Two days ago. Just two days ago right here in these hallowed halls, as it were, I scribed a column entitled For Brands There’s A Fine Line Between Capitalism And Capitalization – At Least There Should Be. 
The article essentially spoke to the fact that some brands will do whatever it takes, regardless of such minor details as ethics and morals, to move their product, whatever said product may be. And that they will go right on doing what they’ve always done which is to essentially use any medium necessary – email, print, direct marketing, TV, radio, mobile and on and on to drive their message home to as many consumers they possibly can.
Seems I forgot to mention one medium: social media.
And it also seems a brand has offered itself up as an example of a brand who has no problem crossing that line.
‘Epicurious’ Enrages Followers With Boston Bombings Tweets
That was the headline in Mashable a few days ago and I’m sure you can find other stories about the same topic if you search.
In a complete ironic twist of fate the following was in an email newsletter I received via Smart Brief the other day:
The reason it was ironic is that I saw this chart on the same day I read about Epicurious’ Tweets is due to the fact that this was sent out via the Epicurious Twitter account:
Now I do not know who at Epicurious was at the Twitter helm when these Tweets were sent out but you can be darn sure – at least I hope so for their sake, that whomever did write and Tweet these messages should have all brand-generated Twitter (and social media) privileges revoked immediately.
My guess it was more than one person doing the Tweeting. But that’s only a guess.
The above Tweets were eventually removed when someone woke up and/or the backlash drove them to their senses and the brand did Tweet out the following mea culpa:
Ok so damage control was under way. That’s good. Owning up to a mistake is the first step.
But what’s truly bizarre in all this is the fact this Tweet below went out before the offending Tweets:
How in the world do explain the above Tweet going out and then sending out Tweets where they were clearly trying to capitalize on something that was both horrific and very popular among social media users?
Appalling and galling doesn’t even begin to cover it.
It is worth pointing out that at last check, there have been no new Tweets from Epicurious since the apology Tweet above. That’s two days and counting and nothing. Not a good move. Finding the nearest pile of sand and burying your head in it solves nothing.
You made a mistake, you owned up to it, you apologized for it.
Move on. Get back to Tweeting what you usually Tweet about only be just a tad more sensitive going forward, huh?
One final Tweet to share with you which sums up my thoughts perfectly:
Sources: Mashable, Yahoo, Smart Brief, Forbes
Named one of the Top 100 Influencers In Social Media (#41) by Social Technology Review and a Top 50 Social Media Blogger by Kred, Steve Olenski is a senior creative content strategist at Responsys, a leading global provider of on-demand email and cross-channel marketing solutions, and a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing. He can be reached via Twitter, LinkedIn or Email.