Franky Benítez

We have already heard from several members of LATISM that last night’s Global Hue Latino event with Soledad O’Brien went well. We are hoping that it opens new paths to show the power of what social media can do to present and dissect information among a large group of people.

One thing that we would like to say to Ms. O’Brien is this (and we see this with all the respect in the world): if you start tweeting in Twitter, then stay on Twitter. We are interested as to why Ms. O’Brien’s Twitter account hasn’t had a new tweet since October 21, when for the last week, the post-show interest in what “Latino in America” tried to do has never been stronger.

This would have been a perfect time for CNN and Ms. O’Brien to truly engage their viewers, to provide more insight, to, in fact, present their story and maybe calm some of the frustration that has been felt by many Latino viewers who have seen the show. Instead, the O’Brien account, which could have been the Twitter hub to actively connect with viewers, basically has just become a static place to promote the show.

We feel that this was a lost opportunity for Ms. O’Brien, and hope that she comes back to the Twitterverse, follow the people who have shown much interest in what she has done, and really start responding to what is out here. We think that will help to broaden the dialogue and show that here in social media, it is all about the individual and what each person can truly accomplish, if given the forum, the tools, and the desire to authentically connect with others.

We keep hoping.