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Here’s what you might have missed in social media in the last week…..- Ellen Breaks Twitter
- Minecraft Movie
- The Linkedin Denial Heard Around the World
- How to Lose $80K In One Facebook Post
- Sex With A Hot Pocket
The Good
Ellen Breaks Twitter
Ellen DeGeneres has perhaps the coolest “selfie” experience ever.While hosting the Oscars, Ellen decided to gather a group of celebrities for a selfie. And then she broke Twitter.
Ellen also broke the highest Twitter records by getting 400K retweets in 30 minutes. When the screen shot was taken, it had been retweeted 2.7 million times.
As a result, Twitter lost power for over 20 minutes, and sent out an apology to it’s users. Well played Ellen.
Minecraft Movie
For those of you who found yourselves at a movie theater laughing and crying at the Lego Movie (and not just because of how much cash you dropped on 4 tickets and some popcorn), there is MORE good news. Most of our kids from 8-15 years old are Minecraft FREAKS.
We should therefore, not be surprised that there is a Minecraft movie in the works.
That’s right a “live action” movie based on the wildly popular game (100 million users to date).
As long as that 40 second music wind-chime-tinkling-tune on a loop isn’t the consistent musical accompaniment, I should be able to make it out without shoving a pencil in my eye.
The Bad
The Linkedin Denial Heard Around the World
In local news turned global….a Cleveland Communications professional named Kelly Blazek sent several aggressive and nasty emails out to individuals seeking employment in the public relations and communications field. What makes this situation tragically ironic is the fact that Ms. Blazek is the self-professed “Job Bank House Mother” of an online Yahoo Group meant to serve those very individuals.Essentially you sign up for the newsletter (which I have done personally), and if you have done everything exactly the way that Ms. Blazek has demanded, you may or may not be added to the list. When a young woman reached out to Ms. Blazek on Linkedin, Blazek’s response was cruel and aggressive. The young woman decided to take her revenge on Blazek by posting the email on social sites. It became viral within hours.
In the 48 hour aftermath, Blazek had been locally, nationally, and globally shamed. Blazek has pulled down all of her social media sites and removed all of the content on her blog. Additional “victims” of Blazek’s attitude starting to gather like ants at a picnic, including a parody account on Twitter.
So what now? Have we collectively learned anything from this experience?
- Apparently revenge is popular, especially when the bully “has it coming”.
Isn’t this the very same thing I teach parents and students during my Internet Safety Presentations? ‘There is a very thin line between being a victim and becoming the bully.’
The young woman who was legitimately bullied and victimized, engaged in her own brand of vigilante cyberbullying by posting Blazek’s email and asking others to pile on.
- Beware a Karmic Slap from the universe
If you are a bully and you put it in writing – please, please expect to be brought down with impunity. The Internet likes this – mind your tongue.
- Innocent people end up suffering for the stupidity of others
Was Blazek wrong? Hell yes she was wrong. However, if the job bank which she created and cultivated goes down in flames, those people looking for work might find it that much more difficult to find employment.
- When in doubt – punch yourself in the face
I tell my students to imagine their grandmothers reading their latest post or viewing their latest upload photos on Instagram…if the content passes the “Grandma Filter” – then it’s probably fit for public consumption. I’m not sure that the Grandma Filter would have helped Blazek.So here’s my version for anyone over 21 years old: Imagine for a moment that your latest: email, post, or photo will be on the evening news in multiple countries. Would you be proud of it? Would you have to explain yourself? Would you have to turn your back on your job, your community, and your entire life and enter Witness Protection? If so, punch yourself in the face as hard as you can. Repeat until the urge passes.
How to Lose $80K In One Facebook Post
Photo Credit: Rebecca Barray NOTE TO SELF:
The next time I’m a college freshman and my dad wins an age-discrimination suit against the high school that employed him, I will remember to NOT post a snarky victory status on Facebook, especially when the settlement includes a gag order – because then my parents will lose the settlement money.
The Ugly
This Teen Has Sex With a Hot Pocket, Seriously
When I present to parents I talk about the immaturity of the teen brain. It just isn’t done cooking yet, literally. A young adult’s brain does not have a fully connected frontal lobe. So they’re sorta brain damaged. But as parents we forget that and tend to say things like: “How on earth did you think that was a good idea?”, “No, I have never wondered what would happen if you microwaved a raw egg”, and “Why is there cottage cheese on the ceiling?”.
This story lives at the intersection of “Over Cooked Hot Pocket” AND “Under Cooked Frontal Lobe”.
Once upon a time there was a young man who wanted to increase his Twitter followers. He created a Vine of himself fornicating with an empty box of Pop Tarts. After a brief flash of social media fame – the muse visited once again. In an effort to skyrocket past his previous fame, he decided to have sex with a microwaved Hot Pocket, literally.
“I tried doing it without a condom and it was just, like, way too hot,” he said. “I put it in the fridge for a little bit and I was like, ‘Dude, I’m gonna have to use a condom if I’m gonna actually stick my d*** in the whole Hot Pocket.'”
Alas, in the end the fame backfired; the courageous young man who risked his personal reputation AND his junk ended up with suspended Twitter and Vine accounts. In addition, Hot Pockets blocked him on Twitter….everybody’s a critic.
In other (apparently) unrelated news….
Nestle USA issued a voluntary recall of its Philly Steak and Cheese Hot Pockets because they may contain “diseased and unsound animal meat” – which is an unkind characterization. What teens do with their Hot Pockets is really none of our business. Unless of course they post it to Vine, then it becomes “forever”.
Read more from the Blog
- The Barrel Has No Bottom : Yik Yak Review: Another Anonymous Social Media Site Perfect for Cyberbullying & It’s Worse Than Ask.fm
- I Disagree Completely With HuffPost Article – Here’s What You Should ACTUALLY Do If You Catch Your Kid Sexting
- An Open Letter to Teens Who Use Ask.fm; Read, Post, & Share
- VIDEO: Internet Safety: Before you buy your child a digital device – think safety
- VIDEO: Internet Safety Expert : Jesse Weinberger on WKYC-Cleveland to Discuss Cyberbullying and Internet Safety
- VIDEO: Internet Safety: Best Parenting Practices to Keep Children, Tweens, and Teens Safe in the Digital World
- Internet Safety for Parents: Being proactive is the only defense for your tweens, teens, and family
- Parents of teens WAKE UP! Fake Facebook account contributes to the abduction and murder of 15 year old Nichole Cable in Maine
- Entire High School Football Team Gets Suspended Because of Cyberbullying on Ask.fm
- A Cleveland Teen is Murdered After a Facebook Argument – aka Internet Safety Basics: DON’T Feed the Trolls
- Adults and Kids: Stop Being Stupid. The “Gonna-Be” Posts Are Going To Get You: Robbed, Kidnapped, Assaulted
Jesse Weinberger is an Internet Safety Expert, Internet Safety Speaker for schools, and the author of “The Boogeyman Exists: And He’s In Your Child’s Back Pocket”; a guide for parents and educators on how to keep children safe in a 24-7 always connected digital society. Learn more about how to keep your children safe online She has been teaching parents, schools, and students how to navigate online and mobile risks since 2003. Jesse is available for presentations to schools, parents, students, and organizations all over the United States.
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Have you heard the term: “Don’t feed the trolls”? Trolls are online bullies who generally show themselves in the comments section of a website or blog. But they can just as easily be found within your own social media profiles. In fact, younger users of social media may have a large percentage of trolls within their own “friends” and “followers”.In a Cleveland, Ohio suburb a mother is mourning the loss of her teenage son. He was stabbed to death right outside his home after a feud over a girl which the mother says escalated via Facebook. The suspected murderer made specific threats on Facebook that he was “coming to get” the young man.
If what this mother says turns out to be true, then this is a case which involves cyberbullying. The interesting aspect is the chosen platform – Facebook. Facebook’s connection structure is synchronous. This means that in order for you and I to be “friends” on Facebook we have to agree. You send me a “friend request” and I agree. If we do not agree, there is no connection.
Very often I’m asked what parents should do when cyberbullying arrives in their lives. Using this heartbreaking situation as an example:
- Your children should only ‘friend’ those people who mom/dad know IRL (in real life)
If YOU do not know the “friend”, remove the connection - Explain to your children the risks of TMI (too much information)
You give potential trolls ammunition to use against you (examples: problems at home, issues with school, illnesses, family deaths, personally identifying data, etc) - If the cyberbullying is obvious and targeted – DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS
Tell your children to NOT answer back when threats are made – they should tell an adult and step away - BLOCK the cyberbully from your profile if possible
Some social media platforms do not make “blocking possible” -but Facebook does - Your child should take a break from social media for a significant amount of time – a week or two
- Report threats to local police and the school where appropriate
I have no idea if these tips would have helped this child, and I don’t know this family personally. All I know is that a child is dead and another one will likely spend a very, very long time in jail (which is appropriate). This tragedy might very well have occurred anyhow outside of the realm of social. In this particular case Facebook seems to have been a vehicle for communication of a threat and a continued festering of anger and cyberbullying.
Parents: have these conversations with your children so that they will recognize a threat when they see it or hear it.
Jesse Weinberger is an Internet Safety Expert, digital strategist, instructor, and the owner of OvernightGeek University. Weinberger has created an online course for parents and families called Internet Safety for Families. She has been teaching parents, schools, and students how to navigate online and mobile risks for over 10 years. Learn how to keep your children safe online at www.OvernightGeekUniversity.com
- Your children should only ‘friend’ those people who mom/dad know IRL (in real life)
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