy is just too much.(I love your pics bro, makes me wanna hang out with you sometime)
Cringe: When they post videos of making their kids cry while they’re driving…oh wait…nevermind…
Cringe:
RT’ing compliments.
Calling their followers their “friends”
Asking for personal favors from their “friends”
Smile:
Giving away time & resources. (hosting tweet ups, giving away the chords for that song or the outline template that works best for you when you write, etc.)
Responding to tweets from your followers that AREN’T ABOUT YOU.
Be funny. Genuinely funny. Too much business is no fun for anyone.
“asking for personal favors”
I totally agree. I can’t stand it when some one with a lot of followers tweets something like “Detroit peeps, I need a ride to the airport”,
I guess I just don’t believe if a complete stranger asked them over twitter for a ride, they would do it.
actually, it kinda depends with this one. I remember when someone who, ahem, runs this blog had car trouble or something out west. i don’t remember the details, but i think he asked if anyone could point him to a garage or could produce a specific part or something like that. And some kind soul delivered. I would have been glad to help them, too, had i been able to. But then, he has built a relationship with his followers that fits in line with other stuff said here. I wouldn’t have felt used. i actually felt like he had built a community, for someone to respond like that.
Cringe:
–On Twitter: Follow, then unfollow after a person follows back
–No interactivity. And that doesn’t just mean no @replies/RT’s/DM’s (in Twitter-speak) but showing no sign in their tweets that they read the @’s. Counter-case: Bart Millard rarely @’s but he’s very interactive. In other words: using the social media to “Broadcast.”
–Most of content are auto-posts from blog/BandPage/other online “tools.” Say something besides “I’m playing tonight/check out my latest blog.” (see above about using social media to “Broadcast.”
–Passing along the latest partisan half-at-best-truth. Either side of the aisle, I don’t care.
Smile:
–Interaction. Again, just show a sign that you’re reading what we’re saying.
–”Opening up.” This is one that’s not for everyone, and that’s fine. But if you’re not afraid to shed the “artist” and show the “person,” do so.
That’s what I can think of, top-of-mind. In general I think what makes me cringe most is someone using social media because they are told they HAVE to. When that’s the case it’s pretty obvious. They have to want to, at least a little (which is tough, because I know it isn’t for everyone).
A social media presence doesn’t mean your brand can have a conversation.
Just because you exist, doesn’t mean you’ve arrived, or your doing it correctly. You’re actually doing a dis-service by just existing on social media.
Engage > Get Feedback > Change > Repeat
Along the self-promotion line of thinking: We get that people have a blog. We get that posting a link to said blog on twitter helps promote your blog and drive traffic. What makes me cringe is the multiple, multiple social media postings linking to the same blog post. Over and over and over. We get it. You posted something new. Can we move on now?
I agree with everyone else- social media should be just that- social media. If I wanted an alert every time someone updated a blog or a website, I would add it to my Google Reader account. I don’t expect my twitter/facebook feed to be an extension of google reader.
Be human. Don’t just be a blog.
(comments above in no way directed toward Los!)
The self-promoting retweet kills me.
Constant product push.
Formal vernacular.
Over tweeter.
Under tweeter.
I’ll echo the re-tweeting compliments – huge turn-off!
Props to NeedtoBreathe for having a really good social media presence – loved last week when they tweeted the track titles for their new album one per hour. Good balance of getting people pumped about the new album and staying personal and interactive.
I detest the request for me to retweet them. I won’t. I also detest them retweeting something great that someone else tweeted about them or their book.
2 things that make me cringe:
1. I hate when they follow me so I’ll follow them back…then they unfollow me.
2. Constant product promotion instead of interaction with the customers who are purchasing those products
I agree with previous comments. Social media is about conversations, but many times authors/ musicians, or people in general, make it one-way conversations. If I comment about how I like your music, a thank you would be nice. So would a Follow back. It makes a fan feel special when their favorite artist follows back.
In short, I cringe at non-follows and non-engagement & I smile at follow-backs and replies.
Sounds like a choir singing the same note by this point, but I have to say:
SELF-PROMOTION. I understand you have to put yourself out there at times. But when nearly every tweet is about the tweeter, it’s exhausting. This would include retweeting COMPLIMENTS, which seems to me to be the most magnificent display of self-promotion possible on Twitter.
What makes me smile? Interaction between “all stars” and Junior Varsity. I’m JV, to the core. But when someone like Jon Acuff or Matt Chandler has responded to me, it reminds me we’re not that different and that we serve the same Creator.
We want depth, not sales. We’ve had 40+years of TV commercials, let’s not do that again. I’m a fan of an author or actor, I want to connect with them and the brand. I want to know how the brand does stuff. Don’t be afraid to tell real stories. B&H is still kind of old school. Do some research, find out who your audience is and what they do.
HIRE ME…lol!
So many of us brag and talk about ourselves that it seems like social media has degenerated into Brag-Fest, a popularity contest of egos, where no one is listening and everyone is talking at the same time.
Humblebraggers. “Had lunch with Stephen King at 21 Club and later realized I had spinach in my teeth #cringe”
Ugh.
Also, tweeting about inane things everyone does. “Enjoying dinner with my wife #loveher”
Double ugh.
The first I don’t like. However the second, to me it shows they are normal to the world that (1) they still love their spouse and (2) enjoy time with their spouse. With so much angst, divorce, splits, affairs, it’s nice to know that some of those who are in the public eye are still doing the right thing.
A couple of things are cringe worthy. A lot of people have mentioned the endless self-promotion, completely true, I’ll drop someone like a hot potato for that. But what really makes me cringe is when you feel like they are pursuing some form of being a celebrity christian. Like their value is based in how many followers they have or they are constantly talking about their stats, etc. Also if someone projects and idea that one’s value is attached to how deep/big their “spiritual” impact is. I just don’t need that in my life, and I’ll cut it out.
Truth moment: I actually stopped reading your blog, los because I got so tired of the whole celebrity christian thing ( I don’t know that you were necessarily projecting it, I honestly don’t remember at the time what made me associate your blog with that concept ) but anyway, I started reading again a while back (again don’t remember exactly when) cause I’d visit now and then and was genuinely drawn in by transparency/authenticity and topics I was interested in. So props to you.
Yea. You can’t help what people place on you, but you can keep being you…
Cringe List:
* Constant political tweets (if you’re not a politician.) Yes, I know you have a right to your view but I’m not following you to get politics preached at me.
* Retweeting of people who retweet you. Makes me think “My gosh, how big IS your ego?”
* Following me and then unfollowing when I follow back. I have a program that tells me who unfollows me. You do the “follow/unfollow” routine and I’ll know you’re only out to grow your “follow” number.
* Saying “who wants…” and then not responding to anyone who says they want it.
Smile list:
* Obvious interaction with followers that engages beyond “Hey…thanks!” Something that says you actually looked at their page.
* Tweeting about real life things. I know “Jay” above me said the tweeting about dinner with your wife irritates him but I think it’s great in this society to see someone not afraid to pump up their wife/husband.
* When a celeb isn’t too stuck up to laugh at themselves.
Add content not advertisement to my life. I can’t stand when you hear 12 times a day through twitter about their new album and where I can go get it.
I absolutely cringe when someone vomits on Twitter (Tweets rapid fire so that my screen has more of them than other people).
I also cringe when I see people use “tinyurl” used to shrink URLs.
I could also echo everything else that has already been said.
And to see someone without a profile pic or bio filled out is just mind blowing.
I have to also mention it makes me cringe when I see authors, bloggers, or musicians use foul language.
sorry Los.
I agree on the foul language thing. Really bugs me, I just don’t get it.
Foul to you or foul to them?
Obviously what is foul to one isn’t foul to another… but there are certain obvious words that are considered foul in our culture. I think for me, I associate those words with some pretty crappy/scary experiences in my life, used in anger to tear down, so I just don’t like to hear them at all. And it seems like a contradiction (to me) when I hear christians using them. That’s just my two cents for what it’s worth. I realize my perspectives are skewed by my experiences, as are anyones. And I try to not hold it against people – sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully. I don’t usually make a comment about it, but it seems to have come up a lot for me lately, and I’ve really struggled with getting past it with a few people.
I don’t think it matters if the la gauge used is foul to them, what matters is the audience. Otherwise it’s self-centered. Even non-Christians have standards and understand there are words appropriate for public use, & there are words that are vulgar which are inappropriate for public use. As Christians, we’re called to higher standards– specifically Colossians 3:5-11 gives done good examples. I don’t see the fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22)in either does anyone else– in vulgar language.
On another note, I would love to see a “Subscribe to comments” feature on here Los!
cringe:
The only people they bother responding to are other ‘celebrities’.
When they point us to what other people are saying about them (good or bad).
So, what to do about it?
Christian folks need to think about this verse before they tweet something related to their *brand*.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
If it doesn’t derive from that mindset, don’t tweet it.
Is your tweet glorifying God or is it only done to line your own pocket?
love it.
love getting @replies from actors/authors/artists or seeing that they have a crew they do that with. It tells me they’re really there and not just doing this for self promotion.
I like the “online community” of twitter.
don’t love the over-promotion of one’s latest blog post/fund raiser/brand. Although if this is a big part of their life, they’ll be tweeting about it, and that’s ok. The “don’t love” part is when it’s 100% of their tweets. Obviously missing out on the “online community” since we’re now ONLY talking about their blog post/fund raiser/brand.
To me it’s about that community. it takes being real, present, and involved for that to happen.
“I got some free stuff to give away by some random sponsor. To enter the contest you have to comment, tweet, like, call your grandma, do 50 push ups, and give me a sloppy wet kiss”
Sheesh.
Everybody loves freebies.
No body likes a Feed-hog.
Cringe: when the only time they tweet is when their new book or album is out, and all they tweet is where to buy it.
Smile: When people use Instagram or post pics, it give people a glimpse into their lives and into their perspective.
Cringe: When the majority of their tweets consist of something you could get by Googling or checking their site, i.e. “Hey Pittsburg peeps! Hope to see you at ____Church on Friday at 7:00 pm” immediately followed 4 minutes later by, “Hey Baltimore peeps! Can’t wait to see you at ____Hall on Saturday at 7:00 pm!”
Also? Constant stream of peppy, bumper-sticker-ish, Life Coach-y, Zig Ziglar-esque statements. A little goes a LOOOOOONG way.
Smile: Randomly funny non-sequiters or self-deprecating jibes, or rhetorical questions that make no sense, or smart-ass (but not mean-spirited ) observations… Big fan of the clever/funny, also enjoy the occasional Deep Thought.
When it’s a Me Monster. Brian Regan has a hilarious take on them at dinner parties: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVWHa5cpMZo
I follow several Christian artists on Twitter. In February, Disney held a Night of Joy Youth Pastor event. At the time, I received tweets from almost all the artists who performed during it. There were several tweets that went out from an artist that left something to be desired. You have been brought to Disney to perform. I’m not sure how the artists were paid, however, I think that the tweets could have been a “wee” bit more gracious than they were. My friend mentioned to me, had she been his manager, she’d have taken away his Twitter account. (I quit following this artist.)
That is the only time I’ve been disappointed in an artist via Twitter. Some of the Christian artists on Twitter are absolutely amazing to follow. Absolutely some of the most edifying and encouraging tweets ever and somehow always at the perfect time for what’s going on in my family. Example: Duncan Phillips of Newsboys, Lecrae, Kirk Franklin, Mark Hall of Casting Crowns.
I immediately ignore anything on Twitter that is “promoted” (ie the trending topics on the right that explicitly say “promoted” next to them). And don’t even think about ending a tweet with “Please RT!” And if you bombard my feed with seventeen tweets in a day that are just iterations of one another, you’re definitely getting unfollowed.
i absolutely hate when anyone retweets a tweet about himself/herself.
and i also hate when people abuse Twitter by using it like a conversation. a couple back-and-forth tweets are fine. but don’t have a super long conversation with someone as public tweets. that’s what DM is for.
oh. and i also hate when i feel the need to unfollow a user because he/she gets on a kick where they feel the need to tweet 10-15 times in as many minutes. you’re not that important.
What makes me cringe…
* No dialogue
* They only update when they release a new product, no follow up
* You don’t know who’s posting
It’s sort of funny…we are trying to generate a sense of community on these things, and it truly will never happen.
I wrote a artilce on this topic “The Numbing Effect of Social Media”
http://www.calebgordon.com/?p=2239
Here is part of the blog:
“After several weeks of just hanging out with people “Face to face” (no NOT ON FACEBOOK) I have come to understanding that social networking is really numbing us to true community. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have reunited with several old friends via FB, and it has been a great tool to use to get the word out about certain things, but here is the thing it numbs us.
Numbs us to the real idea of community. I sat for an hour Sunday night and talked to a guy, and we shared our life stories, and our pains, and our joys…and as a result the gospel was shared and he is now a brother in Christ. Sitting down together and actually talking is so much more effective than just updating a post on FB or twitter….”
You can read more at:
http://www.calebgordon.com/?p=2239
OOPPPS
wrong link!
http://www.calebgordon.com/?p=2339
Cringe: constant self-promotion, not having Google alerts set up (or checking their mentions on twitter) to know when they’re being discussed & join the conversation, berating an appreciative fan for lending their book to friends or getting it out of the library (instead of buying it). yes, that happened to me & it made me never want to promote that author’s work again. Didn’t even get a “thanks for the good review” just, “No! you have to make them buy the book!”
Smile: When authors/artists use social media to promote the work of less-famous artists or to draw attention to a charity they support. Also, just funny tweets about their life, nothing to do w/ their work.
I “liked” Cake on facebook, and I’ve been regretting it ever since. Not only do they post extremely liberal viewpoints everyday (mostly about the environment), it’s usually terribly depressing. My facebook feed goes: cute baby picture, funny story, cool video, Cake comment about how my hamburger for lunch used to be a cow that was injected with hormones and then the cow was savagely shot in the face, cute baby, etc.
@nathanfillion is basically the best celebrity twitter-user ever. Follow him. Learn from him.