How To and When To Tag Without Annoying People

Old habits die hard. They're old habits because they work. Maybe I should use the past tense.

They're old habits because they worked. 

As in, they used to work.

As in, they don't work anymore.

As in, stop using them.

Some old habits no longer give their original benefit. Now, they're just a pain in the ass. (tweet)

Take cell phone messages for example.

In the pre-cell era, if you called and I didn't answer, you would leave me a message. That message would be something like, "Hey, Paul, it's me, Catherine Zeta Jones. Just checking if we're still on for tonight. Call me if you want. Bye, Hot Stuff."

Back then, if there was no message, I would never know that Catherine called. (As if she would, right?)

These days, leaving cell messages is just annoying. Particularly if the message is, "Hey, I called."

If I miss a call on my cell, it shows up on my lock screen. If you leave a message, it too shows up on my lock screen. 

Now I have two notifications for the same event.

That's annoying.

The missed call notification I can simply swipe away or tap to call back. The message is different. I need to tap, enter my password, Hit 1,1, to get to your message, hear that you say you called (I already knew that), delete the message, then call you back.

That's really annoying.

That's not so annoying that I wouldn't call Catherine Zeta Jones back to confirm our (ahem) date. 

Heck, I'd post the message online for the bragging rights alone!

For anyone else, with the possible exception of Salma Hayek, it's annoying.

There's been a spatter of posts about tagging lately

Most of those posts have to do with tag-bombing. That's like leaving messages on a bunch of cell phones at once. 

It's very, very annoying. 

It too is a habit whose best-before date has come and gone.

A note: I am just as guilty as anyone else. I've violated most of the "rules" I list here. beBee and my/our use of the platform is a work in progress. Most of these "rules" I just figured out today. 

I'm still not sure if the last rule will even work.

None of us can change the past. We can only look to the future. (tweet)

Another note: These "rules" aren't rules at all. They are just my suggestions. Follow them. Don't follow them. Print them to line bird cages. Whatever.

The logic of tag-bombing is a throwback to LinkedIn

When LinkedIn started limiting post visibility, we started inventing counter-tactics. One of those tactics was tagging anyone and everyone. The people we tagged got notified.

It worked on LinkedIn. 

It was annoying there too.

This ain't LinkedIn. 

This is beBee. Here, we get notified. 

If anything, we get over-notified. 

That's a good thing. Better too many notifications than not enough. 

If we misuse/overdo it, it too can get very annoying, very quickly. 

Tag-bombing falls squarely in the annoying category. Tag-bombing in a buzz introduction is much more so.

Don't Tag-Bomb

I've had to mute many buzzes out of self-defence. I'm sure that's not what their authors intended when they included me in a tag list. 

Tag-bombing in the introduction will trigger a mute. Twice it triggered unfollows.

The Mechanics of beBee Notifications

The next section is based solely on my observations. I have no inside knowledge. I am only one bee. Some of my observations may be erroneous.

• If you mention (tag) me in a buzz' introduction, I get notified of every subsequent action. Mentioning inside a long-form buzz does not trigger a notification.
• If you mention me in a comment, I get notified
• If you like a buzz of mine, I get notified
• If you like a comment I made on a buzz, I get notified
• If you comment on a buzz of mine, I get notified. This is true even if "my" buzz is simply a share of someone else's buzz.
• If you reply to a comment of mine, I get notified.

That's a lot of notifications. 

Let's go over them

Tagging in the introductory section of a buzz

Don't do it unless you have a damned good reason. Good reasons would be that they co-authored the piece, or you got permission to tag them. 

Every share or comment will trigger a notification to the people you tagged in the introduction! Talk about pissing off a bunch of people! 

The better your post does, the more you will piss them off.

Don't do it. Really, don't.

If you mention someone in a long-form buzz and want to let them know, mention them in a comment. At least, that way, they will only get one notification. 

If you tag them in the introduction, they will get notified every time someone shares or comments on the buzz. 

Every one of those shares will live on generating more notifications on still more comments and replies.

You will drive people crazy. 

That's usually not the best engagement strategy. (tweet)

I go out of my way not to share those types of buzzes. I don't share the buzz even if I really, really like it. At best, I'll go to the original post and share that. 

Liking a Buzz

Finding something relevant triggers a notification, but I can't tap it to get to your profile. 

A tap will take me to the buzz itself. From there, I can "See who finds it relevant." I still need to scroll down to find you. 

You may be too shy to follow the author. Maybe, you hope finding the buzz relevant will trigger a follow from him/her. 

That won't happen. 

There's no easy path to where he/she can do that. If that's your hope, comment instead.

I just delete these notifications. I wouldn't mind at all if beBee did away with them. They don't tell me much.

Finding something relevant adds you to the "See who finds it relevant" list. That's probably the best way to find people who share your interests, and have them find you.

It's a trick I learned from Deb Helfrich. 

If I like a buzz, I click the "See who finds this relevant" link. The assumption is if they find it relevant too, there is probably enough affinity to warrant a follow. The list includes a convenient follow button.

Commenting, Replying, Tagging: A reply is a type of comment. I get notified. If you reply to someone else's comment on my post, we both get notified. 

That's as it should be.

Don't bother tagging when you reply. That doubles the notifications. 

Don't bother tagging when you comment. That too sends two notifications.

Let's look at an example.

 "#21  @Dean Owen, A valid point. "

That's a fictitious reply to a comment (#21) by Dean on a fictitious post he never actually wrote. How many notifications would it trigger?

Four, six if it was on a share of the original post.

• A comment notification
• A reply to his comment notification
• A mention notification
• And, probably, a relevant notification

The reply is enough to get Dean's attention. Everything else is superfluous and likely, annoying.

The comment is better written as, "#21 Great point, Dean." At least it triggers only two notifications.

When to Tag

Tagging is to draw someone's attention. We all get that.

You have a responsibility to ensure that you tag for their interest, not yours. 

Let's say I find a post about some newfangled small form factor appliances designed for Tiny Houses and recreational vehicles. They're light-weight and use a variety of power sources.

Let's also say that I don't notice any comments from Phil Friedman. 

Phil builds yachts. I assume, but don't really know, that this post may interest him.

I can tag Phil. 

Even if Phil ultimately doesn't give a crap about the subject, he was tagged in good faith. I don't think Phil would get annoyed.

When NOT to Tag

Don't think tagging people will entice them to share your stuff. (tweet)

If anything, it entices them to do the opposite. 

I like you. I follow you. I read your stuff. I often share, tweet, and promote your stuff. I often engage on your stuff.

I do all that on my terms, not yours. (tweet)

I am not unique in this respect.

You can't build engagement by bugging people. (tweet)

A Tip for Authors, (maybe) Actually, the test failed

We authors like shares. We like them a lot. (tweet)

Let's do what we can to make sharing less painful.

There is something on beBee that many people find annoying. Some even don't like sharing buzzes because of it. 

If I share your buzz, beBee considers it my buzz. I originally thought that was strange. 

Then I understood. When I share your buzz, I assume the responsibility for that share.

If I share a buzz to an inappropriate Hive, it's on me, not you. I will face the fallout, not you. I get muted or unfollowed, not you.

From what I see, comments on a buzz are on the buzz itself, not the shared instance. Comments on a shared instance trigger notifications to the bee that shared.

Does that make sense?

Let me put it this way. No matter which hive you comment on, the comment is on the buzz itself. If I comment on a buzz on the Entrepreneurs Hive, you will see the comment if you read the same buzz on the Directors and Executives Hive.

If Pam Williams shared the buzz in the first place, she would get notified of my comment. I can't figure out if the original author gets notified too. To my mind, he/she should, but I just don't know.

I may be slow on the uptake, but I just noticed that recently. Yeah, embarrassing, I know.

What this has to do with authors

If you comment on my shared instance, I get a notification. It reads, for example, "Renée Cormier commented on your buzz." 

But Renée didn't comment on my buzz. She commented on my share of her buzz.

I'm not picking on Renée here. She is just the latest author that this happened with. Renée interacts often with her readers as well she should. 

We authors can't control what other people do. We can control what we do. 

Maybe we can reduce the number of notifications the people who share our stuff will get.

Here's what I'll try. I'm really not sure if it will work as I think it will. Logically, it should, but hey, you never know until you try.

Once I publish this buzz, I will keep a tab open to it. Every now and then I'll refresh the tab. 

I'll only reply to comments on the original post.

Hopefully, people who share this buzz won't get hit with a ton of notifications.

Please let me know if this works by saying so in a comment. If anyone is game to running a live test, mention that too.

Tested with Pascal Derrien. The idea above DOES NOT WORK. 

Any other thoughts? 

Have you noticed something that I missed? 

What works / doesn't work for you?

Great Ideas from the Comment Thread