Top 10 Social Media Fails Of 2014
Businesses learn lessons the hard way when their social media posts go wrong. Have a look at the businesses that made this year's naughty list.
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This year wouldn't be complete without a roundup of the best of the worst in social media -- hijacked hashtags, Tumblr blunders, failed Twitter promotions, and poorly thought-out tweets. The brands on this year's naughty run the gamut, from sports teams and restaurants to electronics stores and airlines.
Companies had many opportunities to learn from last year's mistakes -- and in some cases, they did. In 2013, we saw two examples of rogue tweeting: one from a social media executive at a music chain, who live-tweeted the firing of 190 employees from the corporate Twitter account; and another involving Bank of America, which discovered what happens when robots run your feed. This year, we didn't see any similar mis-tweets.
Businesses, it appears, also learned to deal with conflicts and crises better. Last year, Applebee's fired an employee after she posted a photo of a customer's receipt that went viral on Reddit. The restaurant said the employee violated its policy against posting information about its patrons. The only problem: Just two weeks before, the restaurant posted a picture of a note from a guest that featured the guest's name.
Then there was the epic meltdown of Amy's Baking Company, which received blowback on its Facebook page after it was featured on the television show Kitchen Nightmares. Let's just say the company didn't handle the criticism well.
But for all the lessons learned in 2013, businesses still committed many of the same social media faux pas this year.
In 2013, JPMorgan Chase asked followers to send questions using the hashtag #AskJPM as an opportunity for college students to communicate with an executive. What the company didn't expect was the barrage of angry and snarky posts, including "Can I have my house back?" This year, the New York Police Department fell into a similar hashtag hijacking trap.
Last year, London's Luton Airport discovered what happens when you don't research images you include in social posts. The airline posted a photo of a crashed airplane with a comment that read, "Because we are such a super airport … this is what we prevent you from when it snows … Weeeee :)" The image it used depicted a 2005 plane crash that killed a six-year-old boy. This year, clothing retailer American Apparel learned a painfully similar lesson.
There was no shortage of insensitive messages this year. Last year, pasta maker Barilla found itself in hot water after its CEO made anti-gay and sexist remarks on an Italian radio station. Barilla apologized on Twitter, but users didn't buy it. This year, Dave & Busters, the New England Patriots, and KLM were widely criticized after posting racially insensitive tweets.
What other social media mishaps went viral in 2014, and what can we learn from them next year? Here's our top 10 list.
Following the launch of Apple's supersized iPhone 6 Plus, photos and videos went viral showing how easily the device reportedly bent in users' back pockets. A number of brands, including LG France, jumped on the opportunity to capitalize on the scandal, dubbed "Bendgate."
LG's tweet roughly translated to "Our smartphones don't bend, they are naturally curved" -- a snarky tweet from the phone maker, which included an image of the LG G Flex. The problem? The tweet was sent from an iPhone.
To promote "Taco Tuesday," restaurant chain Dave & Buster's posted a tweet that followers agreed was a bad attempt at humor. The tweet in question: "'I hate tacos' said no Juan ever #TacoTuesday #DaveandBusters."
Followers called out the company, and eventually it deleted the tweet. Later, it issued a reply: "We sincerely apologize for the tweet that went out today our intention was never to offend anyone please accept our apology."
Best Buy apologized after tweeting a joke earlier this month related to the popular podcast "Serial," which investigates the real-life murder of a teenager in 1999. The tweet, which the company has since deleted, read, "We have everything you need. Unless you need a payphone. #Serial."
The tweet alludes to a key element of the case against the murder suspect -- a payphone in the parking lot of a Best Buy that the suspect allegedly used to call for a ride following the murder. "Serial" tries to answer the question of whether or not the payphone existed.
The tweet immediately sparked outrage on Twitter, and a few hours later the company apologized: "We deeply apologize for our earlier tweet about Serial. It lacked good judgment and doesn't reflect the values of our company. We are sorry."
Clothing company American Apparel, whose advertisements have sparked controversy before, posted an image on its Tumblr page of what it thought was firework smoke in honor of Independence Day.
The plume of #smoke and #clouds, however, was anything but: The iconic image actually depicted the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Challenger, which exploded in 1986, killing the American astronauts on board.
American Apparel later posted an apology, which pegged the blame on a young international employee. "We deeply apologize for today's Tumblr post of the Space Shuttle Challenger," it read. "The image was re-blogged in error by one of our international social media employees who was born after the tragedy and was unaware of the event. We sincerely regret the insensitivity of that selection and the post has been deleted."
Publicly tweeting something meant as a direct message is a forgivable mistake -- unless you work at Twitter. The company's CFO, Anthony Noto, accidentally posted a tweet in November about a potential acquisition that read, "I still think we should buy them. He is on your schedule for Dec 15 or 16--we will need to sell him. I have a plan."
While the post was quickly deleted, neither Noto nor Twitter has addressed the potential acquisition. Stay tuned.
In April, the New York Police Department launched a hashtag campaign that encouraged followers to share photos of themselves alongside city police officers using the hashtag #myNYPD. The best ones would be featured on the department's Facebook page, it said.
While some followers did tweet the feel-good pictures the campaign envisioned, others jumped on the hashtag to promote perceived images of abuse and brutality, like the one above.
When the New England Patriots' Twitter account hit 1 million followers, the organization thanked them with "digital jerseys" -- an image that used an algorithm to input your Twitter handle onto the back of a jersey when you retweeted it.
What the organization didn't account for were trolls and spam handles, which also took advantage of the Patriots' gesture. One username in particular, which included a racial slur, was flagged by more than 1,000 users. Shortly after, the Patriots deleted the tweet and apologized.
"We apologize for the regrettable tweet that went out from our account. Our filtering failed & we will be more vigilant in the future."
Some female Pinterest users woke up one morning in September to discover that the social network had married them off.
"You're getting married!" the email said. "And because we love wedding planning -- especially all the lovely stationary -- we invite you to browse our best boards curated by graphic designers, photographers and fellow brides-to-be, all Pinners with a keen eye and marriage on the mind."
Oops. Turns out, many of the email recipients were still very much single, and they took to Twitter to groan -- and muse -- over Pinterest's mistake. The company was quick to issue an apology:
"Every week, we email collections of category-specific pins and boards to pinners we hope will be interested in them," it read. "Unfortunately, one of these recent emails suggested that pinners were actually getting married, rather than just potentially interested in wedding-related content. We're sorry we came off like an overbearing mother who is always asking when you'll find a nice boy or girl."
When video emerged of NFL star Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee, thousands of women took to Twitter to discuss why they chose to stay in abusive relationships. The hashtag, #WhyIStayed, soon trended on Twitter.
Enter DiGiorno Pizza, which didn't understand the context of the hashtag before tweeting. The brand posted a message that read, "#whyistayed You had pizza." The backlash was immediate, and DiGiorno quickly deleted the tweet and apologized: "A million apologies. Did not read what the hashtag was about before posting."
After the Netherlands beat Mexico 2-1 in the World Cup, the Netherlands' Royal Dutch Airlines -- more commonly known as KLM -- tweeted, "Adios Amigos! #NEDMEX," and attached a photo of an airport sign featuring mustached man wearing a sombrero.
A KLM spokesperson said the tweet was meant as a joke, and later that night, the company issued an apology: "In the best of sportsmanship, we offer our heartfelt apologies to those who have been offended by the comment."
AeroMexico, on the other hand, took the high road, and tweeted "Thank you for this great championship. You've made us proud and we're waiting for you at home." The company shared a photo of an airport "arrivals" sign.
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