Free Speech on Twitter?
January 23, 2009 by Lyn Mettler
Filed under All, social media
I was appalled when I came across this article about a PR pro who was given a tongue-lashing for a seemingly innocuous statement he made on Twitter.
Here is the story:
An employee of Ketchum, a big PR agency, whose Twitter handle is @keyinfluencer posted a tweet while visiting Memphis, where their client, FedEx, is based. See image of the tweet to the right.
He subsequently got reamed out by FedEx and of course his company for this “inappropriate” comment that demonstrated a “lapse in judgment.” Come on!!! The guy’s not allowed to say whether or not he likes the city where the client is based???
We live in America folks. We have free speech here. Let the man be heard.
I guess this really dives to the issue of using Twitter appropriately in a business setting, but I think the corporate world needs to realize this is not a medium they can control. It is not a press release and was never intended to be such. It’s a place where we can freely share our thoughts and that is why it is such a valuable for business. If it was all edited corporate-speak, no one would pay attention.
Sure, @keyinfluencer needs to remember that anything he tweets can be read by the world and have consequences as such, but I’m sure he knew that.
Poor guy had to apologize on his blog, apologize on Twitter and of course apologize to the client. Personally, I think his company should be grateful he has such a following and that he demonstrates they employ people so social media savvy.
And FedEx, put a smile on your face for all the pubilicity this generated and lighten up! Come take my class on Twitter for Business. I’ll bet you’ll learn a thing or two.
What do you think? Was his comment OK or not appropriate? I’d love to hear what everyone thinks!
ridiculous? yes, but come on, are u really all that surprised that this happened??? u remember like a year or two ago when some girl didn’t get some corporate job bc her fb page had some pixs of her parting a little too hard at some club w/drinks in her hand. she didn’t even have to open her mouth the pictures spoke for themselves apparently.
I back free speech to the max. He had it, he used it, and he paid the consequences for it. Should there be consequences to free speech? I don’t think that’s debatable. There just are consequences. I think if he had Tweeted that under his own account, we’d be talking a different ballgame. But he did it on a corporate account, and that was pretty dumb. You represent your company, even on Twitter, if you’re posting under their name.
I think it would have been fine if he had posted it on his own Twitter page, not the company’s. It also sounds like he is bored and unexcited about representing FedEx…not good PR.
I think he made a mistake — free speech is great, but we all know better than to practice it in front of clients by insulting their hometown (or anything else). Good ‘ol media training rules apply online too: Never say anything that you wouldn’t want quoted in the paper, attributable to you.
OK, so where are you all seeing that it was a corporate account? It looks like a personal account to me. And I just cannot fathom what is so terrible about saying this is a city he would not want to live in. I mean, if he had said I can’t imagine anyone wanting to work for FedEx, I think that would be a little different, but for FedEx to get all up in arms about a comment about the city in which they are based is taking it a little far I think.
Having worked as a journalist for more than a decade, I completely support free speech. But, I also believe in keeping some opinions to yourself. As a journalist, I’ve always tried to be objective and let people make up their own minds based on my reporting. Even though this PR rep’s Twitter account was personal, he’s still representing FedEx for his company and may not want to mix business and pleasure. I’ve had a personal blog for a few years and, even though it was not tied to any employer, I subscribed to the idea I wouldn’t post anything I didn’t want my mom, my husband or my boss to read. Great to see this discussion as it raises so many questions about free speech, the Internet and mixing your business and personal online lives.
It seems to me that pretty much everyone involved has over-reacted here.
It’s a pretty innocuous thing to say, but then he does call himself the Key Influencer, so as Spiderman could tell him, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. If he wants to make statements like that he will have to bear the consequences too.
I’m sure Ketchum really could care less, until they got a call from some bigwig at FedEx whose pride in the city has skewed his vision. And they’re certainly going to come down hard on James to avoid the risk of losing such a big client.
Storm in a tea cup stuff. Hopefully everyone has calmed down now, and a PR lesson has been learned.
Lyn, I agree with you statements regarding freedom of speech. On the other hand, I think back to the rules of social contact (manners) and by those widely accepted social rules, one doesn’t insult or demean others or engage in gossip or say things about someone who is not present to defend themselves. Even though a city is not a person, in this case, the CVB for Memphis certainly felt the sting.
Social media is wonderful. It is public speech. It facilitates connections. It is widely disseminated. As much as I’d often like to speak my mind candidly to my peers on Twitter about certain situations, I try to restrain myself. Sometimes I’ve tweeted things I wish I’d not said. My mom always had an old saying up in her kitchen that comes to mind, “Three things come not back – the spoken word, the spent arrow, the missed opportunity.” I think in this case he proved two of them are true.
I agree completely with your thoughts dealing with freedom of speech on Twitter. But…he is representing a company and I would think that in doing that he wouldn’t want to cut down any part of that company, even the location.
I respect the ideas that social media is a place for thoughts and opinions to be exposed, in fact I just wrote a post on my own blog about it, however it’s important to remember that whatever’s written is open for the world to see. If @keyinfluencer wants to speak what’s on his mind, more power to him, but he may to rethink his business strategies…
I think he’s got every right to say what he wants on Twitter. But FedEx has every right to find a new PR agency when their current contract is up.
I read the about @keyinfluencer getting reamed, I have mixed feelings – because yes he has a right to say what he thinks but he has to remember the big picture. I’ve been online for over a decade so I have a long tail of information following me about what I’ve said in the past. With technology what you write online is not private and open for criticism. As one other poster mentioned, he has a right to say what he wants but Fedex has a right to find another ad agency. I’m sure he made the twitter post in a rush and without much thought to the bigger picture. But this is just one lesson learned, you have to filter yourself depending on your goals and objectives.
Free Speech Yes….correct format no….when you are in your clinet’s hometown keep your personal opinions about their hometown to yourself. Should he aplogize for what he tweeted…yes…as someone said..free speech comes with consequences and he was given his…remember this however….the client will never forget it. They may accept the apology…may even say everything is good…but rest assured they will look hard a different firms come contract renewal. This person showed everything that is right and everything that is wrong with Social Media Networking all in one tweet….I love Social Media Networking but when these formats cross business and personal…as we all do…it is very important to pay attention to what you put out there.
He had the right to say what he did, and Ketchum & FedEx had the right to react the way they did. The issue isn’t rights per se but whether it’s smart for companies to be so sensitive to criticism. The reaction from FedEx and Ketchum is getting far more exposure than the original comment he made.
Terry-
Who cares if someone at your PR firm doesn’t like your city? And who cares if everyone else sees that too?
I think you hit the nail on the head. The issue is really whether companies should be so sensitive to criticism and I think they should not. Especially something as tiny as this. If I had been FedEx, I would not have wasted a second on this. I bet this guy was wishing I was his client.
And to me, what makes Twitter so useful is its authenticity. The best Twitterers are those who openly and honestly share their thoughts. Aren’t those the people you read the most? If everyone is feeling all censored and watched and that they might lose their job over every tiny little comment, Twitter is going to become boring to read and lose what makes it such a wonderful marketing tool – the fact that it’s real.
Come on! The comment was about the city not the company! If I read it correctly he made no comments about the company! Since when does a city define a company? Geeez!
If we take the concept of being careful about what we post to the extreme, we would simply not post any comment or opinions whatsoever. Even psting facts might get us into trouble, if it were debatable facts, or if it looked that posting them meant we agreed with them, and a client or employer (or propective ones) didn’t.
For example, say you’re a die-hard Republican. Your blog posts reflect that. Then you apply for a dream job at Company X, and the owner is a confirmed Liberal, reads your blog and decides to employ someone else. Of course, you’d never know that was the reason why you weren’t chosen, but it could happen 9and has happened I’m sure).
Myself I take the view, that I am me. Take me or leave me.
Professionally, I act accordingly, but if, as a client, or boss, you can’t accept that I have a personal and private life, when I’m not working for you, or representing you, then, well, I don’t think we should be working with each other. Period.
Yea Ian (Eyebee)! Well said.
When you’re in business, particularly a personal service business, you are the product. Insulting your customer is simply rude. Some people love Memphis. Some people don’t. Some people love Charleston. Some people don’t. But if my client was tied to the city in a strong way, I wouldn’t be telling the world.
This guy showed poor judgment for someone who is supposed to be an executive in the company. The free speech protection only applies to government. In business, you can’t necessarily say what you want.
Peter
i’m not sure I go along with what you’re saying, but I like the way you put your arguement across in your beliefs. I’m following your RSS.