(H)Ello or Goodbye?

Dubbed “the anti-Facebook,” Ello is a ad-free social media network which promises not to data mine. Ello’s website states: “Your social network is owned by advertisers. “Every post you share, every friend you make and every link you follow is tracked, recorded and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold.” Indeed, those are powerful words. The reality of the situation is that when we are sitting down in front of our computers, we are sitting in front of tens of websites tracking our every move.

I think this idea is very optimistic of Ello. Considering the fact that many don’t realize or even understand what data mining is, it’s hard to convince millions of people to jump ship from addicting social media websites such as Facebook. We're on Facebook because our friends are on our Facebook, and thus, the cycle is vicious. The truth is, the company is going to need a huge movement to alert people, and additionally, the movement needs to be big enough to motivate action—something that the Internet often lacks. We all post about things and jump onto trending bandwagons, but rarely do we take real action to make a difference. Think about #takebackourgirls or even further back, #kony. There’s a big difference between the amount of people who share things and the people who donate money or reach out to others in power to help. Thus, Ello has to figure out how to convey data mining in a way that almost disturbs the everyday user. But the truth is, even if we’re not on Facebook, we’re still on other sites that track us. To avoid them all would be nearly impossible.

Of course, if Ello continues to gain more traction, it will eventually create wider consequences for other social media networks. They might feel more pressured to do away with data mining or see their active user base decline dramatically. They might be inclined to revise their data mining practices and become more transparent to their users. Social media users will respond positively because when it comes down it, we all want our privacy. Ello’s future, however, is very shaky. Social media websites thrive on free access, and to encourage users to purchase features might discourage people from using the platform. Additionally, there’s no telling if the company will make enough of a profit to really survive in a cutthroat social media world. In an ideal world, Ello would be the revolutionary social network that changes the game. In a realistic world, however, giants such as Facebook will continue their reign.

Social Media Moderation

As we've learned this week, moderation is key to maintaining a fair and friendly social media space. It's up to social media managers to really move conversations along as well as guide them in the right direction. Below, I share how I would answer two examples of negative feedback on social media. 

Hotel customer: “I am disgusted about the state of your restaurant on 1467 Justin Kings Way. Empty tables weren’t cleared and full of remains of meals. It makes me wonder what the state of your kitchen is?!!! Gross.”

My response: “Hi, [insert name here]. Thank you so much for your feedback. We sincerely apologize that our Justin Kings Way restaurant was not up to standard. We have addressed your concerns about clearing tables with our managers and staff to ensure that this does not happen again. We hope you’ll give us the opportunity to make things right, and if you do come in again, please ask for Nhi. I would love to meet with you and discuss this further.”

Mainstream news network viewer: “Your reporting on the Middle East is biased in the extreme. You gave almost all your air time to spokespeople for the Israelis last night and there was no right to reply for the Palestinians. The conflict upsets me so much and your reporting of it, saddens me even more and makes me f**king furious.”  

My response: “Hi, [insert name here]. As a news organization, we strive for accuracy and fairness, and we sincerely apologize if it seemed as though we gave preference to either side. We have passed your message on to our team, and we do hope that you’ll give us another chance. If you have any additional concerns, please contact us any time at [insert email address here]. Thank you so much for your feedback.”

My strategy for both responses was to react as calmly and apologetically as possible while being personable. I think you should always apologize, address specific concerns to show that you read and understood the post and thank the user for their feedback. The second post was a bit trickier because even though the station showed both sides of the conflict, I wanted to avoid further confrontation and did not call it out. Instead, I gave them an e-mail address where they can voice their concerns away from other eyes. 

Social Media Suicide

When it comes to managing social media reputation, no one failed harder than Applebee’s did in 2013. At the time, the restaurant fired one of its employees for posting a receipt from a customer who crossed out the included gratuity and wrote, “I give God 10% why do you get 18?” The company cited the employee’s contract as well as privacy issues as grounds for the termination.

Applebee’s posted an apology to the guest on their Facebook page, making no mention of said employee.

Social media users raised their imaginary pitchforks in defense of the waitress, pointing out that other receipts—which were positive—had been posted to Facebook before. Then, disaster struck.

Someone who had full reigns to the Applebee’s Facebook page began responding to each and every negative comment in the middle of the night. To make matters worse, the responses were copy and pasted, further angering users. Then, Applebee’s did the unholiest thing in social media networking: they began hiding and deleting negative comments as well as blocking users. Which—surprise!—spawned twice as many negative actions. R.L. Stellar (whom I wholeheartedly credit all screenshots to from his amazing photo essay) cited about 20,000 comments overnight, most of them negative. Confused Applebee’s Facebook Manager then decided to post an essay-length comment to the original status update. 

But wait, it gets better. Applebee’s then starts posting that same comment over and over again, tagging people who have commented something negative. Users did not respond kindly. As the night goes on, Confused Applebee’s Facebook Manager resorts to tagging people and arguing with them. Sigh.

Morning arrives, and the company posts one more status update thanking fans for “the chance to explain.”

As a social media manager, you cannot deflect incidents like this. Additionally, it’s impossible to ignore that people were extremely angry about the termination of the employee. Regardless of company policy, Applebee’s should’ve stepped up to save face.

In that situation, I would’ve contacted my PR director and/or crisis manager. You should never be making decisions on your own in the middle of the night… (AKA step away from the keyboard). Second, an official apology should’ve been drafted, specifically addressing the employee termination. The apology should be posted once and only once. Things will eventually blow over and people will move on to the next disaster. Third, reassess the company policy and perhaps reinstate employee with some sort of ceremony thanking her for all her hard work and awarding her with an all-expenses paid vacation. Crisis. Averted.