To say that this has been a crazy week in media would be an understatement. It’s certainly been a wake-up call for a lot of people about new media, and the world we live in.
I posted this simple question on Facebook: “Was the firing of Shawn Simoes fair or foul?” As expected, many people took the time to respond. However, it wasn’t the comments themselves that shocked me, it was how I received them.
In total, 57 people responded, 10 of which were on my Facebook wall. The other 47 came in private messages, most of which started with something like, “I wanted to post my opinion on your Facebook, but I was worried that it would get me in trouble.”
47 separate conversations from respectable, upstanding people, who were afraid to voice their opinions publicly on the number one trending story worldwide.
If that doesn’t tell you there is something very wrong, I don’t know what will. There’s a problem when Freedom of Speech becomes controlled by the masses that attack anyone dumb enough to challenge or voice something contradictory to popular opinion.
If we’re going to be outraged about something, let’s get worked up over Mike Duffy, and the RCMP investigation into the excessive spending by Canadian Senators, while right now, in the city of Toronto, there are 4,200 homeless people.
Make no mistake, what Shawn Simoes did and said on television was stupid, but was it worth this much attention? Shawn is a person that made a poor decision and is now without a job. He has a family and people that love him, who tonight, hide in fear because of the very real threat of cyber-bullying and poor public opinion.
I have attached a link to the Monica Lewinsky TED Talk. If you haven’t watched it, I beg that you do. It helps show what poor decisions and social media can do to a life.
No comments:
Post a Comment