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The Perils of a Public Persona

February 12, 2009 BY Mark Evans

Over the past few years, it has been fascinating to see how a growing number of people have started to live extremely public and transparent lives.

Through blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr and other social media tools, we publicly and openly talk about our families, friends, jobs, finances, interests, likes, dislikes, travel plans, dreams and aspirations. It’s amazing and, arguably, stunning how the concept of a private life has disappeared amid a wave of complete digital disclosure.

What makes it even more interesting is how easy it can be to forget that what you digitally declare is available to everyone and anyone. Everything is on the record, and once you say it, it’s impossible to take it back.

If anyone needed a swift kick in the pants about this digital reality, it was delivered yesterday during a public spat between a Canadian business reporter and a marketing consultant. In what has become the online equivalent of a single-car Nascar crash, the reporter blew a gasket with a string of Twitter profanity-laden posts. It was a very public and oh-I-can’t-believe-he-did-that act that even shocked the most digitally open people.

The reporter subsequently deleted the Twitter posts but it was too late because the conversation had already been released into the wild and couldn’t be reeled back in. But that’s the harsh reality of how the Web works; once you say something or post something, you’ve said it and you have to live with it.

This should be a wake-up call for anyone who spends a lot of time online talking about their personal and professional lives. While the Web is a wonderful platform, it’s the ultimate tape-recorder that doesn’t have a delete button.

More: For some eye-witness thoughts on what transpired on Twitter today, check out April Dunford’s blog.

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  • Tari Akpodiete

    yeah, but someone – Caitlin in the comments – caught the fact that the ‘consultant’ did not report her entire side of the conversation as it got started. by leaving that out, she made herself look better, and him look worse, making her way more scumbaggy in my books.

  • http://www.markevanstech.com Mark Evans

    I don’t know the entire story about what happened, but even so there should be a certain code of conduct, especially if you’re a public figure such as a national newspaper reporter.

  • magnus

    Ah keyboard warriors, so lame on so many levels, if you really have a beef pick up the phone and hash it out. Oh wait that wouldn’t make them keyboard warriors, they would never be that quick and harsh in person now would they.

  • http://www.iheartpr.wordpress.com Matt John

    it is true what the poster ‘caitlin’ found. ms. dunford was definitely not as innocent or professional as she claims. she made a few ‘subliminal’ comments that came off as downright snarky and condescending. although she didn’t lose her cool which was commendable, she didn’t handle that situation well. you should never tell someone to ‘calm down’ or ‘take deep breaths’ when they are visibly upset it’s arrogant and escalated the situation further.

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  • Brent

    Yeah, I absolutely agree. People should consider whatever they put online to be viewable by everyone else. It’s unfortunate that emotion can sometimes overcome good judgment and possibly ruin your previous good standing and credibility.