What Would Mickey Do?

I was watching the Disney Channel.  I know.  I know.  I was surfing, and I landed on Harriet the Spy:  Blog Wars, and well, as a blogger, I was intrigued.  Mesmerized?  Ok - pathetically sucked in.  Call it what you will.  I made it through about seven minutes.  Then a commercial came on that I have now watched three or four times:  I had to - someone after my own heart wrote it.

So the gist is, Disney has public service announcements called "TTI" or "The Time I...".  In this particular commercial called "Katie:  The Time I was a Lousy Friend," two girls are texting.  Katie informs Nat that she has told unnamed person/persons about Nat's crush on Drew.  Turns out the young, wippersnapper, Katie accepted a dare from two other "buddies" to post the information about Nat's crush on Drew's "profile".  Katie attempts to apologize multiple times via texting, but it takes accidently running into each other and Katie apologizing in person for the issue to reach resolution.

The Afterschool Special moment comes with Katie's commentary at the end:
I was lucky because Natalie is a super friend.  But I almost lost her because of one stupid web post.  From now on, I'm going to think about what I do and say online.  Because what you text or post can embarrass you and hurt other people.  And when it's online, you can't deny it, and you can't erase it.

And it got me thinking, there is no etiquette book for blogging, texting, or social media of any kind, but Disney found it socially important enough to address it with tweens.  The fact is when using social media, we need to realize, just as in conversation, tact and appropriateness need to be key.  The same social norms apply - even if you think you're hidden by the anonymity of a user name.  Tween or adult, we are all ultimately responsible for our behavior.

On the other hand, I have no idea how good ol' Harriet the Spy ended.

Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com/.

You May Want to Keep Your Twitter Clothes On

Being a typical girl, I loved my Barbie® dolls.  I was always of the opinion, however, that they needed to be dressed to the nines at all times because I never knew who might see them:  Prince Charming, Ken®, G.I. Joe®, Mickey Mouse®, etc.  How horrifying it would be for them to be tossed into the toy box naked and run into someone that way!  Their clothes, their shoes, their hair always needed to be perfect so they would be ready to put their best face to the world.

Now I realize some of you are naked Barbie® people.  Naked Barbie® kids are the ones that got the doll out of the box, immediately removed their clothes, and then the dolls laid all over the house showing off all their glory.   They truly let it all hang out.

Our Twitter® accounts are the same way.  There is the theory that since you never know who might be reading your posting that you should be on your best behavior.  What if the viewer is a prospective employer, your current employer, a writer, an organization?  Are your postings helping or hindering your reputation?  Is the Barbie's® hair done and clothes looking sharp?  There is also the theory - Twitter® is a place to express one's true opinion to the masses for anyone who cares to read it:  essentially the naked Barbie® theory.  Here it is, look at me.  Don't get me wrong, I've done that, too.  The question is what kind of reputation do you want to create for yourself?   Since you don't always know your audience, how do you feel about the President reading what you've written?

So who is your Twitter® account for?  Is it for you?  Is it your outlet regardless of the consequences?  Then be free and show your plastic buff to the world!  If your micro blogs are for your audience, you may want to keep your Twitter® clothes on.




Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com/.

Barbie® is a product of Mattel, Inc.