Dear Cathryn,
Wow, it’s been a rough couple of days for you, hasn’t it? I think almost every person over the age of 25 working in social media has linked to your article on ‘Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25‘. And while I think everyone over the age of 25 knew what the reaction to it would be, it seems to have caught you by surprise.
And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.
Your core message, that ‘your generation’ is familar with social media because you’ve always used these tools, is a good one. As are your thoughts that as such, ‘your generation’ has much to offer on how companies can and should be using these tools. A very good and valid message.
Unfortunately, due to the tone of your article that wasn’t the message that 99% of your readers heard. Here’s what most people thought your message was:
“Dear Old People Over the Age of 25,
You are screwing up Social Media. Stop it. Companies stop hiring these clowns to do social media, because they have no idea what they are doing. Hire ‘my generation’. We are smart, we are hip. Besides, we have always had these tools, so we should be the ones using them, not these old farts over the age of 25.
Signed,
Recent College Graduate Under the Age of 25 That Gets It”
To be honest, the first time I saw your article I blew it off as being simply linkbait. I assumed that there was no way you were serious, and that the inflammatory tone of your article was purposely used in an attempt to draw attention to yourself. In fact, there’s two reasons why your article is still receiving a ton of negative feedback:
1 – The tone. It is purposely inflammatory. Whether you realize it or not (and you obviously didn’t when you wrote it), HOW you say something is just as important in social media as WHAT you say. You had a good core message, but you framed it terribly, and in a way where the only possible reaction was the one you got. And the fact that you apparently did NOT see this coming doesn’t make the case that you or ‘your generation’ knows how to handle social media.
2 – You haven’t publicly addressed the backllash that the post has caused at all. What’s the one rule we always tell companies when facing a crisis situation? Address the situation head-on as soon as possible, and using the same tools as the people generating the negative feedback. Those of us that have actually worked with companies and have helped them deal with crisis situations via social media marketing, understand this lesson. It seems you do not, which again, undermines your article’s core message that ‘your generation’ gets social media.
So I would advise you to write another article Monday morning where you address the criticism head-on. You can start by admitting that you didn’t frame your article as neatly as you could have. You should also acknowledge and listen to the points raised by your detractors. You don’t have to apologize for your core message that ‘your generation’ gets social media, but you should admit that it was pretty silly to claim that anyone older than you does not.
Another thing about social media and such firestorms is that we all tend to move on quickly. In another day or so most of us will have moved onto something else and your time in the spotlight will be over. So you can still do a lot to determine what our opinion is of you after we move on. A little humility and understanding goes a long way.
Signed,
Someone Over the Age of 25 That Works in Social Media and Has Said Stupid Stuff Before Too
Coming from a 24 year old digital marketer who emphasizes social media, excellent and very well written response, Mack. I also liked your response to NextGen’s follow up editorial. I agree that the article itself had some decent points, but the way it was written didn’t sit well with me and it seemed way too presumptuous for its own good.
Point number two is something I’m continuing to find a little perplexing. It seems like Cathryn is “turtling” and waiting for the storm to pass, when the reasonable thing to do would be to discuss this. If there’s a positive to this – and I brought this up in my own response – it’s that the post started a lot of discussion on the myth that youth begets social media marketing or blogging experience.
Michael I agree, if she had come out yesterday and left a post instead of her editor where she at least acknowledged the points raised by her detractors and admitted she could have presented her message a bit better, this would all be gone by now. By not responding and letting her editor do so (and the tone of his response wasn’t very understanding either), she is simply making a bad situation that much worse.
And again, she and her editor are NOT doing themselves any favors in selling their message that ‘their generation’ understands how to use social media. Which is a shame, because many of them do, and companies should be listening to them.
But if nothing else, this is a good learning experience for Cathryn, we’ve all been there.
I’ll just say this. There’s nothing young people love more than an adult telling them what to do. 🙂
I think you gave her more of exactly what she was looking for Mack. I also don’t see why people are so upset over this. She’s wrong, of course, but I don’t feel offended in any way that a 25-year-old who knows nothing and has zero experience thinks she can do a better job than someone my age. I’m not sure why it’s bothering so many people?
Jim I don’t think she wanted this much attention, and I don’t think she was prepared for it. She’s apparently been blocking anyone on Twitter that left a negative comment about her on that article.
I purposely didn’t post about this at first because I was convinced it was simply a stunt to drive traffic to a site I had never heard of 48 hours ago. Now that it appears that a buncha ‘people under the age of 25’ are shocked at the reaction the article is getting, I thought it would be good to use it as a teaching example.
As for why it’s bothering people, anytime you imply that an entire group of people are wrong and essentially idiots, it’s going to upset a lot of people in said group. Political bloggers figured this out a LONG time ago 😉
Mack,
You nailed it. And i love that you did it in the way you would sit down for a chat with a friend. Shows compassion from having been in a similar spot (which we have all made mistakes).
And if more companies had more under 25 year old practioners who were really engaged in social media pros, more under 25 year olds would be learning to manage not just do social media. Understanding goals, strategies, tone, actions, etc is more complicated than running a personal social media strategy. And as you note, the backlash can be significantly greater.
Jp
I find it beautifully ironic how Catherine Sloane is dissing every generation but her own as incompetent in dealing with Social Media and yet she has completely mishandled the reverberations caused by her printed, indelible opinion.
She will eventually learn that there are several gifts that come with being older than 25. Among these gifts are experience and wisdom. I would certainly not want to go back to being 25. I know that I’m smarter at almost twice her age.
I’m afraid that in later years she will recall this event with much dread. But, that’s what experience is all about, isn’t it?
Anne she probably will regret the statement after she has a few years of working experience in this field under her belt, but as I said in the post, I’ve made statements I regret as well.
I do chuckle at the notion that anyone over 25 is ‘too old’ for anything. Of course, when I was 16 I was convinced that anyone 24 was ancient 😉
If her plan was simply to gain notoriety, I think she succeeded, brilliantly. However, her reluctance to defend her position and complete failure (it seems so far) to capitalize on her sudden fame, has left me fairly confused.
I do not even think her original argument is all that well reasoned. More 30, 40 and 50 (and beyond, my father just signed up for Twitter) are joining social media everyday. While Catheryn may not like this development, it is a reality. My generation (I am technically a little too old at 29, but see myself as more of Catheryn’s generation in spirit and attitude) may try to claim social media for ourselves, the truth remains, that such tools are now a part of life, for EVERYONE.
If the under 25 crowd really is better suited for corporate social media success, they should be able to prove it, just like everyone else in every other job, everywhere. If social media programs being controlled by people over 25 are failing, I imagine such problems will be dealt with by the people who sign the “ineffective social media coordinators” paychecks.
Hi Timothy, I agree, my only comment on her post was to point out that she found a way to get all these people over the age of 25 working in social media, to talk about her. In terms of simply drawing attention to herself, the effort was a complete success.
Which is why I initially assumed this was simply a stunt by the site to get traffic and exposure. And I’m still not completely convinced that it is not, given that the ‘angry old guy’ response to the post was on the same site.
But trainwrecks can only hold our attention for so long…
I am sorry for misspelling Cathryn’s name, it is absurdly late and I should be sleeping, instead of playing around with social media….
Hi Mack.
Your post spot-on. And it was kind. I have a bit of advice for Catheryn myself: Know that a time will, and no doubt more than once, that you will face potential clients or potential employers in interviews, most of whom, by the way, will be over 25. In the course of my career thus far I have interviewed (and hired) many, many people. I have been interviewed by far more. And of course interviewer with his/her salt will be googling her before the interview, and addressing her letter in the course of the interview. You are right that she needs to write some of follow-up, and now. She may not be able to repair the dammage that she has done to herself in the words of some prospective employers but a follow-up article now could potentially save her when interviewing with others. I
Melissa that’s a great point, her future employers WILL Google her and likely find that post. How likely is it that the interviewer will ask this question: “So I was checking online, and I found the post you wrote on how no one over the age of 25 should handle social media for a company. Wow that post received a lot of negative criticism, how did you handle that feedback?’
And her only response at this point can be ‘not very well’ or ‘I didn’t’. If she would at least come out and address the criticism head-on and communicate to everyone that she hears and understands the criticism and that her original post wasn’t put in the best terms, she could at least point to HOW she handled the backlash. Because in many ways, how she handles the backlash will make a bigger impression on potential employers than the original post will.
But her window to salvage any type of win from this situation is closing quickly.
Hey Mack,
I believe that window to salvage has already shut. It’s unfortunate but the cascade of criticism will continue to slide downward in a growing heap.
It’s the bullrush of social media as they say.
More importantly, will the Tide roll again in 2012?
Jeff Funk
Yes from a credibility standpoint she can’t gain much from a response now, the time for that was 48 hours ago. But hopefully she’ll learn from this moving forward.
As for the Tide, I am only really worried about the LSU game, but I think it will be tough to repeat, probably Top 5 with 1-2 losses. Thanks for asking, have actually talked more college football today than this story with the Penn State penalties being announced.
Ha! Excellent response, Mack. I’d been ignoring her ridiculous article because it really has gotten way too much undeserved attention. Sure, the tools may be second-nature to these young people, but obviously the experience and strategy behind them is not something you’re born with.
Anyway, I appreciated your kind and respectful tone. I really hope she reads this and takes your advice.
Ah, the naive arrogance of youth! It’s the main reason why no social media manager should be *under* the age of 25 yoa. (Well, with relatively few exceptions, at least.)
Great perspective, Mack.
-Mike
A babe in the woods… It’s not her fault that she hasn’t been exposed to the whole forest and made some incorrect assumptions. 😉 That’s why we shouldn’t take it seriously.
I am sure most people 25 (maybe even 30) and younger don’t know about the bulletin boards, chat tools and Yahoo! Groups of yesteryear. They probably also don’t realize that the “idea” behind Facebook and Twitter is nothing new, in fact it’s actually regurgitation of previous technology.
Well said my friend. Not just some valid points but some profound advice which hopefully will be heeded. Technology, in all its manifestations, never responds well to absolutes or ultimatums. At its core is innovation and invention which require an open mind. Social media, one of its progeny, shares the same gene pool. “Turtling” isn’t an appropriate response no matter how old one is.
Her article has gained far more attention than it should have, or even than it deserved. It was obviously written by a rebellious young lady who thinks she knows it all. She hasn’t been raised or educated very well, to have made such blanket assumptions and statements regarding such a large group of her elders. A little bit of humility goes a long way.
What worries me is this: if those of us who are over 25 didn’t take her so seriously, then why are we going so far out of our way to draw attention to it, link to it, and discuss it?
I personally don’t care what she thinks, says, does – and neither do my clients. She’s an example for my own young daughters on how NOT to behave in public.
Excellent reply! I suppose since she’s probably never used DOS she has no business using a computer? And she’s probably never used IRC so that makes ME (at 30) more qualified to use social media?
I guess everyone has that bit of arrogance that makes us think everyone older or younger than us don’t have a clue. The only thing I can say is that age gives us the experience to know what happens AFTER making such statement publicly.
I don’t really feel the original author had a clear point and what she was trying to make. I get what she is saying, but there’s no facts to back her up. You always need facts, and solid reasons why, give examples for instance why someone older than 25 fails at social media or instances at least. Having once been a 25-yr old writer, we don’t have it all together yet when it comes to presenting a point. That said, I am 42-years old, enjoy social media and while I cannot text and tweet and drive at the same time, which I would not, I am capable of holding down a full-fledged face-to-face conversation about the world. I work with a 22-year old and as quick as she is, she is a pain to work with. She pouts when she has a break up or no date, she talks about drinking too much, and all in all, is a pain for the rest of us older people to hang around with. One of the best jobs I ever had was working in a university department where everyone was older and are still my friends and I learned a lot from them.
I don’t particularly enjoy working with a much younger crowd but I try to adapt. What we may not know in social media, we more than make up in maturity, experience, and the focus on what’s important.
Love the response!
Although I will fully admit that as a 44 year old, I work to “get” social media (lol….and to keep up with all of the changes), what I’ve found interesting, is that although the youngsters “get” social media, they often do not get what it means to represent a brand (which this young lady demonstrated by not representing herself well). Those who utilize social media in the business arena, would serve themselves well by learning more about brand messaging from their “elders”.
“In fact, there’s two reasons”
In fact “there are” two reasons
I am a regular stop on the Grammar Police’s beat, always have been 😉
Mack,
Nicely written. I did my own rebuttal on PR Breakfast Club on Monday, but found that we share the same reasons as to why Ms. Sloane’s post is shortsighted.
I also find it unprofessional of her that she’s (apparently) blocking people that don’t agree with her. Really mature. If she would like people to take her seriously, own up to your opinions and have an open discussion about it.
But, I’m pushing 40, so I get I wouldn’t understand this though. 🙂
Mack,
I totally agree with you especially on your second point. She wants to get into the Social Media game then she needs to learn how to manage negative feedback. Looking over the fact that she as a person is a brand; if she was managing a corporate brand and received as much negative feedback as she did and didn’t respond or block those individuals, she would be fired on the spot. It tells a lot about person when you’re actually in the foxhole and the bullets are flying.
Additionally, I would like to add one point to your reflection on her post. Cathryn needs to cite sources. Its ok to be controversial, its ok to have an opinion on a subject, but its not ok to pull it out of thin air. When you are not already a credible source on a subject matter you need to use sources to back up your opinion as fact. That is something Cathryn has not done. Whenever I try to write a piece I always check to make sure I have sources to back up my ideas. The ideas don’t always have to be the most generally accepted principles but at least I should be able to find a community of other writers and researchers to back me up.
Ken
It is worth noting between the time her article came out and now, her Twitter account @cathrynsloane25 went from being open for everyone to see her stream to being protected today. I guess she couldn’t handle the pressure?
I have had fun reading all the responses to her silly post. You put it very well. You were especially right about her needing to address the controversy. Instead she locked her Twitter account and has not said anything (that I found).
Late to the conversation on this, but she’s high as a kite if she thinks the kids invented it or whatever. Hell, back when the internet was still only in the science labs and universities, there were those of us into what is now called social media – BBS’s and Compuserve and AOL. I was under 25 when I started.
And experience matters. It always has.