Trending Topics: Top 5 Social Networking Blunders of 2009

Posted 12/08/2009 at 12:00pm | by Veronica Belmont

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Over the past decade, we’ve seen an explosion of social networking services that cover almost every facet of human interest. As these websites become more intertwined with our lives and relationships, there are bound to be a few... missteps along the way. Yet despite the fact that we’re nearing the end of the aughts, people’s abilities to judge what is appropriate (read: not completely and horrifically embarrassing) to post in a public forum does not seem to be improving. As proof of that fact, and perhaps to serve as a cautionary tale going into 2010, here are my favorite social networking snafus of the past year.

Cisco Fatty

It’s been a tough year for jobs, so landing a gig at a big company like Cisco would seem like a blessing, right? Not for Twitter user “theconnor” apparently, who flippantly wrote on their page: “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.” As you can see from the response of Tim Levad of Cisco, they were not amused. Though the tweet was quickly deleted from the profile page, the website CiscoFatty.com popped up soon thereafter, permanently etching the words into cyberspace for all to see.

Vacation on Sick Leave

Insurance companies will go to great lengths to not pay out more money than necessary, and we learned this year that they’ll even go so far as to peruse the Facebook pages of the people they suspect of cheating them. Nathalie Blanchard was on paid sick leave from her job at IBM for severe depression, and posted photos of herself frolicking on a beach holiday and out with friends. Unfortunately, the insurance company got wind of the pictures and cut off her benefits, stating that this was clear evidence that she was no longer depressed. While I personally think a trip to the beach is a great way to try and help your depression, perhaps a little more discretion would have been wise.

Yelp Fight

In an epic he said/she said battle this year, a Yelp user named “Sean C.” claimed that an irate business owner attacked him at his home, after he posted a poor review of her establishment. The woman in question, Diane Goodman, said that she only went over to apologize for her angry private Yelp messages to Sean, and that he attacked her as soon as she identified herself. No matter who you believe in this ridiculous tale, it should go without saying that if you write nasty stuff to someone on the Internet, don’t pay a house call soon after.

Tila Flashes Ustream

Ustream is one of the more popular video streaming sites, and a favorite of reality star and MySpace-advocate Tila Tequila. But as we’ve learned time and time again, venting your frustration or anger on a video service is not the safest form of therapy -- especially when it’s live. While I’m pretty sure being naked on the Internet isn’t Tila’s worst fear, this meltdown probably wasn’t the kind of PR she was looking for.

Facebook Prison BFFs

While we often befriend co-workers and colleagues on Facebook, sometimes you have to respect the professional hierarchy. In the case of Nathan Singh, that line was crossed when his superiors discovered his social networking ties to 13 inmates in the prison where he was an officer. Though he claimed to have known some of them through school, these “inappropriate relationships” caused Nathan’s dismissal (we can only imagine the kind of wall posts they left for each other). As the saying goes, “You’re only as good as the company you keep.” In this day and age, your Facebook network counts.

So other than the obvious lessons (e.g. don’t connect with your prisoners and try not to smack talk your new job), what can we take away from these fantastic errors in online networking? It seems a general lack of common sense is the ongoing theme, but it becomes magnified (and dangerously permanent) when it happens on the Internet. Let’s keep these poor souls well in mind as we trudge forward into 2010, and do our damnedest not to repeat any of their mistakes. Especially the naked ones.