I wouldn’t normally advocate reading The Sun, but as much as it pains me to do so I need to make a point.
A woman has apparently initiated divorce proceedings against her husband after spotting his car outside another woman’s house, on Google Street View.
“Top media laywer Mark Stephens” was quoted saying, “I suspect the husband’s lawyers will claim it was an invasion of privacy that will cost him his marriage and Range Rover.”
He may well lose his marriage and precious shagg wagon but it’s not Street View that’s brought that cost upon him, he’s done that all on his own.
And here, my patient readers, is where my point comes in.
The internet is an open and democratic medium. Get filmed, photographed or otherwise captured doing something you shouldn’t and you could well face the consequences.
It’s not the fault of the internet, of Google, of ISPs or of web site owners. It’s your fault.
Moaning about having your ‘privacy invaded’ because you got caught humping your cleaner thanks to the internet is akin to complaining that you got caught speeding because you happened to have been followed by an un-marked Police car.
The solution is quite simple: don’t do anything you wouldn’t want anyone knowing about. Especially cheating on your wife!
And guess what, the same applies (even more so, in fact) to companies.
On an almost daily basis my twitterstream contains tweets pertaining to bad customer service. I always worry for those companies. I wish, for their sake, that they’re monitoring Twitter, and the rest of the web.
If not, they are potentially letting their reputation sink lower and lower. As tools like Twitter, Facebook and Get Satisfaction gain traction, more and more people are making themselves heard. Word of mouth as a communication medium has rocketed to new heights.
So, if you’re a business do two things right now.
- Smarten up. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t mind the world knowing about.
- Keep an eye on what’s happening to your brand online. Failure to do so could result in a seriously damaged reputation.
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