Tweeter's Bane: Ignoring Audience | Business and Corporate Blogging Service | He Blogs, She Blogs | Business and Corporate Blogging Service

Posted by on November 18th, 2008 at 6:00am

In the aftermath of Barack Obama winning the U.S. presidency, a woman we formerly followed on Twitter posted a series of tearful tweets declaring, “The U.S. is doomed…there’s no hope left.”

She predicted Obama will personally be responsible for outlawing home schooling. When that happens, her teenage daughter will be forced into the evil public school system, where she’ll discover the existence of birth control (because Obama will also outlaw abstinence-only education). Her newly-enlightened daughter will immediately begin engaging in premarital sex, will get pregnant, and will run out and have an abortion because, of course, Obama supports abortion.

Okay, I’m exaggerating a little. Point is, this tweeter succumbed to Blogger’s Bane: She lost sight of her readers. She got so wrapped up in her personal pity party and Chicken Little-ish prophecies that she alienated me (and, I suspect, others who no longer follow her tweets).

Whether you micro-blog on Twitter, chat on social networks, or blog “for real,” make it your top priority to connect with your readers.

Constantly remind yourself that a huge percentage of your audience does not share your political beliefs, your religious beliefs, your cultural upbringing, or your socio-economic background.

Case in point: I know of 63 million U.S. voters who disagree with Chicken Little Mama’s politics. Think any of ‘em will be following her on Twitter after reading her rants? Not on your life!

Tone Down the Tweets

In previous posts, I’ve encouraged you to tweet about what’s going on in your daily life. And I hold to that. People read Twitter because they enjoy keeping up with the comings and goings of their friends and those they admire.

But there’s a difference between sharing about your day and whining like a pathetic crybaby. Nobody wants to follow a whiner.

Tweeting about politics and religion is perfectly acceptable, too, as long as you do it in a way that engages your readers in conversation, rather than alienating them.

I encourage tweeters to tape pictures of people who don’t look like you, act like you, or think like next to your computer. Before posting your next tweet, look at the pictures. Those are your readers. Don’t forget them.

Tags: Blogging, how to blog, micro-blogging, tweeting, Twitter, writing for audience

November 18th, 2008 at 12:51 pm

Hi Laura, this is a good post and I agree with your points. I think the hard part is knowing where to draw the line.

In the interests of debate, I do have a question. How do we take a stand for something we passionately believe without alienating people? Especially in today’s environment, where people seem to have no patience for–or ability to–disagree thoughtfully. (That may be a little unfair, but I find it more true than not, sadly.)

For example, this woman you use as an example, how could she have expressed
her views without alienating you or those other 63 million Americans?

I’m just asking because if we do too much “moderating” of our views, it seems to me we eventually end up saying nothing of consequence. When does one take a stand and risk the controversy (and alienation), and how far is too far?

It’s an interesting topic to think about, and I thank you for sharing it.

Kari Brodin

November 18th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

Kari,

I was not necessarily put off by this woman’s political views; I was offended by her tone of voice.

The Tweeter let her emotions overrule her logic. Rather than linking her followers to a blog post in which she thoroughly related her political views, the tone of her tweet came across as, “Poor me. How am I ever going to survive now that we have a new president?”

I appreciate bloggers who approach controversial subjects thoughtfully–fearlessly stating their own opinions yet being open to listening to and learning from their readers.

The key is in being aware of HOW we’re conveying our message. I believe that HOW we express ourselves carries as much weight as WHAT we say.

Laura

Tweeter’s Bane: Ignoring Audience

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