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Dear WPLG (@talkto10) What have you been smoking?

A Open Letter to Channel 10 ABC(WPLG) Twitter Account: @talkto10

Dear  @Talkto10,

(the Twitter account for the Local ABC affiliate in Miami WPLG)

I understand sometimes mistakes are made in social media strategy.  In fact, I’d go as far as to say if you haven’t made any mistakes, you probably haven’t done much of it.  But with that said, you are being a total douche.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for traditional media expanding into new media.  And there are tons of wonderful examples of people doing it right. They engage with other users, they retweet and they follow.

Here are some good examples:

As of me writing this, @Talkto10 you are NOT one of them.

Although, you wouldn’t know it from reading what you wrote on your website (about Twitter).

It’s another way to engage a two-way conversation with Local 10, as JustNews.com’s Barb Besteni says.

Barb,  NEWSFLASH!!  Have you seen how many people @talkto10 is following and talking with on Twitter?

A  two-way conversation implies the number 2, which means there would be 2 people talking , NOT a  “Broadcast”, or an RSS feed, but two real people exchanging information.

What you are doing is attempting to apply old school broadcast rules to new media game.  But rather than adding value, you are just adding more noise in an echo chamber, which is already very large and already very noisy.

Why should I get the news from you, when there are thousands of other news sources on Twitter, who do want to interact with me, and are more transparent.

It’s not a one way street! It’s not TV!  And you’re most definitely not developing a loyal base or acquiring any actionable data.

You are essentially making Twitter into a news feed.  That’s not social or two-way!

But that’s not the biggest problem between us, not only do you have a horrible Social Media strategy and totally do not understand the point of Social Media or Twitter.  But now you have delved into the Social Media Spamzone and are beginning to piss off a lot of  the Twitter users in Miami and elsewhere, by doing the Follow/Un Follow hustle.  Not only once, but 4 or 5 times to the same people.  It has become dead obvious what your up to!

10f

Have you become so delusional in your hunger for followers that you have followed and unfollowed the same people 3 and 4 and 5 times? All in an attempt to inflate your follower count?

Please don’t claim ignorance, either. Back in  early March when @theduedean originally brought this to your attention you understood what you were doing was spam and you still continued to Follow/Unfollow people.

http://twitter.com/talkto10/status/1302521828

http://twitter.com/talkto10/status/1302595890

Now don’t go postal on Me @talkto10,  its not all fire and brimstone.  I actually like you the best of the 4 Local TV stations.  Your always calm and comforting on TV.  Not like some of the other guys who hype everything up, and make every piece of news that comes across their desks Breaking and NEW.  So there is hope for us but only if you get help.  Your going to have a lot of amends to make.  You’ve  pissed off all my twitter friends, you have deceived them by following them and then unfollowing everyone. Amassing more followers as you go on,  in one sick follow/unfollow cycle .  I know, you were playing the numbers game!! (Pats @talk210 on the shoulder)

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the value of having a lot of Twitter followers.  In fact, there are people willing to pay up to half a million dollars just to be a recommended user on the Twitter sign up page.  Why??  Because they have done the math and figured it would be worth the traffic it would bring their website.  And I agree to some extent.

But if your going to gain these followers on a false pretense (i.e. fake giveaways, fake donations to charity, following and unfollowing), then  you’re missing the whole point and shooting yourself in the foot in the process.  It’s a very shortsighted strategy.

What makes what you’re doing  different than someone spamming my email box with Viagra offers I didn’t ask for, or creating fake twitter accounts around the names of popular users?  It’s all down hill from there.

@Talkto10 What is your point of differentiation?  What’s your value proposition to Miami’s TV and online content consumers? Ask yourself, why are you on Twitter?  If it’s to create a news feed, then state it.

But, if as you claim on your site, you want to “engage a two-way conversation” then start talking to/following some local people that engage you.

To be fair, @talkto10 is not the only Media Twitter account that doesn’t follow anyone @nytimes, doesnt,  nor does another Miami local TV station @wsvnBut you are the only ones which I have seen following and unfollowing people in bulk over and over again.

Sincerely,

Steaprok

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9 Responses to Dear WPLG (@talkto10) What have you been smoking?

  1. SilentJay March 26, 2009 at 12:31 pm #

    Manny,
    Really good post. I actually sent this link to one of our local anchors here in Ky: @callensky1 . Chris Allen is our local weather man, and has gotten heavily involved in Twitter. He is not guilty of what @talkto10 is, but I think he might pass this on to more local correspondents to get the word out as to how to use Twitter correctly. If local correspondents would engage more with their public, then they would become a more trusted source. They can only win by doing Social Media the RIGHT way.

  2. Steaprok March 26, 2009 at 12:38 pm #

    Jay,

    Thx man , I agree! I think the worst offense was to start following and unfollowing everyone in Miami. And we did try bringing it to their attention, but they ignored it and kept doing it.

  3. TheDudeDean March 27, 2009 at 9:26 am #

    I called them out on this first. It took them two whole days to get back to me. They refollowed all the people that they dumped and said sorry that they were just learning. And they DID IT AGAIN!

  4. Janet @yogini March 27, 2009 at 9:28 am #

    I’m a laid back kinda person, not the kind who gets easily upset but @talkto10 pissed me off by following/unfollowing multiple times in a row. At this point, they can’t claim ignorance. It was already pointed out to them! And they did it again! WTF is wrong with them anyway? Do they really think something good will come from their spammy ways??

  5. Colonel Tribune April 6, 2009 at 8:21 pm #

    Thanks for the (digital) hat tip, Steaprok.

    The social realm isn’t just about talking to folks. It’s about acknowledging the importance of one’s audience. So with Twitter, it’s not about building the # of followers you have. (Not completely.) Tools like BackTweets, for instance, are great because it tells you whether you’re reaching someone on the social Web.

    It’s about thanking folks who talk to you, mention you, complain about you and even have questions to ask.

    It’s about trust, and with the news business in its current state, we cannot give folks a reason to distrust us.

    Once again, thanks for the digital ink.

  6. Steaprok April 18, 2009 at 8:55 pm #

    @Colonel Tribune thx for taking the time and commenting. and your welcome on the hat tip!

  7. psicologa roma June 19, 2009 at 7:19 pm #

    Twitter is not only on building relationships but also to gain some trust. I agree with the point that these people need to deepen their knowledge of Twitter.

  8. nemokami skelbimai July 23, 2009 at 10:13 pm #

    great and helpful stuff

  9. Mike Freedman July 31, 2009 at 11:35 pm #

    Your story of how badly goofed Twitter is fun story that offers an important lesson.

    I think it’s hard for traditional media companies to take the vital step of listening because they are used to marketing that involves no permissions or real conversations.

    They fail to understand, as the ClueTrain Manifesto says, “markets are conversations” not soliloquies and listening can brings a ROI with a a little dedication, empathy and creativity.