Donald Trump Archives -

Donald Trump’s Prison in the Depths of Social Media Hell

Many news articles about Donald Trump describe remarks so horrendous that his PR team later tries to rewrite what he says, explaining how his remarks were “taken out of context” or that he was “joking.” When the news is horribly negative, (and it usually is), then it was “meant as a joke.” And then social media, controlled as it is by the “liberals,” takes the negative comment and makes it worse. If I were on Donald Trump’s social media team, I’d be worried about having to continually reframe The Donald’s words.

Has Social Media Helped or Hindered Trump’s Slide?

Like many others have postulated, it seems that The Donald may never have had any intention of being president. His comments are so envenomed that it’s unfathomable that he could ever really win. The Huffington Post has even suggested that Clinton take a break from campaigning, as doing nothing could help her win. And recently, Michael Moore, who just last week said that Donald Trump would probably win the presidency, now says that Trump “never actually wanted to win the presidency.” How has social media helped or hindered Trump’s rapid decline?

Mistakes Are Magnified on Social Media

At one time, maybe as recently as ten years ago, some of the things a candidate said could go unnoticed. The microphone wasn’t always on, as it were, and nothing would happen if a candidate made a faux pas. But now, with everyone having a cell phone, Facebook, and Twitter, any misstep is sure to spread faster than the Zika virus. So the magnification of any mistake can make the error look far worse than it actually is.

Google Trends: Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

Google Trends: Donald Trump and Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

Trump and Google Search

Although the number of Google searches might not indicate where the Donald ranks, it’s still interesting. As recently as March of 2016, the New York Times indicated that “Google Searches Point to a Strong Showing for Donald Trump.” Near the end of July, 2016, the Huffington Post reported that the search term “Donald Trump treason” showed a spike. And then there’s this interesting article about Trump responding to video claiming that Google skewed search results to be more pro-Hillary. And if any publicity is good publicity, then Trump is getting his fair share of Google searches. Although a search on “Donald Trump treason” which was recently trending doesn’t seem to bode well.

Twitter Fails

On the Twitter front, Forbes recently published an article about Trump’s Twitter account, “We all know that Mr. Trump’s use of Twitter rivals the Kardashians’. He has amassed over 10.7 million followers and sent over 32,000 tweets.” By any account, that’s a huge number of tweets. But is Trump’s presence on Twitter helping him when many of his tweets show such negativity?

Big Data and Tweets

To me the most interesting article about Trump and social media is this one that covers Trump’s tweets. Read the text analysis from the data scientist David Robinson, who does a comparison of the data from two different phones (Android vs. iPhone). And he claims that only some of the tweets, those from the Android, are from the Donald himself. And those tend to be the angrier ones.

Fascinating stuff.

David Robinson goes on to say: “Trump’s Android account uses about 40-80% more words related to disgust, sadness, fear, anger, and other “negative” sentiments than the iPhone account does.”

From the Horse’s Mouth

Trump complains on Twitter that newspapers can say whatever they want:

It is not "freedom of the press" when newspapers and others are allowed to say and write whatever they want even if it is completely false!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2016

Sadly for Trump, when he tries to outwit his detractors, he seems to always lose. He may have so many followers because people want to see him stick his foot in it. And then threaten to sue. See the excellent article Top Trumps: Seven of The Donald’s biggest Twitter fails, including a few tweets of Trump defending his hair. Seriously? Yes.

Meanwhile, on Instagram

Over on Instagram, Trump has been waging a campaign ad trying to target Bill Clinton’s Monica Lewinsky debacle. His campaign tries to insinuate that Hilary Clinton doesn’t protect women. Wired Magazine says that Trump is “winning” on Instagram by being himself, “But here and there you see the often unsavory linchpins of his campaign: the bullying, the bravado, and the bull crap. It’s unfiltered, every bit as sophomoric and occasionally vulgar as his rallies and tweets.” Of course, that was back in March. Now it’s August.

Maybe it’s true, as Liz Krokin says in the Observer that Tech Companies Apple, Twitter, Google and Instagram Collude to Defeat Trump. Still, could any of Trump’s detractors do any worse damage than Trump has to himself?

Your Turn

What do you think? Is the deck stacked against Donald Trump? Or is he spiraling out of control all on his own? Leave me a comment! And thank you.

How Diversity Attracts Valuable People To Your Startup

Recently it was International Women’s Day, and I got to thinking about diversity. Mostly I thought, why isn’t International Women’s Day every day? This has been on my mind more lately because I’ve noticed from being in San Francisco how many of the guys in startups are, well, guys. That is, there are mostly guys, and there really isn’t that much diversity.

Lack of Women in High-Tech Startups

Much has been written about the lack of women in technology, startups, engineering and Silicon Valley. And San Francisco is no different. If you walk around during lunch on any given day, you’ll notice who isn’t there: women. Recently, I even heard about a dating service that is going to be flying in women from New York because there are so few women in San Francisco. So where are all the women? And why aren’t more of them being hired? As this San Francisco Chronicle article explains, women rarely reach the top in high tech, despite signs that diversity pays.

If you’re a woman in high-tech, you may find yourself having to speak differently, or more loudly, or more often to get your voice heard. Being in the minority can make you feel like an outlier. However, having diversity at a startup goes beyond having female faces.

Diversity in Language

One thing I loved about going to school at Berkeley was the variety in languages and faces that I saw every day. Sometimes conversations could be difficult because not everyone spoke English as their first language. But having so many different points of view was invigorating; knowing that not everyone would agreed with me made me more carefully weigh what I said and wrote. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful way to run a startup, too? That is, with the idea that not everyone has to agree?

Mature Voices Attract Others

Another wonderful thing, now that I’m no longer 20-something, is to work alongside people of all ages. Having experienced, mature people working alongside you can be invigorating, too. Having people who “remember back when” without obsessing on it could help maintain a focus on what’s critical. And if your audience consists of baby boomers, then you’d be wise to have a few of them on staff.

Introverts versus Extroverts

Here’s another group I’d love to see more of: introverts. They’re not all hiding in the back room avoiding people, either. They’re speaking (albeit quietly, at times), listening, and finishing big projects. By the way, you might like this post about introverts: Six Facts About Introverts and Social Media That Will Impress Your Friends. Giving voice to introverts, who often have more to say than they let on, gives your business a better chance at innovation. Here are three steps to attract—and retain—introverted employees, from Forbes.

Political Diversity

During an election year, it’s natural that people might feel more challenged to agree with the “other side.” This election seems especially rancorous. And how many times have you thought, “the next person who rants about Donald Trump is going to get unfollowed!” I know I’m guilty. But someone is going to win the election, and then what? We’re never going to speak to those Republicans ever again?

Benefits to Attract the Culturally Diverse

Allowing more flexibility so that your employees are happy is key to having an innovative workplace. “Offer benefits such as onsite daycare, childcare subsidies and flexible schedules, and let new hires know that you are willing to accommodate cultural and religious holidays and diversity-friendly (but office appropriate) apparel choices,” as is outlined in How to Increase WorkPlace Diversity.

How’s Your Workplace Diversity?

If your workplace isn’t culturally diverse, how does that feel? What groups of people would you like to add to the mix where you work? And if it is culturally diverse, how does it affect how you work? I’d like to know, so leave me a comment, s’il vous plait!