via Alvimann (morgueFile)
Have you ever had to deal with a person who blows things so out of proportion publicly that you feel like turning off your computer and taking a vacation? If so, read further. I have an interesting case study for you.
If you have followed this blog for a while, you probably know that I am a huge fan of content curation and Paper.li / Scoop.it. You may even remember the recent guest post I wrote and interview I did for the Paper.li Community.
The story
The other day, a Tweep named Steve contacted me to ask me to credit the right author of an article that he had shared on Twitter and that had been featured under his name in my Culture in Canada Paper.li.
It took me a little while to understand what he meant. When I finally did, I explained to him that Paper.li aggregates content based on what people share on Twitter, not on who writes what.
We exchanged a few more tweets, and Steve continued asking me to take care of the issue. I redirected him to the folks at Paper.li (@SmallRivers), because there really was nothing I could do. Kelly Hungerford, Paper.li’s Community Manager, got in touch with him quickly after, and invited him to discuss things further with her.
A couple of days later, Steve mentioned me in the following Tweet:
My issues with how @SmallRivers & @CendrineMedia credited me for @RadioMaga‘s post for @TheGridTO: sfy.co/x7g #storify
— Steve Fisher (@GracingTheStage) May 15, 2012
I clicked the link to find an entire article on the whole issue on Storify. My name was mentioned several times, with a link to one of my Examiner titles!
Here is the screenshot of the entire article (including comments). Click it to see the full-sized picture in a new tab. You can also read the story directly on Storify.
Note: This is an updated version of the screenshot (May 18, 2012)
How Storify and Paper.li handled the situation
I emailed Storify to ask them to remove the story. Here is their response:
Hi Cendrine,
Thank you for your note, and sorry for your experience. We have looked into this matter, and this is not a story we would remove or intervene in. That does not suggest that we condone or approve the contents in any way.
Thank you for using our platform and we hope your future Storify experiences are more pleasant.
Their lack of concern for the issue is quite worrying. I like the platform and have recommended it to many people. However, now, I am not sure if I will continue using it…
I had also contacted Paper.li, and knew that they would do something about it. Their way of dealing with the situation actually exceeded my expectations.
Kelly Hungerford and Liz Wilson (Paper.li’s Community Editor), the two ladies I exchanged emails back and forth with, cared about the issue. They were extremely supportive, going beyond the call of duty despite very busy schedules. Kelly, in particular, even took the time to leave two comments under Steve’s story on Storify. (Needless to say that my love for Paper.li has increased at least tenfold as a result!)
All the people with whom I have been in touch about this issue have agreed on the fact that it is a case of public bashing and that Steve has gone over the top. Read the comments under the Storify article, and you will understand what I mean.
Steve has mentioned several times that I owe him and the author of the article an apology. I am still confused as to why.
I tried to help Steve to the best of my ability. Unfortunately, I feel that he does not really want the “misunderstanding” between us to come to an end. As a result, I choose to step away and let the whole thing go.
So, what are the lessons?
As an entrepreneur, I take this kind of situations very seriously. First of all, I am not perfect. I could have made the same mistakes as Steve did. And second, I believe that life is an ever-ending learning playground. The more lessons I learn, the better armed I am to deal with unforeseen circumstances.
We all talk about how social media makes us more and more irresponsible. But, as I always say, how can tools be accountable for our behaviors?
- It is OK to have concerns and voice them on social networks. However, you have to do it in a respectful and non-threatening manner.
- Before deciding to attack people publicly, make sure you have valid reasons — and know who you are talking to. While I am only a small fish in a big pond, the situation could have taken a much different turn if Steve had set his sights on a person with more followers and advocates.
- Disagreeing with someone online is fine. However, resorting to public bashing just because you think you can is NOT.
Being hidden behind a computer screen does not allow you to forget your responsibilities towards your audience. Twitter is like any other social network. It is a public forum. A lot of people can read your Tweets. They will be quick to pass permanent judgment on your nasty mistakes, even if you apologize a hundred times and try to make up for them at least ten times more.
Social media has allowed us to connect with millions of people around the world. Let us not turn it into another failed human experiment.
It really is time to go back to the basics and learn the value of respectful and compassionate relationships.
Now, it is your turn to speak. Has something similar happened to you? What did you learn from the experience? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Well, I told you this before Cendrine, but I felt you handled the situation admirably. Honestly. The other person in question blew a situation out of proportion without even understanding the mechanisms in place for different content curation tools.
He compounded his error by taking the situation on to a completely inappropriate level and putting together an entire “story” on it – and he is supposedly an entertainment writer as well. I find his lack of social media etiquette skills and knowledge disturbing at best, and offensive as well.
Thank you so much, Katrina!
I don’t really know if he realizes how ridiculous the whole situation truly is. Like I said to Liz, I would have let it go if he hadn’t blown everything out of proportion like he did.
The good thing about it though, is that it provided me with much food for thought and a great case study. ;-)
Ok I actually had to read this entire case study about 4 times to digest what was going on! I read the first 2 times to be certain my astonishment was real and the next 2 times to decipher the real underlying issue of the conversation (assault) directed towards Cendrine.
Sooooo Heeerrreee we gooooooo! Anyone could read the FAQ page on Paper.li to find out HOW their system works. I myself have three of these twitter/facebook “papers” and read about the platform prior to creating any of them.
Paper.li publishers like Cendrine are NOT curators in the sense one is used to. These papers are created using search terms and keywords as well as full links in tweets used by people the “publisher” FOLOWS. It is obvious that we do not 100% pick and choose the actual content of the papers. If Cendrine had not been following S.F. then his retweet would not have made it to her “paper”. If we don’t follow you, your content has no chance to make it into the paper.
Cendrine does not owe anyone an apology and In my opinion, took S.F.’s complaint seriously and referred the matter over to the people who COULD fix the situation IF there was a fix. Even after explaining the situation and doing what she could to help, she still came under continuous assault by this person. I am sorry it is just impossible for me to type this person’s full name, he doesn’t deserve that kind of recognition, in my opinion.
Giving credit to the wrong person is not by any means deliberate when using these aggregation portals nor is the subject of the assault, Cendrine Marrouat one of those careless journalists that are just looking for numbers and ratings. She is a very sincere person and journalist simply using a tool which is not only bringing her additional traffic but bringing added value to the posts of people whom she follows and fit the search criteria used by the paper.li platform. Any person with an ounce of common sense would have let the issue drop after the FIRST round of explanations.
My final word on this is that outlets like paper.li, storify, etc., all serve a purpose which is creating engagement and solidifying the social networking community’s impact on the information dissemination world. No longer do we have to wait for a news wire like Associated Press or United Press International to spread the word about important issues or events, we can share that information more directly with our personal networks. Very simple, these platforms don’t follow an APA format for citations nor should we expect them to…perhaps the next time you share a post you will take time to edit it to include the original authors info in your retweet.
Thank you, Jerry! I appreciate your comment!
This is exactly why I don’t use paper.li. I agree that it’s wrong to be credited for someone else’s article as quite honestly I don’t think most people understand the difference between by & via! I wish paper.li would give us some kind of “no paper” code that we could use, or at the very least fix their algorithims to use the original author instead of just the sharer.
That said, I do think Steve was rather hard on you.
Hello Anita! Maybe you could email them to suggest this type of improvement. I know they love that kind of feedback, and always take notes.
Thank you for stopping by!
Steve, your initial request was clear: You asked me to edit attribution directly on Paper.li, which I explained to you I couldn’t do. Now you are changing your version, and claim that you asked me to remove the content and share it directly from the source. These are two different things.
It amazes me how you are basically twisting everything to serve your own agenda here. You attacked me publicly and now are using weird excuses to continue making me responsible for something that I have no power over.
Once again, you WERE NOT CREDITED AS THE AUTHOR, BUT AS THE SHARER OF THE ARTICLE.
If your brand is enormously important to you, then maybe next time, I suggest you pay more attention to the way you act online.
I did my best to help you, and you took the matter publicly. Stop twisting things to serve your purpose. You saw people’s reactions to your article. Check out the comment section under this article as well. It is clear that you need to learn how social media works.
“I’ve had occasion to regret some of my exchanges online in the past, but this definitely isn’t one of them.” – You should though. But it is just my two cents.
Best,
Cendrine
“I really don’t mind at all how Cendrine continues to paint me in an unflattering light” – You did the job perfectly yourself. I did nothing but state facts and use your Storify article to prove my point.