Hi I’m Greg and I’m a LinkedIn loser. And this is my story… We’ve all made mistakes. There’s nothing wrong with making a small mistake, if no one was hurt or millions of pounds weren’t lost what’s the big issue? There shouldn’t really be an issue right? As long as you learn from your mistakes then that’s fine, when we don’t that is where the issue really lies.
So, when it comes to a blunder on social media, it shouldn’t matter too much. Other than feelings, it is unlikely that anyone was hurt. If you managed to cause some irreparable damage on behalf of your company’s name I suppose you might cost them millions of pounds but it is unlikely. Which means from such a blunder we can what? We can learn, which as we all know is good.
Don’t be a LinkedIn Loser Think before you speak.
“This post and author should be banned, sad reality. No innovation here. You should feel embarrassed to post things like this. This post will ruin your career. Please delete it before is too late. “
That is one of the 251 comments I received on a post of mine on LinkedIn. Most of the comments were of a similar sentiment. The post in question contained a video of a tree being turned into the statue of a motorbike, the post itself was centred around craftsmanship.
The transformation was impressive, and I do not think that the craftsmanship from that angle can be denied. However, what I did not consider when making the post was the fact that a very old and large tree was cut down, perhaps pointlessly to make said art. Hindsight is a wonderful and terrible thing, and looking back, yes perhaps I should have considered that before posting. However, I didn’t think about it, it didn’t even cross my mind, a blunder on my part.
So, one thing I learnt, or should I say was reminded of was, think before you speak, or act, post whatever you want to call it.
Viral isn’t vital
I can now say I have had my 10 minutes of fame, the 41000+ views on this post, unfortunately, eclipsed my performance of Danny in Danny Champion of the World in front of a few primary schools. I think in future however I would prefer to have a standing ovation that people screaming at me (figuratively) about how little I care for the planet.
“Should be ashamed. Promoting destruction of nature in the name of art??? Hope you delete this and give your head a good wobble.”
People have said that fame is a curse, and I can see why. It was not a great feeling to have so many negative comments aimed directly at me. But at least now I know, fame isn’t everything, viral isn’t vital. You can go viral and still be a LinkedIn loser.
Honesty is the best policy.
Ok so we all know that honesty is usually the best policy, so perhaps I didn’t learn this but discovered quite how true it was. As I mentioned before, when I originally made the post, I didn’t think of the negative environmental effects of the video. Which was a big LinkedIn loser mistake. After enough people told me how bad the video was though, I decided to come clean.
“Many of you will not like this video due to the felling of an ancient and giant tree. When I originally posted it this did not cross my mind. I looked at the end result and was impressed with the craftsmanship which you can’t really deny, is impressive.
I see now that I really should have thought more about the opening of the video and chosen my content more wisely. I apologise to those of you who are incredibly upset by this video. I have taken the criticism on board, and will be more thoughtful in future posts. However, the clearly aggressive and sarcastic tones many people have taken are also unnecessary. A simple comment sharing your concern sends a more pleasant message.
Either way. Have a good weekend.”
So I added the above comment to the post. This seemed to calm quite a few of the people who had left negative comments, one person in fact very nicely apologised to me.Whilst my apology doesn’t change the damage that was done to the environment, I was able to show at least that I am not quite as much of a monster as people thought. Needless to say, honesty is the best policy.
You can’t please everyone.
Notice that I said my comment calmed quite a few people, not everyone. In some people’s eyes, it was too little too late, and by not deleting the post I was still causing damage. Unfortunately, I can’t find the comment, but I remember that one person claimed I was still promoting deforestation and the like. I don’t think they realised that by commenting on it, they were making more people see the video themselves. Which makes both of us the LinkedIn loser.
Others, however, said that I shouldn’t have apologised, there was no need to do so. I must confess, that is not a reaction that I expected at all, but perhaps I should have. (Think before you speak Greg)
So whilst I was able to do some damage control throughout the process, it quickly became clear that you can’t please everyone.
Well, there you have it. From one post on LinkedIn, much controversy was caused and many lessons were learnt and remembered. Hopefully, now, you won’t post any videos promoting deforestation any time soon. If it keeps happening, maybe it’ll be best to change your profile to private.
