Monday, March 30, 2009

Big Brother is everywhere

Privacy is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

With cell phone cameras everywhere, anything and everything you do in public is now fair game for the Internet. Doesn't matter if what you see is true or taken out of context, if you do something in public, it can really go public.

A good example is the story regarding the video of what someone claimed to be Joe Biden's daughter that was being shopped over the weekend. It doesn't really matter if the person in the video was her or not; her name has already been dragged through the gutter. If the woman in the video turns out to be someone else, half the people who heard the original story will have missed the follow up. The end result is the same. How many of you noted that the lawyer trying to sell the tape has suddenly stopped trying? (That guy better get ready for a gang audit from the IRS.)

We all saw what happened to Michael Phelps a while back. One photo cost him millions and a ton of credibility.

The point today is not to lecture anyone on what you can and cannot do in your personal life. That's your decision. The point is that you need to be aware that if you're a public figure, anything questionable you might do could end up on the Internet and cost you your career. Anytime you're in public and recognized, people are watching you. And these days, someone may be taping you.

1984 is here, big time. Be very, very careful of your conduct in public. People love success yet worship a fall.

1 comment:

joey flash said...

That's why I shoulder the sticks & lens: so I can rip up karaoke nights w/o some blogger throwing my version of "don't stop believing" on you tube for all to see.