La Piazza

Published by Leyre Velasco

Journalists, politicians, singers, writers, actors and actresses, more and more people from all sections of society join Twitter to share their life with the rest of the world. Some write directly what comes into their head, without help or supervision of an expert in social media.

Are they really aware that, due to the nature of the Twitter network, they are taking major risks? The most notorious one: being wrong … publicly. Being famous, your reputation is at stake. It’s like when a politician is betrayed by a microphone taping “off-the-record” conversations. On Twitter, what you say, how you say it and when you say it, matters. The image of these personalities can get easily damaged to a greater or lesser extent.

The reasons are varied. From blatant typos, lack of general knowledge, unfortunate expressions to, in the worst case scenario, incendiary and offensive tweets to the community.

Let’s take a look at a few curious examples:

• Lautaro, the younger brother of Gonzalo Higuain, Real Madrid player, recently wrote a strong message against Jose Mourinho in the social network. Soon afterwards, the message was deleted, but by then, it was too late. This is what happened: A day before the second leg match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, when his girlfriend asked him on Twitter about the possible departure of Mourinho from Real Madrid, he replied: “It’s the best thing he could do because he is a son of a .. and a chicken who does not know how to outplay Barca (or words to that effect). Oh, don’t bother looking for Lautaro’s Twitter account because it no longer exists.
• Alejandro Sanz certainly writes (or used to write) his tweets himself. His blatant spelling mistakes prove this point. As a result of the harsh criticism he received after a particularly infamous typo, the artist quit the social network. Later on, he reflected on it and justified the mistake on the grounds that his finger had played a trick on the computer keyboard. Whatever. Thanks Alejandro for returning to the network. These lapses generate TT which are pricelessly hilarious!
• But the issue could  get embarrassingly serious. How about what happened to the actor who first got 1 million followers on Twitter? We are speaking about Ashton Kutcher. Months ago, he posted a tweet endorsing the late Jo Paterno, Pennsylvania State University’s American football  coach condemning his firing. Almost immediately, he was inundated with a flood of angry replies. Why? Because the reason behind the sacking had to do with Paterno’s involvement with child abuse. He later deleted the tweet and apologized, but by then the comment had been retweeted so many times, the damage had been done.
• But, of today’s and probably most recent Twitter faux-pas, on a scale of 1 to 10, the case reported by the prestigious paper The New York Times gets a 10.
  Just imagine the scene: The Superbowl. Advertising on a giant digital, mega-cool screen with stars like Madonna performing or David Beckham’s ad for H&M underwear on full display. A rate of 10,000 tweets per second during the last three minutes of the game.
  Roland Martin, journalist of the CNN, issues the following tweet during the event: “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him! #superbowl.”
  The reactions of gay rights groups were immediate. So much so that in the end, even after Mr. Martin and CNN issued the pertinent apologies, we can say that the tweet has cost him the job.

Perhaps this is the downside of free expression in the social networks, where everything is under the watchful gaze of thousands of Twitter users who forgive but don’t forget.

In my opinion, spelling errors are revealing yet excusable, especially because the perpetrator, surely out of ignorance, is not even aware that he is making a mistake. Just a consequence of his sheer lack of attention during spelling and language classes at school.

Something of a different nature is when people from a certain position of influence, say journalists or politicians, express hurtful and offensive thoughts. Therefore, this is my recommendation: Think before you tweet.

Now, to which point should you constrain your natural thoughts? Where is the limit of freedom of speech?

What do you think? We invite you to send us your comments, but remember, if we deem them offensive, they will not see the light That is the advantage of having a moderated blog. Without acrimony.

Published by Leyre Velasco

There can be no denying that social networking is booming, to the point that head-hunters are increasingly using social media to find and research candidates, as we explained on a previous post on online reputation. That’s why it is so important to take good care of it.

However, can you build a certain online reputation deliberately? Well, yes you can. Nevertheless, it will most likely be a reputation based on exaggeration and, occasionally, sheer lie. The Straight Talking Report, a survey commissioned by UK insurance company Direct Line, has revealed that people are more likely to lie on social networking sites like Twitter than in a face-to-face conversation. According to the research, only one in five people claim to be more honest on Twitter or via text messages, compared to a third who say that they are more frank when talking to someone in real life.

In addition, men tend to lie more via text messages than women (17 percent of men compared to 21 percent of women). Another nugget: Women are less likely to be truthful in person than men, with 12 percent more men claiming to be honest face-to-face than women.

In my opinion, this is perfectly normal for a number of reasons:

Firstly, lying is an in-built part of human nature.

Secondly, there is no body language on the Web, and we all know that in real life there are sometimes subtle movements –a gesture, a look, a blush – that can help to differentiate between a lie and the truth.

And finally there is the concept of the relationship between mask and online identity as defined by Dorian Wiszniewski and Richard Coyne. Basically, they point out that whenever an individual interacts in a social sphere they portray a mask of their identity. And this is even more so when social interaction takes place on the Internet, due to the conscious decisions made by the individual to manage their online reputation.

Social networks like Facebook let you design your own image through posts, tweets, comments, opinions, etc. It is obvious that slightly molding the ‘real you’ is absolutely normal as when you are online anyone can see you, read your comments and opinions, etc… and you are more exposed to criticism. Everything depends on the level of honesty you have when creating your online reputation.

What about you? Where do you have your most honest interactions – online or off?

Posted by Leyre Velasco

As we have previously said in many posts, social networks enable communication among millions of users from around the globe. And, just like any form of communication, the Internet is a community that has its own form of etiquette. In my own case, I just have to look at how my Facebook friends or the people I follow on Twitter behave to know how to act, as it is users themselves that have made these rules.

Today, we’ll help you avoid the biggest etiquette pitfalls with these tips:

1. Thank people for their retweets. On Twitter, a ‘retweet’ (or RT) is a previously tweeted message that you share with your followers. It is important to thank for RTs on social media. There are several ways to thank someone for a retweet, and some of them are really funny, as you can see in the following article: 30 Ways to Say Thank You for a Re-Tweet.
2. Use #FF: On Twitter, keywords are preceded by # symbols (or hashtags). If you tag a user name and then the hashtag #FF or Follow Friday, you are signaling to your followers that you endorse those people and they are worth being followed. Now, if someone has included you in a #FF list, you should give them a #FF recommendation as well, thank them for doing so, or both.
3. Attempting to follow someone and then unfollow them before they can follow you is considered rude.
4. Don’t ask your friends for a RT of your tweets. Retweeting a message should be a personal option. If someone likes your tweets, they will retweet them, don’t worry.
5. Don’t use Twitter to promote yourself. Some people only tweet their own blog posts or use Twitter for their own professional gain only.
6. Avoid bombarding your followers with tweets that will flood their timeline. Even if you think your tweets are irresistible…

Well, these have been a few tips on Twitter etiquette. I must admit I don’t always follow them and it is not out of rudeness, as I am truly convinced of the value of good manners, but sometimes I don’t have as much time as I’d like to fulfill the protocol to return mentions, retweets or follow fridays. And on the social networks just like outside the net, I don’t think an untimely response is considered good manners

How do you act on the Web?

Published by Leyre Velasco, March 2011

The other day, my husband and I were sitting al fresco enjoying a coffee, when I noticed a bunch of teenagers sitting at the table next to us. Most of them were fiddling about with their latest generation mobile telephones when I heard one of the girls comment: “You should not have interfered in Laura and Pedro’s relationship. It is none of your business what they do. You have most definitely overstepped the mark! She was reading out loud the comment she had just posted, when a couple other friends immediately posted further comments of the sort.

So what? Yes, I know, it does not have to turn into a nasty situation, but, then again, the opposite could happen very quickly. Because, as Mark Zuckerberg said at a technology conference hosted by TechCrunch: “Today, users are more comfortable sharing more information more openly. The social norms have evolved.” Fair enough, I fully acknowledge the advantages of social networks but, in the case of teenagers, they can be a double-edged sword and I cannot help but thinking how easy somebody’s reputation can publicly and rapidly be damaged. What is known as cyber-bullying or “the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others”.

Because, deep down, and paradoxically, as I am saying this from a blog , I think social networks are the perfect tool to feed one’s ego. And the ego of a teenager is still “in progress”: they need to reaffirm their identity and because the visibility of they write is immediate, they can build their personality as they post along. Some of them actually find it easier to express their views by just hitting Send, or Post than by words. Through social networks, teenagers can get adherence to their comments, involve their allies and reinforce their role as a leader. Harassing the weaker teenager is not a new phenomenon, yet the Internet allows the harasser to take refuge in the comfort of anonymity. Social networks can take the role of the new “toilet wall” where teens used to write insults and names to annoy their colleagues.

It is tricky. Whenever I have mentioned to the parents of friends of my pre-teen daughter how important it is for us to keep an eye on how our kids behave on social networks and how it is vital to promote tolerance and civism, I very often get looks as to say: You, control freak!

Well, all I can say is: would you not warn your baby if his fingers are dangerously close to an electric plug? To me, it is a question of sheer common sense because teenagers are very vulnerable yet adorable creatures (well, most times ) What do you think?

Further information and useful links on cyber-bullying.