I recently participated in the First Annual Snark Free Day, as part of my PR firm‘s collaboration with PRConsultants Group. At our conference last year, as members were complaining about muffins and lengthy sessions, the idea blossomed as a way to cut out snark, cynicism & negativity for just one day…today!
Funny how my worlds are constantly colliding, because as I was pitching this news story locally, I realized that there’s a #MomTastic family lesson as well. There’s TONS of attention to bullying in schools and on playgrounds, but at work, we tend to turn the other cheek. Schools have a zero tolerance policy toward meanies and bullies, but companies are resistant to standing up to it. In fact, in my research, I found that almost half of adult Americans have been bullied or witnessed bullying (Healthy Workplace Campaign). And, to support my schools example, “some 48 states have passed some form of anti-bullying legislation in schools, (yet) there has been no serious effort to enact legislation prohibiting bullying in the workplace” (About.com).
Doesn’t make sense, huh?
We know that the online world creates a fury of unretractable mean comments, and that even face-to-face, people sometimes don’t care so much about the effect of their words.
So, along with my PR friends, we went out to basically clean up communication…one nice word at a time. It was a media hit, with more than 500 news mentions nationwide and still counting…in just one day. Wanted to share some of my local hits, and my hopes that your family will go “snark free” as often as possible:
The Washington Business Journal
The PRConsultants Group campaign’s viral component featured a “World Class Jerk,” Jonathan Snark. Pretty funny, and gets the point across cartoon-style:
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