@DairyBusiness: Tweeter’s remorse- Athletes teach us a lesson in social media
By Kayla Jentz
If you’re like me (or have a husband like mine), you wake up and go to sleep to the sound of ESPN, or any other of the 100+ sports channels we seem to get. In fact, as I write this, I’m watching the Packers play the Saints- with the “regular” referees – thank goodness, for those of you who know how the game before this went. Okay, done with that rant…
Regardless, children and adults idolize those who play the game. We all have a favorite team or player. So, it makes us cringe when we see the aftermath of a poor performance or poor refereeing play out on social media.
I won’t deny that some of the Packers are guilty of this sin, especially after the “replacement” refs made the team a martyr in their ridiculous “simultaneous catch” call in a last-second, game-ending scenario in Seattle. (Maybe I’m not done ranting?)
In this case, I’ll give them some slack, but usually I hate hearing a player blame refs, other players, coaching or just about anything they can think of following a game. In the morning, we see the tweets from players laying the blame on anyone but themselves.
However, we can learn from these sports’ tweets, even in the dairy industry.
Scenario #1: A player sends an offensive tweet and gets fined or suspended by his/her team or the league.
Lesson-learned: Think before you post/tweet. Don’t write something in the heat of the moment. If you feel so passionately about it, write it, then save it. If you feel passionate about it an hour later, then post. Knee-jerk reactions often make even the best of us look like fools.
Scenario #2: A player trashes another player, commentator, or the sport itself.
Lesson-learned: Just don’t do it. It reflects poorly on you and your business (farm or otherwise). I hate seeing “small” farmers trashing “large” farmers, or vice versa; or organic/conventional producers trashing the other way of life. Focus on your own business, and when/if you’re in a situation where you need to be critical of someone else’s way of life, make sure you mention both the pros AND the cons.
Scenario #3: Twitter-frequent athletes leave you wondering how they make it through the game without their cell phone or laptop?
Lesson-learned: You control your use of social media. You can use it as little or as often as you like. It’s a great tool for promoting your farm, brand or yourself. There are times when you will use it often, and times when you won’t use it at all. Don’t think you need to be on it 24/7, but don’t leave a business page vacant for months at a time.
I’m sure that many of us are guilty or one or more of these “scenarios”. Just some things to think about before you have tweeter’s or poster’s remorse.
Until next time,
Kayla
FYI
• Kayla Jentz is associate editor, DairyBusiness Communications. Contact her via e-mail: kjentz@dairybusiness.com or phone: 608-848-1420.
