Something has been happening a lot more lately and it is driving me crazy. I know this blog has been somewhat dormant for a while but today I have something I really need to get off my chest.
It’s no secret that myself and friends of Social Media Rage are quite close with people who have a high influence of the Social Media sphere. So if we post something on Facebook or Twitter, it’s highly possible these people will see it and spread the word to their thousands of followers. Because of this we get sent stories and articles to look at daily. That’s all fine and good, but some people still fail to do their homework on me or my friends.
So let’s think for a moment. Would you expect me to go up to Amy Vernon and ask her to tweet or post on Facebook that Bacon will kill you? Or, should I ask Jason Falls to say that Bourbon is poison? How about if I ask Erika Napoletano to not be so out spoken or “Turn it down a bit”? Yeah…that IS NOT going to happen. Why? Because I know these people. I know them because I talk to them, and I do my homework on someone before I reach out to them. In other words, I KNOW MY TARGET AUDIENCE!
It’s no secret that with me, I am proud to be a former active duty Marine, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. I was a platoon Sergeant when I finished my Marine Corps career and I still hold my Marine Corps close to my heart. I have been places and done things that a lot of people can only imagine, and I wouldn’t change a thing!
With the Occupy movement and so much social unrest going on lately I have been asked to Tweet or post things on Facebook that make me wish I could reach through the computer screen, ball up my fist, and knock someone out of their chair! Now don’t get my wrong, I support the Occupy movement, but the crap people are sending me, like “What military spending could have paid for” and videos of veterans at the occupy movement saying dumb things, make me want to pull my hair out.
My Military family, both extended and present, is huge. I hold a deep respect for all members of the armed forces. What some people do not understand is that if we cut the military budget, some of our people may not make it home. I mean do you seriously want our boys to be issued camo boxers and a sling shot? If I have to spend $500,000 on a road side bomb disposal vehicle, hell yeah let’s do it! If we have to spend a ton of tax dollars for new body armor for our guys then so be it! You may not agree with the war, tell your congressman. DO NOT try to cut funding and leave our guys without the life saving equipment they need.
For some reason people cannot grasp this concept. Why? Because they have never been there. They do not know what kind of hell our Armed Forces are going through.
In my case I grew close to all my Marines. They are my brothers and sisters. During our deployments we had to go, whether or not we agreed with the over all mission, we went to watch each others back. To this day we still stay in touch and watch out for each other. So why in the hell would I post something that would show negativity to my family? Take Corporal (Not posting first name) Schroeder, he and I are close brothers. Our daughters, when we get the chance to see each other, play like sisters:
No way in hell would I post something negative against this family!
My younger brother is still the Corps and is now a Gunnery Sergeant.
Some hell raisers coming back from Afghanistan.
The baddest Gunners Mate in the US Navy, who covered our backs with 20mm shock and awe!
I will never post anything anti-military. I have too much respect and too many brothers and sisters out there that I hold with the highest respect.
So long story short; DO NOT ask me to post Anything Anti-Military again! You might find me at your door with a printed copy of your article, some rubber gloves, and a proctologist on stand by to surgically remove the article from your rectal cavity.
The military, especially the Marine Corps is still my family! Do your homework, Google me, listen to me on Social Blend. Know a little about the person you’re about to engage before you do something stupid and piss them off.
I leave you with Gunnery Sergeant Walgren. Maybe he might be able to sum it up!
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Comments ( 5 )
[...] THINK before you ask! [...]
Social Blend » Blog Archive » Social Blend Used To Love Her added these pithy words on Dec 08 11 at 12:29 am[...] THINK before you ask! [...]
Social Blend » Blog Archive » Social Blend 182: Looking Back At 2011 added these pithy words on Dec 22 11 at 10:40 amI couldn’t agree more, Jay. The best relationships in my social world are the ones who don’t make me work so hard to share what they want shared. They know my audience. They know me. And they respect both. It’s tough when people are first starting out, I think, to understand where that line between “HELP!” and “Their audience could probably give two shits about this article.” But yeah. Sit down and thing about the ask you’re making and who you’re placing that ask in front of. To *not* do so is a huge time waster – for both yourself and a valuable online relationship.
Erika Napoletano (@RedheadWriting) added these pithy words on
Dec 07 11 at
7:44 am
I tell people all the time that one of the main ways to succeed is to know your audience. You can do well if you reach out and provide content that actually adds value – and makes sense coming from the person it’s coming from.
People who reach out to the name, and not the person, aren’t trying at all. I don’t care if you’re just starting out or have done this for years. When I was in newspapers, we used to get moronic and off-topic pitches from PR people all the time. The “democratizing” factor of social media has just amplified that, sadly.
PS: Bacon will NOT kill you. Turkey bacon might, though.
AmyV added these pithy words on
Dec 07 11 at
7:56 am
How about when the title of your blog makes clear that it is a blog for parents of teens and you get sent pitches for baby and toddler products. This happens all the time because I must be on many parents or moms lists. That is just lazy PR work.
Jennifer Wagner added these pithy words on
Dec 07 11 at
8:30 am
