Should ‘Pissing People Off’ Provide a Point of Pride?

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By Jason Menard

Contrary to what some people may say, if you’re not pissing someone off, then you may, in fact, be doing it absolutely right.

On a daily basis, in one form or another, I’ll see a variation or two of the old, “If you’re not pissing someone off, you’re doing it wrong” adage. It’s a great statement that allows us to embrace our inner counter-culture punk and lets us proclaim that we’re proud to rage against the machine! We are not part of the blindly following masses; we’ve been roused from our social catatonia and stand apart from the system.

It’s all very dramatic. It’s also pretty much a load of bunk. Continue reading →

Idea’s What Matters, Not the Source or Side From Which it Comes

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By Jason Menard

Why is it important to listen to all sides of a discussion? Because good ideas know no bounds.

The other day I discussed how certain schoolyard-eque behaviours on Twitter can negatively impact the user experience. I focused on the how it happens – and here’s the “why” it is so important to respectfully engage people from all sides of the social and political spectrum. Continue reading →

Playground Games Norm on Twitter; Playground Behaviour Shouldn’t Be

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By Jason Menard

The more time you spend on Twitter, the more you realize that it’s nothing more than a glorified schoolyard – in both the best and worst sense of that term!

The value you get out if it is directly related to the choices you make: will you play Follow the Leader or be King of the Castle; are you going to isolate yourself, follow the whims of the so-called cool crowd; or invite everyone to play along?

Unfortunately, no matter how you choose to approach the Twitter schoolyard, other childish antics abound that can undermine the experience. From bullying to sticking one’s fingers in your ears, there are behaviours that compromise its value – and limit one’s opportunity to learn and grow. Continue reading →

Social Media’s Growing Up by Learning its Lessons from Traditional Sources

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By Jason Menard

Sure, there may still be some growing pains here and there, but there are signs that social media is growing up and it’s putting the responsibility for content back where it belongs – the reader — thanks to lessons learned from traditional sources.

Two recent examples have illustrated this perfectly. I discussed the Tori Stafford murder trial coverage, and the tribulations it caused amongst a media struggling to figure out how to balance the public’s right to know with its equal right to not know. In the end, especially on Twitter, local media chose to post key messages on their main feeds, directing them to full content on a parallel Twitter channel – with full disclaimers and warnings of the graphic content. Continue reading →

What Would Jesus Tweet?

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By Jason Menard

What Would Jesus Tweet? If Facebook will not come to Muhammad, then would Muhammed log on to Facebook? And what is the role of religion on social networking?

For obvious reasons, this weekend I found an increase in religious commentary on both my Facebook timeline and Twitter feeds. From generalized well wishes to full-scale scripture-quoting, the Christians were out in full force.

But does social media represent the right forum for religious messaging — especially if you’re also using social networking as a business tool? Continue reading →