# What Can This Naked Man Teach Us About Active Listening?

- Link: https://chatterblast.com/blog/what-can-this-naked-man-teach-us-about-active-listening/
- Published: 2016-09-23T16:25:16-04:00
- Author: chatterblastteam

Something odd has transpired in [**@6ABC**](http://twitter.com/6abc)’s **Twitter**
mentions over the course of this week. Take a deep breath and scroll through the
replies to any of their tweets. So go ahead and click through below. 

You could click through this tweet:

> The countdown is on! Atlantic City to host Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve
> concert [https://t.co/ViiQ4mz8ws](https://t.co/ViiQ4mz8ws) [pic.twitter.com/qwGOB1Cxbe](https://t.co/qwGOB1Cxbe)
> — Action News on 6abc (@6abc) [September 22, 2016](https://twitter.com/6abc/status/779015880600674304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Or this one: 

> Disney wants to pay your family $10,000 to be in a commercial [https://t.co/JCIqSp2Lcz](https://t.co/JCIqSp2Lcz)
> [pic.twitter.com/NGRvC7ZWRF](https://t.co/NGRvC7ZWRF)
> — Action News on 6abc (@6abc) [September 22, 2016](https://twitter.com/6abc/status/779009622120144896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Or even this one.

> I couldn't get any photos of the spectacular sunset tonight. If you have any, 
> please send to me w/ location. I may use it on [@6abc](https://twitter.com/6abc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> at 11
> — Cecily Tynan (@CecilyTynan) [September 21, 2016](https://twitter.com/CecilyTynan/status/778733290912034817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

_Poor Cecily 🙁_

“_Who is this butt-naked man staring back at me?_” you may ask. Great question.

### **Enter Tom Bro Dude**

What you’re seeing is (what’s unofficially called) **Philly Twitter, **the tri-state
area’s loose community of Weird Twitter-literate civic culture commentators, pay
tribute to one of their own: the late **Tom Reynolds, **aka [**@tombrodude**](http://twitter.com/tombrodude).
Reynolds, [who passed away last weekend](http://www.phillyvoice.com/philly-twitter-responds-to-death-of-aggressively-funny-dude-with-laughter-tears-naked-pics/),
was renowned among Philly Twitter (and beyond) as one of its great storytellers,
jokesters, and friends. You can see a list of his greatest hits [here](http://favstar.fm/users/tombrodude).

_Marc’s fave Tom Bro Dude tweet:_

https://twitter.com/tombrodude/status/620090424032657408

_Kyle’s fave:_

https://twitter.com/tombrodude/status/422392050915737600

Since one of Reynolds’ long-running jokes centered around [a questionably conceived feud with @6ABC and their #6ABCsnow hashtag](https://twitter.com/tombrodude/status/559796771761946624),
friends and fans have celebrated Reynolds’ life and savant-level social media talent
all week by incessantly and aggressively tweeting our local ABC affiliate the buck-
naked man image you may have seen above. Reynolds was often found populating various
parts of the internet with said nude man.

This act of trolling has yet to produce acknowledgment from 6ABC aside from a _“
no comment”_, reports **PhillyVoice.**

But here’s where things get interesting:

https://twitter.com/avolosk/status/778043715810189313

_Ruh roh._

### **So when should active listening affect your message?**

The Tom Bro Dude tribute has raised an interesting question surrounding active listening
and (to a larger extent) social customer service as a whole: What happens when your
accounts have so thoroughly been attempted to be derailed?

The way we see it, 6ABC has two options in this scenario: **_what they’re currently
doing_** and **_what they could do_**. Which of the two is the right way to go about
navigating these waters is for anyone to decide. But let’s take a closer look.

**What 6ABC is currently doing: **They’re trying not to cave. The news station’s
Twitter account is going about business as usual and, we assume, hoping that this
tribute will fade. Even **Cecily Tynan**, who is so often praised for her [social awareness and relentless engagement](http://chatterblast.wpengine.com/reporting-live-cecily-tynan-on-the-social-media-forecast/),
fought through the butts to [deliver a crowdsourced report on a recent sunset](https://twitter.com/drewdavis71/status/779000412988780544).
Let it go long enough and let a ‘_problem_’ (_we use that term loosely_) solve itself.

We’re yet to see how this approach pays off. Still lots of butts, though. _So many
butts._

**What 6ABC could do:_ _**Tweet out an acknowledgement of Reynolds’ impact. Maybe
even write up a short post to link out to in said tweet. Anyone could call this _“
giving in to the trolls,” _but given the troll’s well-intentioned nature, imagine
what would happen. Could @6ABC be relegated to digital folk-hero status among Philly
Twitter? We can picture the array of positive press surrounding a tip of the hat
to Reynolds’ legacy. Could they go, _dare we say_, **viral?**

That’s for them to decide and us to talk about. So let’s talk. What do you think
6ABC should do in this situation? Drop us a line in the comments or [on Twitter](http://twitter.com/chatterblast)
and we’ll figure it out together.

Additionally, you can visit [a **GoFundMe** page benefitting Reynolds’ family here.](https://www.gofundme.com/tombrodude)