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I think you're on to something very important. Playing along with this idea a bit, everybody says that Facebook is bad because the stupid things you do when yo
by DanielBMarkham 16y ago
I think you're on to something very important.
Playing along with this idea a bit, everybody says that Facebook is bad because the stupid things you do when you're a kid can haunt you forever.
Well this just takes it up another level, doesn't it? Ever have a bad day, get pissed at somebody? Maybe say some things you probably shouldn't?
Of course you have. Everybody has.
But now, through the marvels of modern technology, your words stay with you forever.
That means -- and I don't advocate doing this at all -- that if I'm running a business that's in competition with you, I don't have to perhaps develop the best product or service. Nope. Instead I can develop a just-average product, and then do a little digging to find out what sorts of shitty things you've done or said on the internet. Wait for the right moment, use a social network and a trusted poster as a conduit, and voila! I just helped you trash your own business. And my fingerprints are nowhere on it.
I'm not saying that this is what happened. For all I know, the guy might be a jerk. What I'm saying, along with plusbryan, is that there is no way to know from the information available if you are being purposely manipulated for a response or just being honestly told a story
That's kinda scary.
- jokermatt999 16y agoWell this just takes it up another level, doesn't it? Ever have a bad day, get pissed at somebody? Maybe say some things you probably shouldn't? Of course you have. Everybody has. But now, through the marvels of modern technology, your words stay with you forever. I just hope that one day this becomes a universal revelation, and we as a society become much more forgiving. The combination of harsh judgement, poor decisions being easy to make, and a public permanent record of anything you say on the internet can have potentially life ruining consequences, and it's easy to find plenty of examples today. In the past, only people who were in positions that would be in public scrutiny (politicians, CEOs, PR people, etc) really had to watch what they said all the time. Now that we have the internet, which doesn't really forget, it's easy for past mistakes to come back to haunt you. I just hope society becomes more lenient about foolish mistakes...
- nitrogen 16y agoI hope that the Wikileaks dumps have a similar effect of making people more forgiving and less likely to be offended. Diplomatic relationships shouldn't hinge on the use of a single wrong adjective in a thousand word conversation.
- aneth 16y agoWe might already be there, given that Jason Calacanis still seems to have the respect of a lot of people.
- jaybol 16y agoPeople have really short memories for the most part...most PR disasters blow over in a week or less, really big ones maybe take months
- yesimahuman 16y agoNot to condone anything, but I see another part of the cycle: the "we fucked up" post that makes everything all better. It seems the mob responds very well to these kinds of admissions of guilt. The problem with some companies is that they don't have to say sorry because they have monopolies and don't give a shit about you as a customer. I think in some ways the Mob just wants to see a more friendly business atmosphere that respects them as customers, and they use the power they have to try to achieve those ends.