Using Twitter

Eduardo del Buey
Foto: Afp
La Jornada Maya

Martes 4 de septiembre, 2018

It looks like the world has a Twitter problem.

More and more political leaders are using this tool knowing that it is far easier to spin and spread halftruths and lies that sow discord in 280 characters, than it is to share positive messages or complex policy concepts.

The temptation to seek instant applause through retweets may well increase the user’s need for affirmation but does little to contribute to serious debate.

As well, many people today suffer from short attention spans and do not bother to gauge the accuracy or veracity of the messages they receive. Twitter, like many of today’s communications tools, focuses on instant transmission and gratification – two elements that add to the risk that spontaneity and emotion trump thought about the ideas or messages being shared by both sender and receiver.

Collectively, these factors can lead to discord and unintended consequences or problems.

That said, Twitter is neither good nor bad.

It is simply a media tool. The morality of this tool is in its usage and in its oversight.

Twitter allows us to reach those who subscribe to our account directly and without filters. It allows us to grow a global audience if what we have to say warrants interest. It allows us to bypass the traditional media and reach audiences directly and immediately, with no effort on the part of the recipient.

And herein lies the problem.

The temptation to shoot from the hip, to respond immediately and emotionally, sometimes without strategy, and to communicate with little or no regard for the consequences is real in the world of Twitter. Passion over reason seems to be the order of the day, and caution is nowhere to be seen.

A prime example of this is the use of Twitter by its most famous user, President Donald Trump.

On any given day his tweets have a tremendous ripple effect throughout the US and even at times globally.

He tweets without appearing to think through the messages he is sending, leaving it to his spokespersons and surrogates to deal with the consequences. Indeed, oftentimes his policy tweets are based on erroneous news reports he has obtained from [i]FOX News[/i] and other media outlets whose reputations for accuracy and objectivity are suspect.

He tweets with little concern for the veracity of his statements. In his view, and in the view of his political base, simply the fact that he has tweeted them makes them true.

He tweets oftentimes without knowledge about a given topic.

And those results can and have had a negative impact.

Instantaneous remarks based more on emotion than on fact, can prove detrimental to diplomacy and politics and they should always be based on a careful analysis of any given situation and be addressed through well-considered responses. Diplomacy clouded by emotion can often result in unwanted consequences – making more work for diplomats in the long run. Politics pursued with no concern for the truth or for accuracy can lead to negative consequences for voters and for governments.

This underscores the need for any organization to ensure that the veracity of reports be ascertained before they are tweeted or shared on other social media outlets. While there is an indecent need for haste in today’s networked world, it must be matched by accuracy.

It also underscores the responsibility of the recipient to check to see if the information contained in the tweet is accurate and true before either believing it and/or retweeting it. Trump aside, if your goal is to excite without regard for the truth, go ahead and shoot from the hip. You will develop a reputation for recklessness and your credibility will suffer.

If your goal is to implement a sound communications strategy, then proceed with caution.

Develop your messages thoughtfully to better ensure that they will not backfire on you. Message crafting can be done well in advance of any situation with proper planning so that you can appear to be responding immediately to any given situation albeit with a well thought out and crafted tweet.

Ensure that your messages are always short and to the point, but also truthful and accurate.

Think "Twitter" even if you are preparing your messages for a television or radio interview. Brevity is always the best option in communicating, and Twitter can teach us how to achieve our objectives with the fewest words possible. The fewer the words, the less likely we are to get into trouble over them.

The main word in the above paragraph is “think”.

Think risk assessment.

Words can get you into trouble, and what is said in cyberspace never disappears entirely. It also reaches friends and enemies alike and can be used to make you the object of ridicule if what you tweeted is false or exaggerated.

There is also the danger of deciding to ratchet up the volume and tweet additional ill-conceived messages in a reactive manner rather than stick to your communications plan. Always park your tweet for a few hours to ensure that enough time has passed to remove emotion and to consider consequences. As both the French, and my mother say, “la nuit porte conseil” (The night brings us perspective).

Think your way through any possible developments so that you are readier for all eventualities.

That way, you can satisfy the need to respond instantly and dispassionately without sacrificing the quality of your response.

Twitter is not the only tool in your communications arsenal. The communications tools you use must be employed judiciously and in concert, each as part of an overall strategy for reaching different target markets.

Just as we should always think before we speak, we should definitely think before we tweet.

There is a time and a place for everything, and Twitter has its time and place.

But not all of the time, and not in every place.

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