Troll Headlines

Troll headlines irritate me beyond the point of being able to ignore them.

One that just sparked pages of heated responses and a series of punk ass responses from the poster was.

Social Recruiting: The Replacement for Cold Calling.

After pages and pages of recruiters taking issue with social media being a replacement for anything and multiple attempts by multiple irritated and some more gentle recruiters trying to point out that social media was.

A. Not a replacment for cold calls.

B. Only one of the things that we use.

C. He was being a lot absurd in making an erroneous sweeping statement.

D. As a person with no recruiting experience and only five months experience as a marketer for a recruiting firm he might not yet have the experience to make that kind of claim just yet.

E. It might be well advised for his own personal brand not to be a know it all jerk.

He drew himself up in righteous indignation and took the mature and intelligent approach to decide that if i made any further reference to his age or inexperience that he would delete any further posts.

I suggested to the boy wonder that my last post was no reference to his age and experience but making fun of my own dotage as well as making the point that all of us had been using his definition of social media in some form since the early 90's. He didn't like that either. In a serious attempt to offer him some advice i suggested to him that all of us started out thinking that we were going to set the world on fire and flew too close to the sun early on in our careers before we learned much and now laugh at some of the goofy stuff we did and the fools we made of ourselves with some of our outrageous great statements when we knew just enough to be dangerous and didn't yet have the sense to shut our mouths and give our ears a chance.

I further suggested to him that a very good editor had once told me if i stirred up a hornets nest to go back and read all my posts without reading what everybody else had written and most of all to pay close attention to the headline of my article as it set the tone for everything that followed. Most of all to never say never or always and not to put myself in a hole before i started digging. His passion was certainly notable but to go back and read all the responses that referred to a rookie, hiring a teenager because they knew everything, headlines that made people mention it made their teeth grind, the analogy of a 12 year old wearing the opposing team baseball cap in the home team city, etc. etc. Then give some thought to the possiblity that all of us are interested in new ideas so perhaps he might not have pissed off so many folks if he had given more thought to his headline. I suggested that acting like a defensive punk might not be the best way to be well received or to make his case.

I closed by letting him know that this was some serious advice from a seasoned old bitch who loved a good rumble.

He didn't like that either so simply said i had posted something else negative and wanted to keep all this on a positive note. So deleted my post and said so. Dumb kid.

Another poster just suggested to him for the 40th time that cold calling was part of our process as well as email, various sites ,social media etc.

The funny thing about all this is that after a Headline that says SOCIAL RECRUITING - REPLACMENT FOR COLD CALLING. He now postulates that he never suggested that any of the proven methods of recruiting should be done away with and social media is an aid to calling and doesn't understand why nobody can "get" what he is trying to say. Dear Boy Wonder look up the definition of the word replacement before you write another headline.

Here is his direct comment from his last post.

" But I mean the issue that I can't seem to make clear is that this post isnt about social recruiting replacing traditional recruiting but simply supplementing it"

Dear Boy Wonder. Write a memo to yourself. TRADITIONAL RECRUITING IS COLD CALLING, IF I WRITE A HEADLINE THAT SAYS "SOCIAL RECRUITING: REPLACMENT FOR COLD CALLING" MY POST IS ABOUT SOCIAL RECRUITING REPLACING TRADITIONAL RECRUITING TO ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN IN THE BUSINESS FOR MORE THAN FIVE MONTHS!

I love it when a baby Troll flys too close to the sun, writes a Troll headline, sets himself up for a fronal attack, starts deleting comments that he doesn't like in order to keep the discussion on a positive note. then does a 180 on what he meant in the first place. But really, he hasn't been around long enough to know what traditional recruiting is so..aw hell it's Christmas, i'll give him a break if he can manage to grow up a little bit.

Somehow it reminds me of Christmas's past :)

I am sending the baby troll a gift certificate for a class on how to laugh at himself, what to do when you posture too much and get your puppy nose slapped and what happens when you start deleting comments cuz "if you says one more thing bout' my age and experience i am gonna, boy i'm gonna show you, i'll by god rise up and delete your comments..so there.

We have probably all been there but most of us said oops when we stepped on the "stupid" land mine and took a big bite of the shit sandwich. I remember the first troll headline i ever wrote. Made such a jerk of myself that it had to get funny before i dug myself out of the hole. Let's hope that this one uses his "learners permit" and grows up wise enough to use his talent and passion in a more mature manner. It would be nice if we could just delete everything we didn't like...but that ain't recruiting. Unless of course one spends all their time on twitter hiding behind an avatar so their feelers don't get bopped in 140 characters and can just unfollow. That sort of makes me want to unswallow. Twitter this bear hugger, like i said, i was using social media before you could spell it.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on December 2, 2010 at 10:35pm

Like i said, Heathcliff. Reminds me of Christmas past. It has become a sport. LOL.

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Permalink Reply by Pamela Bovaird on December 3, 2010 at 12:06pm

I particularly like these references, Sandra.

"I closed by letting him know that this was some serious advice from a seasoned old bitch who loved a good rumble. the baby troll puppy nose...."

Very Funny!! If you were writing like this every day I would be reading it.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on December 3, 2010 at 2:19pm

Thanks Pamela, i was impressed with your comment about using SEO. Great info and the kind that helps us all.

My attitude is i really hate to beat up a newbie. I have mentored and argued with tons of them and ended up building some great relationships but when one is so green that he doesn't have a clue what he is reading or what it means then has to fire back with smart ass, punk comments like.

"Why can't people like you evolve". "I bet you thought land lines would never be replaced by cell phones and email was never going to be used much."

Get back Jack...big sigh...do i really want to spank this little hot shot, why bother. Oh hell, not too busy today so i'll take issue with that smart ass insult and see where we go.

There is no nicer guy in recruiting than Jerry Albright. He will go a million miles to help somebody, makes a supreme effort to be sure folks like him, has some well formed and outspoken opinions (as most great recruiters do). When somebody pisses Albright off to the point that he wants to take him outside and pound his tulips we have identified a punk and the time has come.

I consider myself the most ridiculous person i know. Laughing at myself and some of the nutty stuff i do and think has taken me a million miles down the road of knowing that above all , i don't know it all and never will. If i could give every recruiter i know a gift it would be a taste of humility and the ability to laugh at ourselves. The stories of "Fox Paws" i have perped are legend.

There are millions of young recruiters and markerters in our space that catch on quick. I love to watch them, help them and cheer them on. I hope this one learned something that will serve him well and he will someday be able to laugh about the time he offered up something ridiculous. Based on his responses, it may iffy.

I also suggested that he could continue running in circles, lapping out of puddles, barking at the moon and peeing on fence posts but it might be more productive to perk his ears up.

Training pups is time consuming, takes some of that patience that this one postulated young recruiters don't have and they are thin skinned. So maybe there is some truth to his comment that the young do not have any patience and are too thin skinned to make cold calls so fall out of recruiting. If that is the case they probably should since it's a tough business and no place for the faint of heart who are defensive about their "feelers".

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Permalink Reply by Paul Alfred on December 3, 2010 at 4:13pm

Sandra .... You don't Joke around... You really laid into poor Justin .. You're too funny ...

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on December 3, 2010 at 5:06pm

I adore you Paul. Your discussion about deleting posts was just lying there waiting like a fertile field.

I have a little speech i make to a perp when i do an animal cruelty investigation.

"Think of me as your worst nightmare, i am a woman over 60 who owns her business , loves animals and doesn't give a flying F who she irritates. If this situation is not corrected immediately, buy a new hat and shirt because you are getting ready to meet the media and have your 15 minutes of fame."

The power of social media is a double edged sword. Brand indeed. hurrumph! Now where did i put that branding iron.

I notice that Justin is not tweeting any "Ha, ha, ha, look at the age of those who are making abrasive comments." Tweets today.

Old people are just damn mean when they get mad, the good thing is they don't remember in a day or two who they got mad at or why.

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Permalink Reply by Justin Miller on December 3, 2010 at 6:31pm

I guess I'm just honored is all. In between episodes of Murder She Wrote Sandra found time to comment multiples times on different threads about how much disdain she has for me.

Sandra McCartt said:

I adore you Paul. Your discussion about deleting posts was just lying there waiting like a fertile field.

I have a little speech i make to a perp when i do an animal cruelty investigation.

"Think of me as your worst nightmare, i am a woman over 60 who owns her business , loves animals and doesn't give a flying F who she irritates. If this situation is not corrected immediately, buy a new hat and shirt because you are getting ready to meet the media and have your 15 minutes of fame."

The power of social media is a double edged sword. Brand indeed. hurrumph! Now where did i put that branding iron.

I notice that Justin is not tweeting any "Ha, ha, ha, look at the age of those who are making abrasive comments." Tweets today.

Old people are just damn mean when they get mad, the good thing is they don't remember in a day or two who they got mad at or why.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on December 3, 2010 at 6:57pm

Well hello Justin, nice to have you drop by. I will do you the courtesy of not deleting your post but i will certainly respond to your misguided impression.

My disdain is not for you. It is for the ignorance of your blog headline and smart ass, punk responses that made you look like a twerp. If you are going to write and invite comments, which you did, do battle, defend your position but when any of us start getting our ears pinned back because we missed the mark, we are all well advised to start asking questions rather than firing off smart ass remarks.

I tried to give you several outs but you refused to take them others did too, James, Tom and Jerry and many others. Paul gave you a pointer or two but you were and are too busy being defensive to give it up, laugh at yourself a little bit and admit that you really didn't realize that cold calling is considered to be "traditional recruiting".

As i said, we have all done it. You will be well received if you give it up and say , "well blew that one" and may have let my feelings get a little bruised and acted like a smart ass kid. Learned something about recruiters with this go around.

As to deleting comments and making a petulant statement about not inviting anybody to comment.
Those are the actions of a pouty kid not a big boy trying to get started in an industry. We all invite comments when we write a blog, sometimes it gets hot but at the end of the day if we roll with it realize it's a blog and an opinion and not a comment on anybody's character. Which by the way was a phrase you used as to it being a comment on my character that i would dare say something like that to you.

While i admire your passion and your interest in blogging suffice it to say that you have an opportunity to either continue to act like an adolescent troll or join the group. Both will be noticed.

As to "Murder She Wrote". You aint' seen nuttin yet honey. This is all still fun. It can get a lot worse.

The way it rolls is totally up to you.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on December 3, 2010 at 8:43pm

Safe and warm holidays to you to Rayanne,

Trolls come in all flavors but i agree, the ones that are the most fun are the ones that have that crazy bug eyed looked with one eye rolling one way and one rolling the other, spitting and hissing like a coon on a power pole in a lightening storm. If you have never witnessed that one it is a sight to behold. Coon normally doesn't make it because they don't have enough sense to turn loose. This one may or may not have enough sense to come to the party. Time will tell. His very strange comment here indicates that we may have another one of those narcisisstic (how many s's are in that damn word, maybe it should be narcihisstic anyway) personality disorders loose amongst us once again. I would have expected something a little more creative from a marketing stud duck. Originality does not seem to be a forte at this point.

I have decided that God gives me a new nut every Chirstmas just to see what i can do with them. Thanks big guy, i was a little bored this week. I will share my troll with you and you can give him back if you don't have the patience but want to put the little bugger on your dash board for a few days. think how fun it would have been to pick him up and shove him in the face of the guy who had the Bentley.

Rayanne said:

Merry Holiday, Ms. McCarrt...,

Trolls were my favorite things to play with as a kid.... especially when you shook them up and their hair was going in a hundred different directions and their eyes were bulging out and they looked like they had no clue. Not much has changed since those days... I still love tossing trolls. I just have less patience and no desire to try and put their hair back in place. I move on..., I just move on.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Lennard on December 4, 2010 at 4:45am

Haha.. and it goes on and on.. Brilliant... Oh and by the way this seasoned old bitch is truly a real softie.. I've been there once on the receiving end.. it hurt, I was tearful and my wounds had to be nursed... but I laughed out loud and now me and the young chick are now best of buddies, aint we Menchy McCartt ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on December 4, 2010 at 10:54am

Interesting side bar on the coon thing - I never thought I'd need something like this but decided to give it a shot. It was only $7.59 and so far I've got to say I'm impressed. When I was younger I would have never thought I needed it - but I've learned over the years to always try new stuff. If it works - great! If it doesn't - don't buy any more.

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Permalink Reply by C. B. Stalling!! on December 4, 2010 at 11:30am

@ jerry too funny post....

Jerry Albright said:

Interesting side bar on the coon thing - I never thought I'd need something like this but decided to give it a shot. It was only $7.59 and so far I've got to say I'm impressed. When I was younger I would have never thought I needed it - but I've learned over the years to always try new stuff. If it works - great! If it doesn't - don't buy any more.