Are Agencies Pitching a Product That’s Bad For Your Health?

Apr 17, 2018 | 3  min
author Pyxl Development
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After 11 years of ignoring issues with its health, Twitter finally decided to stop referring to its flu as a little stomach bug. They’re coming clean about some real health problems that their platform faces.

Admitting in a fiery tweet storm, Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey shared how Twitter has spiraled into a home for abuse, harassment, trolls, bot and human manipulation, misinformation and divisive echo chambers. Yikes!

Twitter execs aren’t the only ones seeing the negative results of their platform. Users have reported feeling trapped in an unhealthy cycle of stress. The assault of constant information and compulsive need to stay checked into these networks means that users are more likely to be exposed to harassment as well as anxiety and depression-inducing behavior. This culmination of negativity leaves Twitter’s medical diagnosis looking terminal… if they are unable to get things turned around.

What should be done?

Rather than rush to take decisive action like Facebook, Dorsey sent out a bat signal. Twitter is seeking help from outside experts and the public to restore its health. Does this mean Twitter is entirely out of touch with just how big of a mess this might be for them? Accepting the problem is always the first step… right?

It comes as no surprise that Twitter has struggled for many years to moderate content on its network. Their attempt to balance freedom of speech with an onslaught of bot interference and general misuse has forced them to evaluate their standards. This means facing their failure to enforce community guidelines on a consistent basis. Twitter finally sees the real world implications of its platform. This is why they intend to take a proactive and holistic approach to solve these problems, all done in the hope of evaluating everything that’s going on in the Twittersphere at large.

But it won’t be quite as easy as hitting a reset button. It’s going to take a lot of work at Twitter and will require some significant internal and cultural changes. Though it’s long overdue, we’re happy to see some self-reflection. We’ll take it, even if their form of outsourcing solutions is really a deflection tactic.

Keys to social media health

Taking inspiration from not-for-profit research analytic group, Cortico, Dorsey seeks to apply conversation analytics to Twitter. Cortico developed four social media health indicators to check the pulse of conversations held on social media:

  1. Shared Attention: A sign that topics of discussion overlap on social media
  2. Shared Reality: An indicator that these conversations are rooted in fact rather than opinion
  3. Variety: A marker that though opinions may differ from each other, they still share the same reality (as mentioned above)
  4. Receptivity: An indication that we are open, civil, and listening to varying opinions

Although both Twitter and Cortico are uncertain about these metrics, they have each said that they are open to experimentation and seeing what experts might have to say. Even if it reveals that an abstract concept like social health can’t indeed be measured.

What do you do as a user?

This can be a lot to take in, and while everyone takes a different approach to processing information, the results have been overwhelmingly negative for the masses. For your own sake, evaluate your emotional reactions when using social media. Recognize when it’s affecting your well-being, and step away if it is beginning to have a negative impact. This doesn’t mean just when you read something you disagree with, but when you’re spending more time on social media than living your life. This might mean avoiding platforms when you’re already feeling stressed or when you’re trying to relax before bed. Be conscious of what you’re taking in as you scroll through your feeds and know when to log-off.

What about your brand?

So what might all of this mean for your brand on Twitter? At Pyxl we aren’t recommending jumping ship by leaving the site. Twitter, albeit flawed, is still a really beneficial platform for brands to use. It gives you a chance to reach out to your followers instantly, take part and learn from social listening, and build awareness and confidence in your brand. Plus, it doesn’t use a fully algorithmic timeline like many other popular platforms do (we’re looking at you Instagram). This means you know your followers are seeing the content you’ve worked so hard to produce.

Looking to the future

While we don’t yet know what features will be rolled out or what may come of this upcoming “physical,” we do know that changes are always popping up for brands. This is especially true of social media. But, no matter how things evolve or what obstacles arise, companies that constantly pursue growth are the ones that prevail. Continue to evaluate your social strategy and share content that is beneficial and relevant to your audience.

Think Twitter is doomed and won’t recover? Not sure if they’re healthy for your brand? Let us know what you think.

If you’re looking to refresh your social strategy or create content that engages your followers, we’d love to help (with or without Twitter 😉). Don’t be shy — let’s start the conversation today.

Updated: Apr 13, 2022

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