Complaining on Twitter: a minor point of etiquette.
The way Twitter works, if I cite you in the middle of a tweet, everyone who follows me will see it. So if, for example, I tweet . . .
Hey, I totally got ripped off by @YourNameHere — they stink!
. . . any of the 3,800+ following the @Hoovers account might see that in their stream of tweets.
By contrast, if I put your name at the beginning of a tweet, Twitter reads it as a “reply” from me to you — and shows it only to the folks who follow both you and me. So if you have 200 followers and only 15 of them are among my 3,800 followers, when I tweet . . .
@YourNameHere I was wrong about you — thanks for clearing things up!
. . . only those 15 people might see the tweet in their streams. (By the way, anyone — even a non-Twitter user — could go and look it up, but how likely is that?)
The point of etiquette I’d like to emphasize: If you complain about a person or company on Twitter such that all of your followers might see it, but then the subject of the complaint makes things right, then you should also say “No hard feelings” or “I apologize” or whatever . . . such that all of your followers might see it.
It’s only fair.
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Photo by avlxyz, used under a CC-Share Alike license.
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That is a very good point. I have been guilty of that transgression in the past and will seek to be more thoughtful in the future. And on a similar note, maybe it might be best sometimes to direct a complaint to only the person/business you are complaining about. You never know when it may prove to be invalid and you will have to eat crow. Something I would rather do in front of only a few people, then in front of everyone I know in the twitterverse.
Good point, hanajibu. I find that some folks are quick to complain in general, whether it’s warranted or not. The classic approach, though — advocated by everybody from Benjamin Franklin to Dale Carnegie — is to raise issues in private when you can.
Excellent post. I try to refrain from complaining at all on Twitter — I use the prescribed channels that a company already has to issue my complaints. The one time I can remember breaking that personally-set mandate was when I had made more than a half-dozen phone calls and still hadn’t received a resolution. FWIW, I did eventually get the issue settled, but it took a lot longer than it should have. And no, my complaining about it on Twitter wasn’t what solved it…it was that I started calling every day (squeaky wheel, was I!).
Great reminder.
Thanks for the comment, Jen. In general I’m a non-complainer, but I acknowledge that there are times when complaint is appropriate. I guess what I’m looking for is a sense of responsibility to go along with it (which you clearly have!).
C’mon, Jen. You attempt to not complain on Twitter? What if you don’t call it a complaint… but a disappointment or an observation? ;)
Oh, and Tim, if a tweep’s name is at the beginning, aka a reply, is that a complaint or a reply? Just testing ya!
Nice one, Ari! It can, of course, be both a complaint and a reply (in either the usual or the Twitter-specific sense). The important thing is that the level of broadcast be the same for the apology (or follow-up observation, expression of disappointment, etc.).