Reflection on Social Media Case 5: Paypal Deleted Comments

It is my theory that when given the opportunity people will complain online.  When PayPal posted to their Facebook page they opened themselves up to ridicule.  Which can be the case anytime a large company posts on social media platforms.  There will always be both negativity and positivity associated with social media posting.  Where I think a mistake was made was when they thought that by just deleting the negative comments the negativity for their post would go away.  I think the analogy of the water pipe with a leak is an accurate representation of this situation.  If you cover the leak (delete the negative comment) another leak will spring almost immediately from the pipe.  I think that people usually respond negatively to their comments being deleted.  They often become even more irritated with the company and post even more negative comments. They also have probably told their friends, family, and co-workers about this horrible thing that happened.  Which can cause a snowball running down a hill effect.  Had PayPal had a comment policy and expectations in place the people commenting would know why their comments had been removed.  They would also be educated for future commenting knowing that if they commented on certain topics their comments would be deleted.

It is just like we talked about in class-it is better to combat incorrect information with the truth coming from you. Whether this comes in the form of a social media comment or a personal blog post.  This is so that people know the information that is coming from you is correct and the true story.  I think that retaliating, or the eye for an eye mentality just makes the whole world blind.  If we can respond to negativity that is associated with social media in a more positive way we can help alleviate the problem rather than fuel the fire.