Social media wins again. This weekend Whitney Houston passed away. Before the major networks reported a stitch of information about her death, it was out on Twitter. I can’t argue here whether it’s good or bad that social media broke the news, but it was reported on Twitter first. Like it or not, social media, in various forms, has become part of the public consciousness and it is more powerful than “mainstream media”.
I work in the realm of social media so maybe I am more sensitive to the power of this medium. But you don’t have to work in social media to see what kind of influence that Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and Google+ has.
In some instances it can catapult one into a state of fame that they don’t necessarily even want. On Facebook this week there was a video that a Dad posted when his daughter went on Facebook and publicly humiliated him and some other members of her family. I have to tell you, if you listen to what his daughter wrote about him, I, as a parent, would have been absolutely devastated. This is not a child that I would happy to claim as my own.
When he discovered what she had posted, it was as he had just finished upgrading her laptop for her. He was pretty darn upset and the long and short of it was a pretty angry Dad who ended the posting by shooting his daughter’s laptop.!! Now this video he posted in retaliation for his daughter’s Facebook posting has gone viral. The poor guy is getting hits from all sides. Some people like what he did; some think he’s not such a good Dad. Either way, he finally posted a follow-up statement in essence saying he never would have posted the Video on Facebook if he had known how quickly and widely it would be seen. There it is, the power of social media!!!
My Mom always told me, growing up; Cindy never put anything in writing that you don’t want people to be able to use against you at a later date. In other words, never write anything in the heat of anger. I have tried very hard to remember that, and the few times I forgot, I have regretted the decision. Now, as a blogger not only for myself, but for several other companies, I am very careful what I post. As I begin a post, I write from my heart, and then I go back over the post and make sure that each post reflects the person I am posting for. Then I leave the post sit for a while, maybe even a day, and go back to read it again. I want to make certain I get my point, or my client’s point across, but at the same time, I never want to post anything that I am unwilling to be known for. Or have my client known for.
Regardless of how you post, or where you post, think first, because you are no longer simply writing on a piece of paper that can be torn up, you are writing something that can and will be stored and shared digitally for years to come. And make certain you remember the power of social media to inform, to move people, to amuse and entertain, and to get you in great, big trouble, like poor Gisele and the justifiably angry Dad.
Happy Day, from Social Cindy and the gang.
#onlinemarketing#VeroBeach
