Conveying humor through social media is a challenge. When it’s done well, it can be really effective. However, if it’s misinterpreted or your intent is unclear, you leave yourself open for criticism. A Twitter account associated with Ohio State University’s Student Wellness Center learned this first hand this week. A quick recap:
View the story “Sex Jokes: Social Media Humor or Inappropriate?” on Storify
What do you think? Did the Wellness Center go too far? Or were they being clever in trying to educate this captivated audience of students? Does the fact that this Twitter account is an official account of the Ohio State University mean it should be held to a higher standard? I want to hear your opinions. Tweet me or leave ‘em here in the comments.
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@prtini initial tweets were push for “funny.” what’s worse are responses to ppl who were offended. Didn’t ack. they might have made mistake
@prtini humor/tone can be lost in Tweets – must be cautious when using it there. Bigger question is whether student or staff sent tweets.
One of the additional issues here is that the office’s twitter account appears to have been managed by a student, so there’s definitely room for some education on appropriate commentary when your comments represent a brand. I’m sure this will also result in some scrutiny or creation of social media policy for the Wellness Center and other student life offices, ours included!
@prtini It can work, but you have to be extremely careful and make sure the timing is appropriate and it makes sense from the messenger
@jeremiahgracia I’ve heard students run the account. That’s a challenge with students managing social. Do they consider potential outcomes?
@chrispugh3 Excellent point re: messenger. Perhaps those comments seemed even more out-of-place because they came from a university account?
@prtini I definitely agree. Looks strange coming from Ohio State. More social media managers need to live by “think before you tweet” policy