Comments on: Free Speech on Twitter?

By: Shay Bastain

Shay Bastain — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:43:34 +0000

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.

By: Peter Lucash

Peter Lucash — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:11:39 +0000

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

By: Lyn Mettler

Lyn Mettler — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:24:19 +0000

Yea Ian (Eyebee)! Well said.

By: Eyebee

Eyebee — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:02:10 +0000

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.

By: Mark Hundley

Mark Hundley — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:25:15 +0000

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!

By: Lyn Mettler

Lyn Mettler — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:21:04 +0000

Terry-
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. Who cares if someone at your PR firm doesn’t like your city? And who cares if everyone else sees that too?

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.

By: Terry Hoffman

Terry Hoffman — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:06:41 +0000

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.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:51:31 +0000

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.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:11:12 +0000

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.

By: Comment on Lyn Mettler’s blog post “Free Speech on Twitter?” « Lauren Gaulin

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:04:39 +0000

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