Home
» LIFESTYLE
» FACTS BEHIND SOCIAL MEDIA AND TRENDING TOPICS ON SOCIAL MEDIA...Kenyan daily digest
Saturday, 28 December 2013
FACTS BEHIND SOCIAL MEDIA AND TRENDING TOPICS ON SOCIAL MEDIA...Kenyan daily digest
Saturday, 28 December 2013 by Unknown
There are two cardinal rules of social media. First, never post
anything while you are drunk and, second, before posting ask yourself if
you can say the same statement in a face-to-face conversation.
But
in a world where the number of likes, comments and re-tweets matter,
whatever comes to mind and seems cool often goes to the virtual world —
sometimes without a reflective pause or second thought before hitting
the “send”, “post” or “enter” key.
It is only after a
Facebook post or tweet is released into the cyberspace vortex that the
benefit of hindsight may reveal how what you thought was a clever quip,
genius comment or rib-tickling joke is actually in the realm of
adjectives like stupid, stale, ridiculous, racist, outrageous, or
tasteless.
And while many have got away with such
misadventures, with nothing more than a little embarrassment, others
have not been as lucky. Take Justine Sacco as an example.
Until last week, she was the communications director at American Internet company InterActive Corp.
But
as she boarded a plane to South Africa last Saturday, she tweeted this:
“Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”
Ms Sacco had less than 200 followers on Twitter, but the message was re-tweeted so many times that thousands across the world read it and reacted with insults and sarcastic jokes.
Ms Sacco had less than 200 followers on Twitter, but the message was re-tweeted so many times that thousands across the world read it and reacted with insults and sarcastic jokes.
Soon she was
making news all over the world. Her desperate action of deleting the
Twitter account was like locking the stable after the horse had bolted.
It was a PR disaster for a PR practitioner that eventually led to her
sacking.
In 2013, Kenya too has witnessed similar
embarrassing goofs. It gets even worse when it involves an
organisation’s official account or a well-known individual.
Deleting
the tweet is never enough as people will have re-tweeted or taken
screen shots. And claiming one’s account was hacked increasingly sounds
like a lame excuse.
KIMAIYO'S GOOF
A
famous one was during the four-day Westgate terror attack in September
when Inspector- General of Police David Kimaiyo tweeted: “Taken control
of all the floors. We’re not here to feed the attackers with pastries
but to finish and punish them. IG”.
Although the tweet
was later deleted it is still available on the verified Kenya Police
account. The siege was to last four days and the fate of the terrorists
is still not clear. “We had our heads in our hands when we saw the
Kimaiyo tweet,” an official in the Jubilee administration told British
newspaper The Guardian. “What was he thinking?”
And
after lawyers completed submissions during the presidential election
petition at the Supreme Court on March 29 challenging the victory of
Jubilee candidate Uhuru Kenyatta, the K24 television station was forced
to apologise after a tweet from its account implied that the judgment
would go the president’s way.
“Supreme Court ends last
hearing on a Good Friday. Finally tomorrow in their judgment they will
uphold the elections – April 9th is holiday,” read the tweet. Later, the
station’s executives claimed the Twitter account had been hacked.
NTV
was also left with egg on its face in March after the traditional Latin
Habemus Papam (“We have a Pope”) announcement was made to indicate the
cardinals had agreed on a new head of the Catholic Church. “BREAKING
NEWS: Habemus Papam elected the new Catholic #Pope,” the station
tweeted.
The tweet was later taken down, and it was
clarified that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) had been
elected, but it caused much mirth.
And in September,
Citizen TV reporter Willis Raburu found himself in trouble when a tweet
from his personal account purportedly revealed the identity of an ICC
witness, which is an offence. The journalist, who later claimed his
account had been hacked, attracted much criticism.
Meanwhile,
controversial blogger Robert Alai flew into a Twitter storm in May when
he gave his views on complaints of insecurity from residents of
Nairobi’s Kileleshwa estate.
“I am down on my knees
praying that people continue to be raped and robbed in Kileleshwa so
they will wake up to the insecurity,” tweeted the man who has more than
100,000 Twitter followers. The criticism that followed forced him to
delete the tweet. It sounded extreme even by his outspoken standards.
NATIONAL GRIEF
Not
to be left behind in a supposed moment of national grief, nominated
Senator Naisula Lesuuda tweeted in July: “RIP Joe Kadenge #Legend”.
The
only problem was that it was not the legendary footballer Joe Kadenge
who had died, but his son Francis Kadenge — also a football star.
And
after the death of Fast and Furious star Paul Walker this month, Huddah
Monroe, who is often described as a socialite, exposed herself to
comments on her ignorance when she tweeted a condolence message “RIP
Paul Walker! Real baller! No fake life, no poser, this is so sad!”
But it was sadder that her tweet was accompanied by the picture of American rapper Paul Wall.
Then
there was the “RIP Matiba” tweet this month from a user who apparently
confused South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela’s clan name
“Madiba” with one that sounded like Kenya’s multi-partyism hero Kenneth
Matiba, who is still alive.
Perhaps in 2014 it is
important to heed the cautionary tweet in the wake of the Ms Sacco saga:
sticks and stones may break bones, but words on Twitter can hurt you.
Kenyan daily digest
Tags:
LIFESTYLE
![author](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AS5v6dfRU3c/TXHiS_r0XLI/AAAAAAAACcI/SVX7CnM74UA/s45/4c2ed72c6be86742f05e9750110d5731.jpg)
This post was written by: Author Name
Author description goes here. Author description goes here. Follow him on Twitter
Get Updates
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates.
Related Articles
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 Responses to “FACTS BEHIND SOCIAL MEDIA AND TRENDING TOPICS ON SOCIAL MEDIA...Kenyan daily digest”
Post a Comment