Twitter Can Kill

I have found the service Twitter to be quite entertaining both as a way to keep up with friends and casual acquaintances and as a way to gage the real time pulse and reaction to news events, product happenings and even the most recent Democratic and Republican convention coverage. The veracity with which some people comment surprises even me.

Last night I was having a side chat with a contact that I have made out on in the valley. We were enjoying direct messaging one another about the various comments that were being posted and carrying on our own internal commentary about Rudy Guiliani and Sarah Palin's speeches. As we both watched comment after comment get posted on Twitter, many of which were my veiled attempt to add some humor to the mix, one particular person began to stand out for the viciousness of their stance. This person was incredibly over the top about the speakers and very opinionated about those who might support them. In fact at one point, this person even began calling the people who support the Republican Party names that I refuse to reprint here.

Now to be fair, Twitter has no rules or regulations about making such comments, or Twits as I like to call them. People get fired up....especially when they talk politics. One of the things I enjoy about this entire Web 2.0 era is the ability to get real time points of view and impassioned impressions of things that are happening out there in the world. With instant broadcasting capability there are going to be points of view I agree with and others I won't - I get that.

What I don't get is the people that jeopardize their own reputation and standing by throwing big rocks in a society that is truly full of glass windows. With instant everything comes one's instant ability to forever damage themselves and in many cases the companies they either work for or run. That to me is a problem.

Case and point. My friend from the valley had made this incredible connection with a designer over Twitter. After weeks of discussion about a project he is needing help on he decided to greenlight big dollars and somewhat open ended creative license for this designer to develop this idea as they saw fit. He was stoked. They were stoked. Web 2.0 had officially created the bridge of connection for these two bright people to work together on what appears to be a fairly substantial and lucrative financial project.

That all came to an apparent crashing and fiery halt last night.

The designer, whom my friend follows on Twitter, became incredibly offended by the hatred and vile nature of this person's posts. As each new Twit was entered it felt like you were watching a trainwreck happening right before your very eyes. My friend's comments to me were both sad and angry. A relationship that had taken weeks to develop was suddenly gone in a matter of minutes. All because this person decided to make some outlandish comments that revealed a disturbing glimpse into their character, values and ultimately who they are as a person.

Though I am quite certain that many of the comments were aimed at impressing this person's friends, I doubt seriously they thought about the consequences of their actions and the impact it might make to the clients and potential clients they may also have out there watching. In a Web 2.0 world those are risks that you simply can't afford to take. Discretion is the better part of valour and boy was it never more apparent to me than last night.

I have no idea if my friend will tell this person exactly why they are pulling the project. If he reads this I hope he will seriously consider doing it - we all need to know when we screw up. It's how we learn and grow as people. Regardless of whether he does or not, he did teach me something last night. He reinforced a lesson that I have espoused right here in this BLOG many times.....

In this world, you are always on stage and impressions are everywhere. Tread carefully!!!


Ripple On!!!

Never Underestimate The Power of the Smile

There's a young lady that works for a company in the same building where I have my office that has one of the most engaging smiles I have ever seen. She's a young, enthusiastic personality that truly lights up when she greets anyone. She obviously enjoys her job and her infectious approach to representing the company obviously benefits their organization in numerous ways.

Recently she stopped me in the hall to ask me where my next speaking appearance was going to be. Apparently she had picked up a copy of my book and had fallen in love with the concept of Rippling and wanted to come see me present on it in person. She chatted a bit about how she was applying the strategies to her own personal and professional relationship building and how the Ripple of a smile had actually landed her her current job.

It seems that her mother had always told her that a young lady, if she wants to be noticed, always wears a big smile, maintains eye contact and always has something relevant to say. She said after college she tried to follow her mother's advice but seriously doubted the applicability of the smile part. That was until she met her current boss.

It seems she was attending a function on behalf of the company she worked for at the time. She said this man approached her from out of no where and told her that she had a smile that was hard to miss and he needed people working for him like that. She initially worried that he was actually hitting on her but the more they spoke and the more she got to know him she knew his approach wasn't some veiled come on line. He was serious!

They continued chatting throughout the night. Because she was well read about the local Austin economy they ended up chatting about a number of relevant topics related to his business and her own professional interest. That was nearly two years ago and she has continued to advance right up the career ladder with this company. She told me that her mother's advice coupled with what she was learning by Rippling was a secret weapon that many young women (and men) should learn. I was of course humbled by her story and extremely appreciative of her sharing it with me.

Never underestimate the value of a smile, eye contact and a relevant way to keep someone engaged in a conversation. You just never know where the Ripples may lead!