Real-World Consequences of Social Networking Posts

gbulmash sends in a classic Streisand Effect story of a Chicago landlord suing a tenant over a tweet complaining of mold in her apartment. The landlord claims that the tweet caused $50,000 damage to their reputation. If it didn't, then the fallout from their own ill-advised lawsuit surely will. The woman's Twitter account is now gone (possibly on advice of counsel), but the tweet that started it all lives on. And in a similar vein, reader levicivita notes a firing over a political comment on a Facebook page. "Lee Landor, who had been the deputy press secretary to Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer since May, posted comments on her Facebook page criticizing Mr. Gates [Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.] and the president, whom she referred to at one point as 'O-dumb-a.' ... The borough president has accepted Ms. Landor's resignation, effective immediately."

Comments

Re:Landlord is a moron

[ArsonSmith]

There was mention of Mold in her twat and that sleeping around is how she got it. Not sure how this has anything to do with Horizon though?

What is the past tense of a tweet anyway?

Re:it was only a matter of time

[Q-Hack!]

it's = "it is"; its = possessive. E.g., it's flapping its wings.

Otherwise known as "its' grammar."

Re:Talk about your catch 22

[JackCroww]

Typical liberal response: Don't bother me with facts; can't you see I'm passionate about this topic?

Re:it was only a matter of time

[mi]

Yeah, it used to be that racists like Landor would successfully conceal themselves for years, never coming out of the woodwork. With Twitter and Facebook, these people's true feelings come out and it's a lot easier to out racists. Long live the internet! :)

Remember, when Whoopi Goldberg lost her contract with some advertisers (private companies, mind you, not governmental organizations) over really crude remarks involving word-play on the previous President's last name and Whoopi's genitals, the Slashdot was all outraged. Was she a — a black woman dissing a White President — racist, in your opinion?

No? Why, then, is the white woman, who vented her opinion in private blog (rather than, as Goldberg did, while doing her job as an entertainer) dissing a Black President?