Rant alert #
[@Acronis](https://twitter.com/Acronis) sorry, not happening.— Christian Mohn (@h0bbel) October 8, 2013
In and of itself, this tweet is fair enough, even if borderline spam. My reaction to it however, tells a different story. _I admit it, it´s a bit harsh and straight to the point, but something has to have triggered such a response, right? _Rewind back to VMworld US, and Acronis posted this:
[@sbeloussov](https://twitter.com/sbeloussov) [@veeam](https://twitter.com/veeam) [@VMworld](https://twitter.com/VMworld) fortunately we don't need to make our customers drunk to persuade them to buy our soft..— acronis (@Acronis) August 27, 2013
Here is another example (added post initial publish, thanks to Hans for his comment)
Want to be smart or stupid? Veeam party is vodka party. Acronis is Blue Cheese-Red Wine party. Be smart and get to know backup at [#VMworld](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23VMworld&src=hash)!— acronis (@Acronis) September 30, 2013
This just rubs me the wrong way. Not only does it imply something about a competitor, but it implies a lot about their customers as well. Tongue in cheek? Sure, but at the same time outright rude and alienating.
For all I know, Acronis might just provide the greatest backup solution seen in the known universe, but their style of communication alienates me as a potential customer.
I chose to call out Acronis this time, but it could just have easily have been EMC #NotAppy, or even Microsoft´s Custard “stunt” at VMworld US 2013, or just about any company that employs booth babes in any way, shape or form.
These things are, at least to me, just plain stupid. While they might have been seen as a good idea in that late night marketing mind-map session, but they just don’t hold up when daylight appears and it is exposed to the real world.
We all know that people we meet, online or otherwise, check who we are and what we do. We live in a digital age where it’s easy to find information. Employers check their candidates, and I sure hope potential employees check their potential employers. Two way traffic, as it should be!
Please remember this, its not only individuals who should be careful, companies should too. Treat everyone with respect, and magically others might just treat you the same way. Perhaps that would generate just as much attention as these attempts to be funny, which for that most part simply fall flat to the ground any way.
My opinion of you is formed by your demeanor. Please act accordingly.
In essence; Don’t be a dick. We all know tech conferences are filled with those already.
Oh and yeah, about that Karma thing:
 If you're really a mean person you're going to come back as a fly and eat poop.” ― [Kurt Cobain](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33041.Kurt_Cobain)
So there.
Header photo (c) Alan Turkus “Your karma is leaking”
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