I'M BACK

Goodness, it's been a long time since I posted my ramblings, but HONEST, I have been busy. As I'm sure my awesome band of followers has noticed (my one follower, which happens to be ME), I haven't shared squat since April. But since then I have completed an internship, graduated from post-grad, annnnnd scored a wicked job (all in Publice Relations). Since everything has since settled, I'm hoping to be a more avid blogger. So come back soon...

virtual mean girls

Everyone has encountered a ruthless and relentless mean girl in their lives. They taunt, they tease, they hurt and they scar. It seems as though technology has only made a bully's job easier. Social networking sites give bullies the opportunity to do their evil deeds away from watchful eyes. Even if a victim of bullying grows up and moves on, the scars never heal. They will always question their self-worth. And some victims aren't so lucky, so is the story of Phoebe Prince, a beautiful freshman from Massachusetts.

Phoebe moved from Ireland to Massachusetts last fall. Her parents wanted her to "experience America". New school, new friends, new problems. She briefly dated a senior from the football team, which really made the mean girls of South Hadely High pissy. So they stalked, physically abused, and tormented Phoebe. On January 14th, as she walked home from school, one of those mean girls drove past, threw her drink at Phoebe and called her names. Phoebe went home and hung herself, only to be found by her 12-year-old sister.



Apparently these girls stalked and tormented this young girl on Twitter, Facebook and through texts. Not only that, but following her death, the girls continued to mock Phoebe on her Facebook memorial page. Now seven girls are being charged with a range of offenses from harrassment to civil-rights violation, and two boys are being charged with statutory rape.

Cyberbullying is a major issue with students these days. Statistics Canada estimates that between 12% and 25% of students have experienced cyberbullying. I feel social media sites have often given bullies more options and avenues to stalk their prey. Parents need to encourage a more open conversation with their kids about what goes on online. I'm not saying social media is the main source of bullying, however I feel it just adds fuel to an already uncontrollable fire. Parents: be aware of your children's activities online! Someone needs to stand up. Maybe if someone stood up for Phoebe, she would still be alive.

social media darwinism

Ah, to have common sense! I recently came across an article on Mashable that stated, in 2009 8% of US companies had fired employees over their use of social media. In 2008, that number was 4%. I can only imagine what those numbers are now. I thought the following example was particularily hilarious:



In the age of online identity, social media users need to be more enlightened about what they reveal on the web, especially younger generations who tend to post without consequence. I recently went to a few job interviews where I was asked about my familiarity and use of social media. Sure, it's a trend in the PR industry, but common sense dictates that my engagement should be censored. Everyone has moments where they want to vent, but venting should be kept out of cyber space. The internet is not your best friend; at least I would hope it's not! A recent tweet got one would-be Cisco employee called out by a "channel partner advocate" for Cisco Alert after he posted about "hating the work". Perhaps that tweeter wasn't aware that Cisco is involved in communications technology?


What is more embarrassing than having a picture of you dressed as a fairy emailed to all your co-workers? Well, getting fired for it definitely is. Kevin Colvin was an intern at Anglo Irish Bank's North American branch. He emailed his boss about a "family emergency" that would keep him from the office on October 31st. According to Facebook photos, the "emergency" was a rockin' Halloween party, and Colvin was a pixie. His boss emailed his response to Colvin and the entire company, and included a picture.

What's better is that it's not only possible to be fired BECAUSE of Facebook, it's now possible to get fired ON Facebook. 16-year-old Chelsea Taylor worked part-time at a cafe in Manchester called Cookies. One Saturday, she was given 10 pounds to pick up some cookies, but lost the money. Taylor was shocked when she logged on to Facebook to find a message from her manager: 'I had to tell the owner bout u losin that tenner coz obviously the till was down at the end of day. she wasn't very pleased at all and despite me trying to persuade her otherwise she said I have to let u go. I'm really sorry'. That's cold, and definitely not good press for Cookies.

Obviously the lesson here is to be smart about what you're posting to the net. You're really never sure who has access to it, even with privacy settings in place. The Golden Rule: Don't post anything you wouldn't want you're parents or boss to see, because they're probably looking.

stupid, stupid, stupid

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything, but this one is good. Sometimes you hear about stupid criminals, but how often is social media involved?

Driving to school the other day, I heard a story on Edge102 about an idiot robber in Washington. Apparently, a 17-year-old male broke into store called Bella Office Furniture to steal some loot. Before he left, however, he decided to hang out and surf the internet. Of course he checked out some porn and tried to sell some stolen goods online, but what got him caught was that he logged into his MySpace account to see what his buddies were doing. He was on the computer for FIVE hours before leaving with a cell phone. Obviously it didn't take the police long to locate and arrest him. Imbecile!

social media smack talk

Just some food for thought:

I've become completely obsessed with the winter olympics this year. It's really hard to concentrate on anything else. When I'm not in close proximity to a television, I like to watch the live updates on the Vancouver 2010 website . While on the website, I noticed there is a live feed from Facebook along the right side. People from all over the world can sign in and post comments while watching the games live. In theory, this is really cool. You can root for your team, or ask others what you've missed. But with all things social media, someone's going to do something to taint it!

If you watch that live feed long enough, you'll no doubt witness social media smack talk. Viewers from different countries begin to 'diss' eachother and boast greatness. Usually by the end of it, someone from the U.S. uses the word 'superpower'. It's truly annoying to see people from different countries running their mouth. I don't believe this behaviour reflects the spirit of the Olympics.....but anyways, go Canada!

innocent until bashed on twitter

Russell Williams is alleged to have killed 2 women, and terrozied 2 others, he is not fit to be part of this world, eye for an eye, if he is guilty!!

This is the description of the Facebook group 'Russell Williams should get the death penalty!', a group that has 2912 members sharing their opinion about the recent shocking allegations against a prominent member of the Canadian military. I do not agree with Colonel Russell Williams' alleged actions, but what worries me about this situation is the new affect social media is having on our justice system. The creator of this group added 'if he's guilt', but I don't believe the members are assuming his innocence.

The presumption of innocence is fundamentally important to democracy. But how are social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook affecting that right? The New York Times reported in March 2009 that the amount of mistrials are increasing as a result of social media. Active jurors are asked not to research any details of the case they are involved in, however, most of them are members of social networking sites that are a popular forum for uncensored public opinion. This may leave some members of the jury tainted. What ever happened to impartiality?

It's not only a matter of jurors being exposed to outside opinion that may skew their decision, lawyers and judges are shuddering at the thought of jurors using social media during trial. In Arkansas, a 12.6 million dollar judgment was overturned because juror Johnathan Powell posted tweets including:

oh and nobody buy Stoam. Its bad mojo and they’ll probably cease to Exist, now that their wallet is 12m lighter

One juror in England even posted a poll on her Facebook page to help her when she was undecided during deliberation.

Judges in the U.S. started to warn jurors about the use of technology during trial. But is the temptation of social media just too strong?

cheater, cheater, profile reader

For numerous reasons, Facebook has been proven to plant the ripe ol' seed of jealousy in relationships. I'm sure we've all experienced it, either through our own relationships or friends, because this is by no means a new issue. Don't believe it? Well, there's actually a psychological study to prove it.

The report, published in the CyberPsychology & Behaviour Journal, concluded that there's a "significant association between time spent on Facebook and jealousy-related feelings and behaviours experienced on Facebook." In other words, the more time you spend in this virutal world, the more brawlin' you'll be doing in reality. FACEBOOKED!

Psychologists questioned 308 college students (231 were female) regarding their use of FB. Basically they came up with the following points:

-> the accessiblity of information on FB lead to increased monitoring (or snooping) by 19.1%

-> 16.2% of students explicity linked FB to jealousy, however continued to engage in the social networking site

-> 10.3% of FB users found it difficult to limit the amount of time spent stalking their loved one online

-> 7.4% of respondents felt that the lack of context online lead to misunderstandings

Does this study reveal the detrimental effect social media is having on our relationships? Or does it merely show that technology encourages behaviours that already exist within the individual or relationship. Ah, I'm going to say a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.

Perhaps it's not all bad though. Software engineer Dana Hanna updated his FB status to "married" while still on the alter (no, no, that's still pretty bad). Click here to watch the video.