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For those of you who aren’t familiar with the word in the above title, Urban Dictionary defines it as “a course of action that would appear to lead to a good outcome, but when undertaken, leads to a situation that is utterly out of control beyond human comprehension.”
It’s often used when things go crazy wrong on the Internet.
My ALDOT story
Phyllis Neill, my biz partner, and I publish the ComebackTown blog to begin a conversation on a better Birmingham.
I recently wrote a piece about the Alabama Department of Transportation’s (ALDOT) controversial plan to expand and reconfigure Interstate 20/59 through downtown Birmingham. My point was not that ALDOT was bad, but that our community is powerless because we have so many competing governments.
The next day, I got a voice mail from John Cooper, a friend of mine, who happens to be the director of ALDOT. (I’m not sure I’m his friend any more). He was upset and wanted me to write a retraction. I very much appreciate that John and ALDOT is concerned about what is published.
However, everything I learned about ALDOT’s proposal, whether it was accurate or not, I found on social media.
My question, is, why wasn’t ALDOT monitoring social media and giving their side of the story?
This is a huge mistake.
But ALDOT is not alone. Many companies and organizations are not paying attention to chatter on the Internet to their own detriment.
Contrast this to…
Our AmSher story
I am the co-CEO of AmSher, a collection agency. Keep in mind that AmSher bills itself as the “Compassionate Collection Agency.”
Buzz12, our marketing company, monitors the Internet for AmSher.
One of our Buzz12 content managers received an alert for the following tweet…
Debtor: I am amazed that @Amshercollects would rather have me wage a social media/blog war on them…
Then there were several follow up tweets from folks who follow the debtor who condemned AmSher– one of which said…
Debtor follower: Let me know what happens, I would like to write a piece for our readers if the company rips you off.
Meanwhile we responded to the debtor…
AmSher: Sorry for your frustration. Let me get you to a manager – call Robert Sher at 205-586-4110.
Debtor replied…
Debtor: Thanks @Amshercollects for the quick response, I will be in touch later today.
Debtor: Big Thx Twitter/Facebook peeps. Got a call from @Amshercollects CEO this morning helped me out a lot.
Debtor follower: Awesome, glad they handled this well for you.
Debtor follower: This appears to be a great example of organizations resolving issues via social media. Well done, AmSher.
We had this issue resolved in a matter of minutes.
Instead of being demonized ruining our reputation—we were heroes.
All it took was close monitoring and a quick response.
Are you willing to be vulnerable to negative chatter behind your back? Who’s looking out for you?
David Sher is a co-founder of Buzz12 Advertising. You can read more of his posts by looking for the “David Sher Posts” category in the sidebar of Buzz12’s website.