Social Media Lessons from Hannibal Lecter
Jan 23rd, 2009 by David Murray
Hannibal Lecter would have been great at Social Media. His day to day values strike a similar chord to the principals of this medium. True - he was insane, but lets look past that for now…
When Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter first meet, he calls Clarice out for attempting to pass as real FBI. Only after Clarice steps away from behind the curtain, can Hannibal fully asses her and gauge if she is genuine. Testing her honesty and finding her to be so, he politely engages in conversation.
After a few exchanges Clarice attempts to slip by Hannibal the true purpose of her visit - a psychological questionnaire
To this Hannibal replies
Oh, no, no, no no. You were doing fine. You had been courteous and receptive to courtesy. You had established trust - with the embarrassing truth about Miggs. And now this ham-handed segue into your questionnaire… it wont do.
The transparency factor in full effect.
Hannibal politely yet, firmly reminds her who and what he is. However, he detests rudeness, and when Clarice is assaulted - he quickly make amends for the injustice.
Throughout their “relationship”, Clarice constantly pushes Hannibal for answers. Hannibal, tired of one sided conversations, puts Agent Starling to the test. He insists that she take part in quid pro quo - an exchange of ideas for information.
Again Starling tries to slip one past ol’ Hannibal but he relents and decides to shut her off until she finishes her part of the conversation.
Only after she has regained his trust does he reward her with the answers she seeks. But her true reward for her honesty, frankness and politeness is that she doesn’t end up the main course…
So what does Hannibal Lecter teach us about Social Media
- Be courteous and polite
- Don’t be push your agenda on others
- Own up when you make a mistake
- Being transparent and honest counts
- Doing so gains trust in others
- Be yourself - don’t be ashamed of who you are
- Know when its your turn to listen
- Learn when its your turn to talk
- Don’t “test” your audience
- Be yourself
- Be patient
- You can’t dictate a relationship
- You also can’t dictate the conversation
- Be prepared to share information
- Don’t be rude or you could end up eaten… okay the last one is a stretch … but you get the idea!
So am I way off base here? What do you think?
You know, I’ve never really though of ole HL in that way. I must say, an interesting idea, and bang on too. I’m relatively new to the social media scene and have found that everything on your list here is helpful. I personally struggle with patience, and also fear. Fear of jumping in and taking part in the conversation, or fear of going unnoticed. Although, in Hannibal Lecter’s case, I think I’d prefer not attracting his attention at all thank you very much.
Good post, and good advice.
@residuetiger - Thank you for your feedback, glad it helped. I think if Hannibal was in charge of SM ethics we’d all get in line pretty quick.
I still consider myself new to SM and would humbly suggest to you that you shouldn’t let your fears get in the way of experimenting and trying things out. You might make mistakes - but that’s okay!
Great post Dave! Interesting use of a sociopath to dictate social media…the line between insanity and genius is rather blurry, after all!
Although many people’s initial fears of social media are unfounded (unlike Clarice’s very real fear!) these tips will help new users find their place. Excellent job!
~Kimberlee
Hi Kim -
My mind works in mysterious ways. I do my best to help… even if it is through a cannibal!
I did realize, especially after watching “Hannibal,” that he only assaults those who show him disrespect. It’s best if we are nice and helpful to one another, engaging in “quid pro quo”. Lopsided relationships are not that useful in social media.
Very, very interesting analogy ya got here, Dave. I do agree with the points you made on your list, but honestly it’s been so long since I’ve seen that movie that I can’t remember much about it, and I never did see the sequel. So I can’t really comment much on this except tell you that I love when people use abstract analogies like this to make a point, and now you’ve got me wanting to go to Blockbuster soon to rent a couple movies. I’ll get back to you on this. :)
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