Everyone is using facebook these days except me. My wife, my daughter, and a host of our friends and family member are it. Even the AFLAC Duck is on it. And I know some of you OS Bloggers are on it too. Personally, I avoid facebook for a number of reasons.
The most important one is that I am prone to making wiseass remarks. I can’t control myself. It's like having Tourette's Syndrome only I can control it.
For example, the other day, a newly acquired, extended-family member posted that she was off to the gym and that her hubby just made her a wonderful dinner. If I were on facebook, I would make a snarky remark like, “how come you didn’t invite us?” Or, “Watch it! The last time he cooked he nearly killed off the entire family.”
In other words, I would soon lose my friends, family and job and I might even be forced to leave the city, state and country. Hell! I might even have to leave the planet. Uranus here I come!
Which brings me to this post, the other day I got the following facebook post by e-mail, and I could not believe it. I asked the coworker who sent it to me if it was legit. He said it was. I am still having a hard time believing that anyone could be so stupid as to post the following on a social network site:
If this is not a hoax, then this girl got the real firing and virtual-public flogging she deserved.
Now that this girl has shown us How to Lose Your Job on facebook.
Here is some good advice on how to avoid some social networking fatal errors.
Whether in the virtual world, or in the real world, these two old adages apply:
- "If don't have something nice to say about somebody, then don’t say it."
– Unknown - “The better part of valor is discretion.” – Shakespeare
Back to our gal Friday. How could this have happened?
Most likely, when this formerly-employed worker got hired, she added her boss to her friends list. Since he probably never made a comment, she forgot about him, and she figured he never read her facebook wall.
It never occurred to her that her boss (and, most likely, someone else in the company who hated her) was lurking.
So now, not only is she without a job (in this economy no less), but she is the laughing stock of the Worldwide Web. Good luck getting a job, sunshine!
How about you? Have you made any fatal errors on facebook?
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Max Rivlin-Nadler
Marilyn Sands
Ande Bliss
Gary Justis
Living with Caer
500words
Salon.com
Comments
I only join FB to catch up with old high school buddies, but I never go there, so maybe I should just close my account.
xox rated
I'm sorry I ever joined. This guy just won't leave me alone.
Rated.
Robin, so much for the First Ammendment.
Mamoore, people forget that in facebook there is no doctor/patient confidentiality clause.
John, doesn't he have something better to do? Like, run the country!
Robin, thanks for double-dipping on the comments. Triple-dip it you want. Who luvs ya?
Will you teach me please? *laughs*
Good post. I have a facebook page wall thing but...I never post anything anywhere on it.
To be honest, the girl above looks to be of the generation that has absolutely no (or seems not to have) grasp on appropriate speech and tact. I'm not the most tactful person myself, I freely admit, but I do make a conscious effort to *not* post my right foot into my mouth then blow said foot off with a 12 gauge.
Her (ex) boss sounds cool though. I'm still laughing at "I know I don't prance around the office like a queen, but......." *chuckles*
Read my post:
http://open.salon.com/blog/trudge164/2009/05/07/dear_open_salon_ghost_rater
the future belongs to the young and, albeit, foolish.
I saw you rated me on the recent activity column of the Open Salon Home page. ; )
Yes, people do foolish things on the Internet. It has become a kinky masquerade ball only without the masks.
The girl did wrong. Maybe she learned her lesson.
LittleWillie, and hopefully it will be her last mistake in the social network scene.
Emma, please give her a karate chop in the neck. Maybe that will bring her to her senses.
Zuma, and OS pays me handsomely. Let's hope she did learn her lesson.
Nanatehay, like you, I'm too lame too. At least according to my 11 year old daughter who is wise beyong her years when it comes to things cool.
Cinamingrl, I don't know if she did. Based on her slang, this took place in either England or some other English-speaking country. In the USA, they would have promoted her to CEO of a Fortune 500 company. You know, that whole corporate transparency thing.
I love FB because I keep it light, and have contact with friends/relatives from all over - the world and my life. I like seeing people's pics of their kids on the beach.
The most controversial thing I have said is: "Zombies are the proletariats of the undead." , which somehow led to one of my "friends" (a guy I know pretty well) correct my grammar, which was fine, and then get offended for some weird reason because I continued on my Zombie theory...
I laugh about it to this day.
But lots of people are idiots. Bitching about bosses/coworkers should be done at BARS. And if you don't drink booze, Cafes. With espresso shots slammed on the table as you make your point about what an asshole so and so is.
Aim, Zombies are very controversial.
I refuse to friend anyone I work with or for on Facebook. I'm not on it for the "work" networking... I'm on it for playing catch-up with people I've not seen in 25 years and may never see again. While I don't post here under my real name, there I do link my posts from here to share with my "friends" as nothing I say seems to surprise them - they were all there when my charming disposition was being formed.
As my grandmother always said... "Never put anything in writing you don't want repeated back to you..." so now it applies to your Facebook status as well as your bumper stickers.