Ketchum Exec, James Andrews, Speaks on Twitter Drama
by Markus Robinson
James Andrews, The Key Influencer, released a statement through his blog discussing the recent controversy surrounding his comments on twitter that started a firestorm of debate, which eventually led to letters to top executives of Ketchum Interactive and FedEx. In his statement Andrews says;
I made a comment on Twitter that was the emotional response to a run in I had with an intolerant individual. The Tweet was aimed at the offense not the city of Memphis. Everyone knows that at 140 characters Twitter does not allow for context and therefore my comments were misunderstood. If I offended the residents of Memphis, TN I’m sorry. That was not my intention.
Sounds like Andrews may have faced a little more than “intolerance”, in the City of Memphis.
As for now it’s business as usual for James both at Ketchum and on his personal blog;
Category: News, web 2.0 | Tags: authenticity, FedEx, james andrews, ketchum, public relations, transperency, twitter, When Keeping It Real Goes WronThis is what I passionately do for a living and will continue to do at Ketchum Interactive and in my own personal time here on this blog, twitter, ustream, blogtalkradio, etc. I’m extremely committed to educating my clients and community on better ways to use social media. My most recent situation underscores the need for important dialogue around how we use this space.
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Marsha Keeffer says:
Thank you Markus and James. Good to hear the background – now I get it. And let's call it out loud and clear. Racism is never OK, anytime, anywhere, for any reason, ever, period. Let's never hesitate to call it out so we can wake people up and get it stopped.
bob blah says:
did I miss something? How is this about racism?
Marsha Keeffer says:
Bob, the reason Mr. Andrews made the comment he did was due to “the emotional response I had to a run in with an intolerant individual.” He's being a gentleman. Translation: someone was unspeakably rude to Mr. Andrews because Mr. Andrews is African American. I call that racism.
James Smith says:
If you think this about Mr. Andrews being black…you've obviously never been to Memphis.
This is about Mr. Andrews posting something publicly about the hometown of one of his clients.
It's really a – he should have known better moment.
Marsha Keeffer says:
Sorry James, you're wrong. He never mentioned Memphis, nor did he mention FedEx. James' tweet was his reaction to a very unpleasant racial situation. That's it.
Twitter: A lesson in media convergence « Public Relations U says:
[...] VP James Andrews learned this lesson when he tweeted about not liking the city of Memphis while on his way to give a presentation on social media to [...]