Why Asking Someone to "Push Out" A Message to Your Networks is a Big No No; Instead, Try Listening Large. #ListenLarge
Last week I received a call from a friend of mine who asked me to to text out an announcement about something to my network on my cell phone to let them know about an event that was happening in our area in South Texas.
I was puzzled not only why she had asked me to do this, but the fact that she had used the term "push out." The email from her read "We're making an announcement about X, and I was hoping you could push this out to your network...."
For starters, I will never text someone else's announcement to groups. I am not saying that's right or wrong, it's just something I don't do.
Her heart was in the right place, and I don't always expect people to understand the nuances of how to work in the evolving world of the social web.
I consider my phone directory to be something that is not only private, but people in my phone book come from a variety of lives in my world. I have friends, family, business associates, clients, suppliers, journalists, analysts, bloggers, vendors and so on. Even the ones in my physical area, I could not see their even being remotely interested in the subject at hand.
My recommendation to my friend was simple: rather than "pushing out a message," trying listening large - that is, put on a stethoscope and see who is involved in the specific area of interest at hand. Who's talking about it on the various social networks and start creating relationships to see if they may want to have a listen and learn more.
This is not the first time this happened, and I don't fault those who ask me to do this. I wrote this post so that the next time I get a request like this, I can tell them to read all about it in my blog.
Listening Large states the obvious, and takes discipline and more than anything, time.
If you are trying to promote a cause, or just trying to get someone's attention, start listening large.
Or follow Chris Brogan's advise on growing bigger ears.
Photo by Alan Weinkrantz - shot on location at Gare du Nortd train station - Paris. (c) 2010
