Unreasonably Demanding Requests
Pet Peeve: Getting e-mails from people that ask for an unreasonable amount of help. I don’t mind helping, but please realize that I do work fulltime, plus teach part time and am involved with several other projects….and of course there is the having a life outside of work.
This is an excerpt from an e-mail I recently received asking for help…in basically doing all the research in creating a social strategy:
If you are so inclined and have the time, my colleagues and I would like to discuss these topics with you, either in person or by phone. We would like your thoughts on the published literature in this area, including online sources, best practices and who is in the forefront of establishing them, operational tactics and strategies for implementing social media programs for alumni engagement, evaluating their effectiveness, case studies, white papers and any other resources you might be familiar with.
Attribution To A Platform Rather Than Individual
Pet Peeve: When people attribute the source of a piece of information to a platform rather than the source that it comes from.
For example, “Twitter says so and so is dead.” What happened to such and such a person saying something? It’s the only way to keep people accountable.
Pet-Peeve: People who describe themselves as gurus of something or ninjas as a way to be creative.
For example, someone who calls themselves a “Social Media Guru.” The problem is that when hundreds of other people use a title like this it is no longer creative. You shouldn’t call yourself this, other people should call you this.
Revision Requested Before Publishing
Pet Peeve: When PR people ask for a review of an article before it gets published. This violates most credible news organizations’ policies.
Most of the time it is because the PR person wants to make sure they sound articulate or didn’t say anything that comes off, well, to say it plainly, stupid. Or it is to make sure the “message” of their company is exactly how they want it to be, and not as a journalist interprets it.
Pet Peeve: When people block the entrance on a train car during rush hour.
For example, it’s 9 in the morning and you’re running to catch the train, when the person in front of you gets into the train car and stops, blocking your entrance onto the train. You miss the train.
Photo: flickr/moriza
People Who Don’t Read
Pet Peeve: People who haven’t read the very piece of writing they are inquiring or complaining about.
For example, someone who hasn’t read an article ask you a question in the comments or protest something, when if they actually read the article they would see that all the information is right there.
Slow Walkers
Pet Peeve: People who walk slowly without any regard for those around them that are actually trying to get somewhere.
For example, Times Square is a dreaded place to go for New Yorkers because it is full of tourists who walk slowly gazing up at the skyscrapers.
Uninformed Inquiry
Pet Peeve: When people inquire about a specific matter without first looking into it.
For example, someone asks you to do something when you’ve already done it. They just didn’t check it out.
