Tags: Business, Business - Marketing, Doug Lacombe, Technology, Technology - Social Media, The Bleeding Edge

Top 10 social media annoyances

Yes, I'm looking at you, loser

October 30, 2012

CALGARY, AB, Oct. 30,2012/ Troy Media/ – Social media is fun and useful, but it’s not perfect by any stretch. As a digital marketer it’s my job to see social media for what it is, warts and all. Occasionally those warts get under my skin. Here are 10 of my social media pet peeves.

Hyperbole. Everything seems to get super-sized in social media, usually undeservedly so. ‘ZOMG – BEST. MEAL. EVER!’ Please, dial it back a notch, you’re sucking all the oxygen out of Twitter with your breathlessness.

Faux humility. People seem to throw around words like ‘honoured’ and ‘humbled’ for pedestrian events like shout outs on Twitter. ‘Thanks for the Follow Friday. Humbled.’ No – you should be humbled by the majesty of the Rocky Mountains, or perhaps honoured if you met Nelson Mandela or just received the Order of Canada. If you’re humbled by a tweet you need self-esteem lessons.

Typo’s. (See what I did there?) The complete lack of spelling ability makes me loose my mind. It’s a shame there so frequent. Of course you’re spelling wouldn’t be that bad, but the masses on Facebook? Turrible.

Broadcasters. I don’t mean television and I don’t mean spammers, per se. I mean organizations that get on social media and just rapid-fire announcements and press releases across the networks with nary a hint of conversation. It’s the digital equivalent of shouting at people at the mall. It’s annoying. Stop it.

Non-responders. If I’m acting like a wack job screaming at your company, fine, don’t respond. That’s what I counsel my clients to do. But if someone asks you a legitimate question and you disappear into corporate approval-land for three days, you suck. And by then I’ve long since moved on.

Porn. When you follow me on Twitter with your bare booty, this a. does not cause me to subscribe to your porn site (porn’s free, hello!) and b. does cause me consternation when I open my account up in front of a client. Stuff it back in your latex dress @Trixie123 and leave me alone!

Facebook apps and games. Farmville set the whole thing in motion ages ago. It wasn’t bad when it was the only one, but now there’s an app popping up every five minutes that wants me to track or share birthdays, resumes, sheep, mafia attacks, greeting cards, fake money, fake beer and events. If only we could put this genie back into the bottle.

Overshares. Your heart may be longing for a soul mate or you may be delighted to have just lanced that giant boil, but I DON’T CARE. ZOMG!

Overblown bios. Yes, I’m talking to you, you ‘globally-renowned disruptive innovator and creative force.’ Bite me, loser.

LinkedIn invites without any explanation of who you are or why I care. Seriously, who the frick are you?

From hype to anonymity, those are the top 10 things that get under my skin in social media. What’s bugging you about these newfangled networks?

Troy Media Columnist Doug Lacombe is president of digital marketing agency communicatto. Find him on Twitter at @dblacombe.

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