The other night, a girl was passed out in my laundry room. I had a few choices. I could totally freak out about the alcohol that was covertly brought into my house by her. That’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to ground every teenager that was sitting in my basement glued to RockBand. I didn’t do that either.
I wanted to bitch to high heaven about how stupid it was to not tell the parents that a kid brought gin to the house. All the kids who were invited wanted to do was play Rock Band and hang out with my sons. Yet, here was a teenager, passed out in my laundry room. Eric and I were calm; making sure everyone was safe. We spoke with all the parents and above all, had many talks with all the kids about the events that happened that night. There were several stories about who did and did not drink, who was protecting whom, and each kid made choices. It was interesting to see who did what. My son knows he now has another choice if presented with an unruly guest. He can ask for support from his parents.
Today, a friend wrote an article called What Are the Important Social Marketing Values? that sparked my curiosity because social marketers have spent the past few years testing the public to see what works. All manner of outlets are used to sell online, from fake avatars on social networking sites to link bait stories created for hype and hysteria. Little by little, trust between company, product and consumer has whittled away so that what exists now is a battle of who can write the better tale and sound believable.
A good marketing campaign stands out because the product, service, or company are interesting. They capture our attention in a positive way, through different principals, such as “same-ness” (Use this product to look like her”) to humor (lizards, ducks, cavemen, turtles) to informative (infomericals, health). Services and products that make people happy do well. However, if just one person has a complaint, they can bitch online and bring down a hailstorm of hell for people and companies with no facts, no proof, no witnesses, and nothing to back up their claims.
When bitching about someone or a company, I look for clues that the person has listened to all sides of a story, obtained evidence and can show proof of expertise or experience to back up their claims. When they can’t, then it’s their opinion and while they’re welcome to it, an opinion is not the whole story.
When the girl who passed out in my laundry room awoke the next morning, she proceeded to find the ingredients in my kitchen and made french toast for everyone in the house.
There was more to her story. There was something to learn by everyone who shared in the events that led up to her being in my house. I could have passed judgment. I could have raised hell. I could have bitched about deceit. I could have jumped to conclusions and not waited for more of the stories to come forth by the kids involved. I could have scared all the parents rather than making sure each kid was safe first.
It’s what I would hope for us as we continue to use the Internet for shopping, socializing and education. That we respect each other. That we allow room for choices and growth. That if we have to bitch, we do it with grace and fairness.
That if we ask for dignity, we have dignity as well.
We are no where near done with what the public at large will accept in this field.. and that part scares me a bit. But after all these years in both traditional and online marketing, the parallels are becoming common; if you can’t present a reason to trust, then you can’t have a reason to be viable and succeed. SMM is offering a direct in for consumer to business, so hopefully businesses will use it wisely to give the public a sense of ease by being able to access a real living person.
But what I really want to know….. was the french toast any good? LOL
It was! She went through an entire loaf of bread and fed everyone. Was one of the wierdest things I’ve ever seen. She never apologized with words but seemed pleased I treated her with respect. I think she felt badly and she knew I cared about her, even though she caused some trouble. Being a parent can be a real trip!
Their world is all tech and Internet and social media/networking. She heard of the party at my house by text messages from others. Sometimes it feels like I’m part of some big grand experiment. The line between our physical interactions and those online is so thin anymore.
Funny when I saw this over at Sphinn I thought it was about Rae – and wanted to hear a story of her passed out in a laundry room!
Heh. I doubt she even saw it. She’s too busy, um, bitching
Can I get her to pass out in MY laundry room? I LOVE French toast!
Ha – as the only female at my company, I often worry about complaining or voicing my opinion, as I don’t want to be “labeled” as a “bitchy woman who complains about everything.” Working with a bunch of guys is a daily lesson in patience, and it’s taught me how to communicate better.
As far as dealing with clients, I always have to reign myself in and avoid “bitching” if I’m displeased…very difficult for me. This was a great post!
A friend of mine in New York have been place in a position of in an organization. What happen was a group of evil demons tried to come after me out of jealous and self-centererness. This organization is about honoring out pass and doing work in the community to remember our history. You know who these women are!!! Well. four self-centered ego’s who thought that just because they are more education and had ex-officers in the Military thought they were better the me. Tried to bring me down, what was great was I clamly walk out of the room. Left the hang. That is be a great Bitch with Grace.