Oh no, Woody. You're doing it wrong.
February 3, 2012 6:03 PM Subscribe
Woody Harrelson has been critically acclaimed for his leading role in the upcoming film Rampart. Harrelson has just recently begun an AMA (ask me anything) post on reddit to promote the film. But because he only wanted to discuss and promote the film (and has avoided some rather embarrassing questions), the reactions have been less than great.
As of this writing, it's been about 12 hours since the post began, so it may evolve even from now.
As of this writing, it's been about 12 hours since the post began, so it may evolve even from now.
I like Woody Harrelson, but I didn't think Rampart was that particularly amazing or anything.
posted by stifford at 6:15 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by stifford at 6:15 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
You can see all his responses like this. If you want to see the comment each response is replying to, you click the Context link under his response.
posted by Houstonian at 6:15 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Houstonian at 6:15 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
Contrast this to the old spice guy. They were making videos on demand for several hours. Someone who is not on a phone please find the relevant fpp.
posted by Ayn Rand and God at 6:17 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Ayn Rand and God at 6:17 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
The visual presentation of one Redditors experience with Woody is hilarious.
posted by doublesix at 6:19 PM on February 3, 2012 [38 favorites]
posted by doublesix at 6:19 PM on February 3, 2012 [38 favorites]
He'd have gotten fewer downvotes with an anti-Ron Paul tirade.
posted by klanawa at 6:19 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by klanawa at 6:19 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
Protip: don't start a thread called "Ask Me Anything" and then try to limit the questions you're willing to answer.
posted by hippybear at 6:25 PM on February 3, 2012 [21 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 6:25 PM on February 3, 2012 [21 favorites]
Apparently, his time is very valuable.
posted by MegoSteve at 6:33 PM on February 3, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by MegoSteve at 6:33 PM on February 3, 2012 [5 favorites]
ಠ_ಠ
posted by The Whelk at 6:41 PM on February 3, 2012 [7 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 6:41 PM on February 3, 2012 [7 favorites]
Do people at Reddit ever link to Metafilter threads?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:42 PM on February 3, 2012 [21 favorites]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:42 PM on February 3, 2012 [21 favorites]
This is interesting--we just had a visit at my work today from a reddit employee who was there to talk about how we could effectively use the website to engage with our audience. He talked excitedly about the Harrelson AMA and at the same time warned us that using AMA specifically to promote a product or event instead of just using it to engage would be a recipe for disaster. It's interesting to watch it play out like this.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 6:44 PM on February 3, 2012 [13 favorites]
posted by to sir with millipedes at 6:44 PM on February 3, 2012 [13 favorites]
Do people at Reddit ever link to Metafilter threads?
Yes.
posted by wannalol at 6:45 PM on February 3, 2012 [9 favorites]
Yes.
posted by wannalol at 6:45 PM on February 3, 2012 [9 favorites]
"This AMA was Munsoned."
(Michael Chiklis > Woody Harrelson)
posted by dirigibleman at 6:50 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
(Michael Chiklis > Woody Harrelson)
posted by dirigibleman at 6:50 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Good grief. If I wanted to read rRddit, or participate in their drama and discussions, I'd go there.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 6:55 PM on February 3, 2012 [8 favorites]
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 6:55 PM on February 3, 2012 [8 favorites]
Oh man. So I like bits of Reddit, but one thing that is common across the board there is that redditors all have a sense of entitlement that is such that, should the Sun, center of our planetary system and source of all earthly life, turn up there then it;s going to get pointed questions about why it just fuses hydrogen to make helium rather than, say, building something useful like gold, which it could shoot down in nuggets to the backyards of redditors, so that they could buy the new gaming rig they require to play all the latest games they've pirated.
On top of that the AMA ritual is kind of a big deal to them.
So yeah, doing it halfassesedly was never going to go over well.
posted by Artw at 6:56 PM on February 3, 2012 [31 favorites]
On top of that the AMA ritual is kind of a big deal to them.
So yeah, doing it halfassesedly was never going to go over well.
posted by Artw at 6:56 PM on February 3, 2012 [31 favorites]
Good grief. If I wanted to read rRddit, or participate in their drama and discussions, I'd go there.
It pretty clearly says in the FPP that it's about a reddit post. No one made you click this either.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:58 PM on February 3, 2012 [27 favorites]
It pretty clearly says in the FPP that it's about a reddit post. No one made you click this either.
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:58 PM on February 3, 2012 [27 favorites]
Good grief. If I didn't want to read about rRddit on Metafilter, or participate in their drama and discussions, I'd just not click into FPPs about that topic.
posted by hippybear at 6:59 PM on February 3, 2012 [34 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 6:59 PM on February 3, 2012 [34 favorites]
Yeah, I should have just flagged it. I'm just getting annoyed with what I see as an annoying trend by Redditt users to use this place to continue their discussion.
My apologies, then.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 7:07 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
My apologies, then.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 7:07 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
Help me out here: is there a difference between reddit and rRddit?
No, it's just us making fun of Reddit. (Organizationally, there are a lot of subreddits, like http://reddit.com/r/[yourthinghere], and that's how I prefer to view Reddit; with only a few subreddits subscribed to. That way I get most of the info tailored to me, and none of the bullshit (cat photos, etc.)).
posted by kurosawa's pal at 7:08 PM on February 3, 2012
No, it's just us making fun of Reddit. (Organizationally, there are a lot of subreddits, like http://reddit.com/r/[yourthinghere], and that's how I prefer to view Reddit; with only a few subreddits subscribed to. That way I get most of the info tailored to me, and none of the bullshit (cat photos, etc.)).
posted by kurosawa's pal at 7:08 PM on February 3, 2012
The combination of threaded conversations and upvoting made the AMA thread impossible to grok.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:20 PM on February 3, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by KokuRyu at 7:20 PM on February 3, 2012 [4 favorites]
I saw that AMA on reddit earlier and it had already devolved into a trainwreck.
the only contribution I can make to any Woody Harrelson thread is that his brother Brett used to be a fairly decent bike racer on the local amateur roadie team I started out with back when I was eighteen (sponsored by, of all companies, Huffy out of Dayton... yea shut up, Mike Melton was still their builder back then and he made custom frames for us). I was the only girl at the time who regularly participated in their group rides and little backyard club races. Brett was pretty cool and a good bike racer, and was best buds with the local super-fast semipro guy, Gary. Woody rode bikes too, and joined us on a few rides before he went off and became a major Hollywood guy (this was in/around Lebanon, Ohio in the 80s). My main impression of the Harrelsons was that they collectively smoked more weed than the entire rest of the team put together (which is going some, because most of the guys on the team were young college guys who smoked a ton of weed).
that and Woody himself was kind of a creepy creepster around me the couple times I encountered him, but as an eighteen year old reasonably attractive girl bike racer (analogous to being an attractive gamer geek girl) l I basically expected this kind of thing from guy bike racers. That the rest of my teammates were irked enough by his behavior to call him out on being a dick once or twice probably says more about them than about Woody.
I remember seeing him later in Rainman and going "oh, huh... I used to ride bikes with that dude".
/useless minor-brush-with-fame anecdote
posted by lonefrontranger at 7:24 PM on February 3, 2012 [6 favorites]
the only contribution I can make to any Woody Harrelson thread is that his brother Brett used to be a fairly decent bike racer on the local amateur roadie team I started out with back when I was eighteen (sponsored by, of all companies, Huffy out of Dayton... yea shut up, Mike Melton was still their builder back then and he made custom frames for us). I was the only girl at the time who regularly participated in their group rides and little backyard club races. Brett was pretty cool and a good bike racer, and was best buds with the local super-fast semipro guy, Gary. Woody rode bikes too, and joined us on a few rides before he went off and became a major Hollywood guy (this was in/around Lebanon, Ohio in the 80s). My main impression of the Harrelsons was that they collectively smoked more weed than the entire rest of the team put together (which is going some, because most of the guys on the team were young college guys who smoked a ton of weed).
that and Woody himself was kind of a creepy creepster around me the couple times I encountered him, but as an eighteen year old reasonably attractive girl bike racer (analogous to being an attractive gamer geek girl) l I basically expected this kind of thing from guy bike racers. That the rest of my teammates were irked enough by his behavior to call him out on being a dick once or twice probably says more about them than about Woody.
I remember seeing him later in Rainman and going "oh, huh... I used to ride bikes with that dude".
/useless minor-brush-with-fame anecdote
posted by lonefrontranger at 7:24 PM on February 3, 2012 [6 favorites]
Oh man. So I like bits of Reddit, but one thing that is common across the board there is that redditors all have a sense of entitlement that is such that
Oh dear lord, why the hell even DO an AMA if you want to maintain laser-like focus on one subject? The people who arranged this thought of it as purely a publicity thing, while I rather expect the people on Reddit expect more than empty blathering of the sort they'll see in a thousand talk shows and magazine puff pieces.
posted by JHarris at 7:25 PM on February 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
Oh dear lord, why the hell even DO an AMA if you want to maintain laser-like focus on one subject? The people who arranged this thought of it as purely a publicity thing, while I rather expect the people on Reddit expect more than empty blathering of the sort they'll see in a thousand talk shows and magazine puff pieces.
posted by JHarris at 7:25 PM on February 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
Also, if you're going to complain about Redditfilter, well, every damn thing that appears on the front page is SOMETHINGfilter. It's something of interest to someone and it doesn't break the rules. But I've not been aware of a great deal of Reddit stories on the blue lately anyhow.
posted by JHarris at 7:27 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 7:27 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
rRdditt
posted by panaceanot at 7:27 PM on February 3, 2012
posted by panaceanot at 7:27 PM on February 3, 2012
i once totally immerses myself in the AMA, man were those doctors pissed.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 7:27 PM on February 3, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 7:27 PM on February 3, 2012 [4 favorites]
Good grief. If I wanted to read rRddit, or participate in their drama and discussions, I'd go there.
Blah blah Sharks, Jets, who cares?
posted by Senor Cardgage at 7:33 PM on February 3, 2012
Blah blah Sharks, Jets, who cares?
posted by Senor Cardgage at 7:33 PM on February 3, 2012
My wife and I were the top picture on reddit once. They weren't very nice to us.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:34 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:34 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
I apologized for my comment, above.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 7:36 PM on February 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 7:36 PM on February 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
Maybe he really is that immerses in his movies. He mistook a TMZ photographer for a zombie, and punched the guy.
Or as Mrs. filthy light thief said, maybe this is really as deep as the man gets.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:37 PM on February 3, 2012
Or as Mrs. filthy light thief said, maybe this is really as deep as the man gets.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:37 PM on February 3, 2012
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by birdherder at 7:37 PM on February 3, 2012 [14 favorites]
posted by birdherder at 7:37 PM on February 3, 2012 [14 favorites]
I typically avoid the AMA genre of Reddit posts the same way I avoid punching bag of asbestos: you don't really get anything out of it, and it'll probably just give you cancer. That said, I really enjoyed watching a major celebrity trying to game the system and then getting buried in the bullshit-detecting goon-squad that exemplifies the best of the web.
posted by Panjandrum at 7:37 PM on February 3, 2012 [11 favorites]
posted by Panjandrum at 7:37 PM on February 3, 2012 [11 favorites]
Oh man. So I like bits of Reddit, but one thing that is common across the board there is that redditors all have a sense of entitlement that is such that
Oh dear lord, why the hell even DO an AMA if you want to maintain laser-like focus on one subject? The people who arranged this thought of it as purely a publicity thing, while I rather expect the people on Reddit expect more than empty blathering of the sort they'll see in a thousand talk shows and magazine puff pieces.
Well, as I was saying, that's universal there, combine that with a failure to commit to the AMA format and it's a recipe for disaster.
posted by Artw at 7:43 PM on February 3, 2012
Oh dear lord, why the hell even DO an AMA if you want to maintain laser-like focus on one subject? The people who arranged this thought of it as purely a publicity thing, while I rather expect the people on Reddit expect more than empty blathering of the sort they'll see in a thousand talk shows and magazine puff pieces.
Well, as I was saying, that's universal there, combine that with a failure to commit to the AMA format and it's a recipe for disaster.
posted by Artw at 7:43 PM on February 3, 2012
Nothing like jumping into a den of lions with both feet.
posted by DonnyMac at 8:06 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by DonnyMac at 8:06 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Jumping into a den of lions and falling asleep. Maybe he smoked a big doobie and dropped off?
posted by Artw at 8:09 PM on February 3, 2012
posted by Artw at 8:09 PM on February 3, 2012
This reply by the "iamwoodyharrelson" account is just ridiculous. "Lets focus on the film people." Why yes, Mr. PR-man-pretending-to-be-Woody-Harrelson, everyone will just fall in line and help you lazily promote your crappy film. And the dismissive, half-assed tone you used when you basically ordered people to "focus on the film" will do nothing at all to antagonize the audience.
posted by Potsy at 8:11 PM on February 3, 2012
posted by Potsy at 8:11 PM on February 3, 2012
My Woody moment: he came to my university for some Raw Foods/Eco-Feelgood tour. I was intrigued, and I attended the lecture/ presentation/ whatnot. All I remember from his talk was the following anecdote/parable:
Woody was in Hawaii, just hanging out in this tropical pond, basking on a rock near a waterfall. It was a great day to be Woody. He was chilling on this rock, with his dog, Wookie. But Wookie kept pushing into Woody, to get a bit more space on the rock. Wookie wiggled over, Woody wiggled over. Pretty soon, Woody was on the edge of this rock, and Wookie pushed again. Woody was in the water! He got Wookie'd off the rock.
And that's just like us! We're getting Wookie'd off the rock, man! We're getting Wookie'd off the rock! And everyone in the audience cheers!
Yeah, it was an empty little story, mostly about Woody's trip to a perfect little spot on Hawaii. So it could well be that Woody is writing here, and not really focused on this little PR thing that he was talked into doing.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:19 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
Woody was in Hawaii, just hanging out in this tropical pond, basking on a rock near a waterfall. It was a great day to be Woody. He was chilling on this rock, with his dog, Wookie. But Wookie kept pushing into Woody, to get a bit more space on the rock. Wookie wiggled over, Woody wiggled over. Pretty soon, Woody was on the edge of this rock, and Wookie pushed again. Woody was in the water! He got Wookie'd off the rock.
And that's just like us! We're getting Wookie'd off the rock, man! We're getting Wookie'd off the rock! And everyone in the audience cheers!
Yeah, it was an empty little story, mostly about Woody's trip to a perfect little spot on Hawaii. So it could well be that Woody is writing here, and not really focused on this little PR thing that he was talked into doing.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:19 PM on February 3, 2012 [3 favorites]
A new thread has emerged: "Why was Woody Harrelson's AMA pulled? Was this spin control?"
"It was so much fun watching a celebrity go down in flames. I especially liked his edit.
"Thanks for the great questions. It's a really busy day and I'm going to try to come back...but no guarantees."
posted by zarq at 9:02 PM on February 3, 2012
"It was so much fun watching a celebrity go down in flames. I especially liked his edit.
"Thanks for the great questions. It's a really busy day and I'm going to try to come back...but no guarantees."
posted by zarq at 9:02 PM on February 3, 2012
AMA request: The intern who suggested Woody should do an AMA
The current top comment is kinda hilarious:
posted by zarq at 9:04 PM on February 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
The current top comment is kinda hilarious:
[–]WoodysPR 2193 points 5 hours ago
Hello everyone, All these questions will be addressed in the ending credits of the movie Rampart.
Thanks!
posted by zarq at 9:04 PM on February 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
Wow, the difference between this and John and Hank Green's recent AMAA is enormous.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:26 PM on February 3, 2012
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:26 PM on February 3, 2012
The Internet has an active immune system
posted by The Whelk at 10:53 PM on February 3, 2012 [7 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 10:53 PM on February 3, 2012 [7 favorites]
I typically avoid the AMA genre of Reddit posts
That's too bad. Neil deGrasse Tyson has done a couple of them so far that I found interesting, and he seems to enjoy it.
posted by Pseudonumb at 10:57 PM on February 3, 2012 [7 favorites]
That's too bad. Neil deGrasse Tyson has done a couple of them so far that I found interesting, and he seems to enjoy it.
posted by Pseudonumb at 10:57 PM on February 3, 2012 [7 favorites]
If Ron Paul did an AMA reddit would implode.
posted by panaceanot at 11:08 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by panaceanot at 11:08 PM on February 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Mod note: People who want to discuss the post, please stay here. People who want to discuss not liking the post, please come to Metatalk.
posted by taz (staff) at 11:51 PM on February 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 11:51 PM on February 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
I love the AMA format. Seth Rogan, Stephen Colbert, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bear Grylls, Anthony Wiener, ISS commander Col. Chris Hadfield, and the guy who used to work at Chuckie Cheese.
The questions are usually pretty good and you can ask your own, there is a bit of noise, but I actually learn quite a bit.
posted by psycho-alchemy at 12:08 AM on February 4, 2012 [7 favorites]
The questions are usually pretty good and you can ask your own, there is a bit of noise, but I actually learn quite a bit.
posted by psycho-alchemy at 12:08 AM on February 4, 2012 [7 favorites]
One great thing the internet is bringing us: a reduction in the ability of spin doctors and money to limit what the public sees of clueless, insensitive, or reckless jerk behavior. (Woody would fall into the first category; "But honestly Monica" Judith Griggs the latter.)
posted by IAmBroom at 12:10 AM on February 4, 2012
posted by IAmBroom at 12:10 AM on February 4, 2012
So maybe Woody, or someone close helps him, get on the intertubes and answer some questions about his latest movie on the PredatorShreddedorsomething site. But his answers.read as if it was someone talking at you, or rather Woody was talking to the person who was typing it up for him. Anyway, no one knew the differences between the AMAs? Even then, is it allowed to talk specifically about the movie?
posted by P.o.B. at 12:39 AM on February 4, 2012
posted by P.o.B. at 12:39 AM on February 4, 2012
AMA = Ask Me Anything. Literally.
The subject has the option to pick and choose questions to answer, but trying to force all discussion toward the promotion of their latest project goes against the spirit of the thing and reeks of talk-show circuit horseshit. Don't know what Harrelson or his people were thinking going in blind and with an agenda like that.
posted by Pseudonumb at 12:53 AM on February 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
The subject has the option to pick and choose questions to answer, but trying to force all discussion toward the promotion of their latest project goes against the spirit of the thing and reeks of talk-show circuit horseshit. Don't know what Harrelson or his people were thinking going in blind and with an agenda like that.
posted by Pseudonumb at 12:53 AM on February 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Someone should have warned Woody that the odds of the collective Hive Mind zeroing in on his dad's career as a hit man for southern mafia types would have resolved to 100 percent. Lesson for the kids - don't get caught killing a judge, the criminal justice system frowns on this.
Woody's career banging high school girls was just a bonus, but those illustrations made me laugh despite myself.
posted by C.A.S. at 2:13 AM on February 4, 2012
Woody's career banging high school girls was just a bonus, but those illustrations made me laugh despite myself.
posted by C.A.S. at 2:13 AM on February 4, 2012
the guy who used to work at Chuckie Cheese
I tend to avoid them as well, usually because I'm late to the party, it takes too long and it's either about the obscurely famous or someone who has [insert medical condition] on their face. But the Chuckie Cheese guy was awesome in its own right.
posted by jsavimbi at 2:14 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
I tend to avoid them as well, usually because I'm late to the party, it takes too long and it's either about the obscurely famous or someone who has [insert medical condition] on their face. But the Chuckie Cheese guy was awesome in its own right.
posted by jsavimbi at 2:14 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
So do they talk about 'Reddit's own Woody Harrelson' or what?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:50 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:50 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
I also enjoyed Ali Larter's AMA. One of my favorite questions was, "Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?" To which she answered, "Duck-sized horses, FOR SURE."
Seriously Woody, this shit ain't hard. Ask Me Anything literally means... "ask me anything."
posted by suburbanbeatnik at 5:11 AM on February 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Seriously Woody, this shit ain't hard. Ask Me Anything literally means... "ask me anything."
posted by suburbanbeatnik at 5:11 AM on February 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Totally naive question, but wouldn't a PR droid worth his salt "get" the IAmA concept, and immerse himself in the Harrelson "role," and craft more convincing, more engaging responses than this--indeed, more convincing/engaging responses than Harrelson himself? How can anybody explain this cluelessness?
posted by Gordion Knott at 5:11 AM on February 4, 2012
posted by Gordion Knott at 5:11 AM on February 4, 2012
You are greatly overestimating the PR world. If you need proof of their inability to adapt to the world circa 2012, hop on over to a couple of attractive PR websites, and you'll see how deeply they misunderstand the medium.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 5:30 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by to sir with millipedes at 5:30 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
It isn't Ask me anything and I will answer it. It is Ask me anything.
Sometimes it could use a caveat or a disclaimer or a subtitle. Ask me anything and if I give you dodgy answers feel free to come after me like the crows hunting and pecking at Tipi Hedren at the end of the Hitchcock movie.
Still two wrongs do not necessarily always make it right.
posted by bukvich at 5:46 AM on February 4, 2012
Sometimes it could use a caveat or a disclaimer or a subtitle. Ask me anything and if I give you dodgy answers feel free to come after me like the crows hunting and pecking at Tipi Hedren at the end of the Hitchcock movie.
Still two wrongs do not necessarily always make it right.
posted by bukvich at 5:46 AM on February 4, 2012
Some of them are kind of going a bit overboard on this.
posted by cashman at 5:49 AM on February 4, 2012
posted by cashman at 5:49 AM on February 4, 2012
Hi, I'm a publicist. Our role is not to take interviews for or impersonate our clients, which would be ridiculously unethical. (I get that we have a stereotyped reputation for sleaze, but all of us are not like that.)
I've typed a client's answers into similar online chats for them when they were atrocious typers, or given them advice on how to answer a difficult question. Part of the job. But the answers were always their own. Impersonating your client in an interview is a huge no-no. Which means, frankly, sometimes they're going to say stupid things and make asses of themselves. It happens.
We're really supposed to be their liaison with the media, not the end consumer. And if you sign a client up for what is clearly an unfiltered, no-holds-barred interview, you'd better be damned sure they understand what they're getting into.
posted by zarq at 5:56 AM on February 4, 2012 [10 favorites]
I've typed a client's answers into similar online chats for them when they were atrocious typers, or given them advice on how to answer a difficult question. Part of the job. But the answers were always their own. Impersonating your client in an interview is a huge no-no. Which means, frankly, sometimes they're going to say stupid things and make asses of themselves. It happens.
We're really supposed to be their liaison with the media, not the end consumer. And if you sign a client up for what is clearly an unfiltered, no-holds-barred interview, you'd better be damned sure they understand what they're getting into.
posted by zarq at 5:56 AM on February 4, 2012 [10 favorites]
The same thing happened with Al Franken. He came on to do an AMA 'about' net neutrality, but redditors wanted to ask him why he voted to re-authorize the patriot act, and when someone said "no about net neutrality" people got pissed off.
Then Anthony Weiner did one, answered all the questions, and Reddit loved it. Then a week later he got caught showing his dick to girls online.
posted by delmoi at 5:59 AM on February 4, 2012
Then Anthony Weiner did one, answered all the questions, and Reddit loved it. Then a week later he got caught showing his dick to girls online.
Do people at Reddit ever link to Metafilter threads?How often do celebrities do interviews on Metafilter? CmdrTaco doesn't count!
This is interesting--we just had a visit at my work today from a reddit employee who was there to talk about how we could effectively use the website to engage with our audience. He talked excitedly about the Harrelson AMA and at the same time warned us that using AMA specifically to promote a product.Whoa, really? I had no idea Reddit was actively soliciting celebrities and, I guess, companies to do AMAs. Interesting.
posted by delmoi at 5:59 AM on February 4, 2012
>It isn't Ask me anything and I will answer it. It is Ask me anything.
Most reasonable people would argue that an obligation to make a stab at answering everything of relevance and interest is implied in the title. Even--especially--the toughies. If not, the site would be entitled "Celebrity Q&A" or "Anonymous Q&A" or something generic along those lines.
posted by Gordion Knott at 6:21 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Most reasonable people would argue that an obligation to make a stab at answering everything of relevance and interest is implied in the title. Even--especially--the toughies. If not, the site would be entitled "Celebrity Q&A" or "Anonymous Q&A" or something generic along those lines.
posted by Gordion Knott at 6:21 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
That is one of the most whacked out AMAs I have seen, and I read most of them.
There are a fair amount of celebrity AMAs, some are posted on metafilter, and they mostly go pretty well.
posted by Ad hominem at 6:49 AM on February 4, 2012
There are a fair amount of celebrity AMAs, some are posted on metafilter, and they mostly go pretty well.
posted by Ad hominem at 6:49 AM on February 4, 2012
Ali Larter posted a pic of acake with I heart reddit on it, she got a funny forever alone question and handled it well.
You can shut redditors up by saying something funny, they are pretty easy on anyone who does an AMA.
posted by Ad hominem at 7:05 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
You can shut redditors up by saying something funny, they are pretty easy on anyone who does an AMA.
posted by Ad hominem at 7:05 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
If Ron Paul did an AMA reddit would implode.
They did this. He answered the questions by video.
posted by michaelh at 7:14 AM on February 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
They did this. He answered the questions by video.
posted by michaelh at 7:14 AM on February 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
NYTimes reporter Jodi Kantor just did an immensely good one. Like Woody, she was on there to specifically promote a product, in this case her book about the Obamas, but unlike him she took the time to answer questions thoroughly and knowledgeably, and managed to keep it on topic. It obviously helps that she writes for a living too.
posted by Magnakai at 7:53 AM on February 4, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by Magnakai at 7:53 AM on February 4, 2012 [5 favorites]
Is Harrelson an idiot or is he just not trying?
[–]brozark 79 points 1 day ago
What do you do in your freetime? Hobbies, etc. Favorite places to travel and explore?
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[–]iamwoodyharrelson[S] -184 points 19 hours ago
In my free time I'm mainly with my family. that's a pretty strong bond.
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[–]aka_Citizen_Snips 71 points 1 day ago
You are an absolute badass! But more importantly:
What movie was the most fun for you to work on?
Are you happy with the reception Zombieland received?
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[–]iamwoodyharrelson[S] -362 points 19 hours ago
Well I usually wouldn't say fun...intense, challenging, engaging, yeah.
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posted by jayder at 7:53 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
[–]brozark 79 points 1 day ago
What do you do in your freetime? Hobbies, etc. Favorite places to travel and explore?
permalink
[–]iamwoodyharrelson[S] -184 points 19 hours ago
In my free time I'm mainly with my family. that's a pretty strong bond.
permalinkparent
[–]aka_Citizen_Snips 71 points 1 day ago
You are an absolute badass! But more importantly:
What movie was the most fun for you to work on?
Are you happy with the reception Zombieland received?
permalink
[–]iamwoodyharrelson[S] -362 points 19 hours ago
Well I usually wouldn't say fun...intense, challenging, engaging, yeah.
permalinkparent
posted by jayder at 7:53 AM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Whoa, really? I had no idea Reddit was actively soliciting celebrities and, I guess, companies to do AMAs. Interesting.
I don't think it was a solicitation, Delmoi. We don't really have enough star power at my work for Reddit to come-a-callin' on us. It was more a "you can meet a guy from Reddit and learn how to juice your social media juju a little bit" situation than "Reddit wants your folks to do an AMA." He did say, though, that most of the A listers who do AMAs coordinate with the folks at Reddit rather than just showing up.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 8:52 AM on February 4, 2012
I don't think it was a solicitation, Delmoi. We don't really have enough star power at my work for Reddit to come-a-callin' on us. It was more a "you can meet a guy from Reddit and learn how to juice your social media juju a little bit" situation than "Reddit wants your folks to do an AMA." He did say, though, that most of the A listers who do AMAs coordinate with the folks at Reddit rather than just showing up.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 8:52 AM on February 4, 2012
Metafilter: Observing fight club rules 1 & 2 on Reddit since 2005
posted by freq at 11:48 AM on February 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by freq at 11:48 AM on February 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
I don't think Reddit actively solicited Harrelson, but Redditors do occasionally request specific celebrities.
posted by Area Control at 12:04 PM on February 4, 2012
posted by Area Control at 12:04 PM on February 4, 2012
Jodi Kantor also had the sense to specifically call hers an "AMAA" – Ask Me Almost Anything. She really is doing it right though (disclosure: we're acquaintances), fully answering Redditors' questions and replying to their comments pretty deep into those threads.
posted by nicwolff at 1:50 PM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by nicwolff at 1:50 PM on February 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yeah, that's what I was getting at in my last comment. I didn't need AMA defined for me, or told it isn't a place for marketing.
It seems like Harrelson didn't know what he was exactly getting into. If you're going to decrease that "space" between you and your fans, and audience, then you better be prepared for everything that comes along with that. AMAA probably would've been a better choice. He should've buckled up for random crap popping up, and been a little more jokey and giving in his answers.
posted by P.o.B. at 3:41 PM on February 4, 2012
It seems like Harrelson didn't know what he was exactly getting into. If you're going to decrease that "space" between you and your fans, and audience, then you better be prepared for everything that comes along with that. AMAA probably would've been a better choice. He should've buckled up for random crap popping up, and been a little more jokey and giving in his answers.
posted by P.o.B. at 3:41 PM on February 4, 2012
The Ken Jennings on had a pretty neat walk on by Brandon Sanderson.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:50 PM on February 4, 2012
posted by Ad hominem at 8:50 PM on February 4, 2012
Oh man. So I like bits of Reddit, but one thing that is common across the board there is that redditors all have a sense of entitlement...
This AMA in particular strikes me as an example of community norms being violated, not unreasonable entitlement/expectations by the site's userbase. MeFi doesn't allow self-linking, for example, and off-topic answers in AskMe threads are often deleted. FPPs that aren't well-framed are often raked over the coals, even if the link/s is/are good reading.
It's about the underlying community contract, and a PR person trying to elbow people into staying on-message during an open Q&A session is definitely a violation of that. We'd nuke someone from orbit if they promoted their book in front page MeFi post, and depending on how quickly people piled on, we would probably make a spectacle of it.
The recent "outing" of Scott Adams in a MeFi thread, for example, was panned on Reddit as an unacceptably authoritarian violation of a user's right to expression. Community norms are community norms, and I think it can be a mistake to assume that selfishness or pathology or intelligence are the "true" reasons behind those differences.
posted by verb at 4:19 PM on February 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
This AMA in particular strikes me as an example of community norms being violated, not unreasonable entitlement/expectations by the site's userbase. MeFi doesn't allow self-linking, for example, and off-topic answers in AskMe threads are often deleted. FPPs that aren't well-framed are often raked over the coals, even if the link/s is/are good reading.
It's about the underlying community contract, and a PR person trying to elbow people into staying on-message during an open Q&A session is definitely a violation of that. We'd nuke someone from orbit if they promoted their book in front page MeFi post, and depending on how quickly people piled on, we would probably make a spectacle of it.
The recent "outing" of Scott Adams in a MeFi thread, for example, was panned on Reddit as an unacceptably authoritarian violation of a user's right to expression. Community norms are community norms, and I think it can be a mistake to assume that selfishness or pathology or intelligence are the "true" reasons behind those differences.
posted by verb at 4:19 PM on February 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
Whoa, really? I had no idea Reddit was actively soliciting celebrities and, I guess, companies to do AMAs. Interesting.
delmoi, those are called "Request: AMA from ___", and recently the mods have clamped down a bit (since they were starting to swamp the actual AMAs on the AMA forum, IIRC). Mostly they're for celebrities, meme-origins (like That Star Wars Kid), and newsworthy people; AMAs from content generators (web cartoonists and producers/writers behind popular shows, for instance) seem mostly to be self-initiated.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:09 AM on February 6, 2012
delmoi, those are called "Request: AMA from ___", and recently the mods have clamped down a bit (since they were starting to swamp the actual AMAs on the AMA forum, IIRC). Mostly they're for celebrities, meme-origins (like That Star Wars Kid), and newsworthy people; AMAs from content generators (web cartoonists and producers/writers behind popular shows, for instance) seem mostly to be self-initiated.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:09 AM on February 6, 2012
Zarq, thanks for injecting some reality into our guesses on the whole PR-person shady-cabal thingamajigger.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:10 AM on February 6, 2012
posted by IAmBroom at 9:10 AM on February 6, 2012
No problem! I can't help but think Woody's kids should have talked him out of it. Or at least told him how to not make an ass out of himself. ;)
posted by zarq at 10:15 AM on February 6, 2012
posted by zarq at 10:15 AM on February 6, 2012
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posted by Foci for Analysis at 6:11 PM on February 3, 2012