Martin here…And as I said on the podcast, I was waiting for Google to write this post for me…

We start 2014 talking about the mob mentality you sometimes experience in social media.

Picture this. You’ve had a busy year and it’s almost the holidays. You’re traveling halfway across the world to head home for some much-needed R&R. It’s a long and maybe a bit of a dull plane ride. There’s no Wi-Fi, so you’re unplugged. The perfect way to unwind.

Sounds tempting.

But when you land…you notice something’s different. Strangers recognize you. Are they pointing fingers? You get reconnected only to find out you’ve been fired with no warning – over a tweet.  The decision had been made when you were in the air.

I’ve just described what happened to Justine Sacco, who was a senior communicator for IAC. As in, past tense. The reason for her firing was a racist tweet she posted before leaving on the flight.

Let’s be clear, we don’t condone any racist remarks and this was clearly a case of very bad judgment (just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should).  If you followed the story, you’ll know it blew up when she was in the air and didn’t have access to Wi-Fi, there was an avalanche of critical posts, hashtags, a twitter storm and, of course, she abruptly lost her job.

Now that we’ve had the opportunity to reflect on the situation from the perspective of a few weeks, we thought we’d discuss these questions:

– Is it wise to let the community do your thinking for you?
– When should you wait to make a decision and when should you react immediately?
– How do you deal with a mob mentality when you’re trying to make a change?
– If you react quickly, is your decision strategic or just designed to stop the noise?
– Do you dump first and then ask questions later?
– Shouldn’t everyone have an opportunity to answer for their actions before they feel the consequences?

It’s a complex and multi-layered issue, as you’ll hear in the podcast. Have a listen and let us know where you stand.

******************

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Inside PR is part of the FIR Podcast Network.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini DietrichJoseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR

Our theme music was created by Damon de SzegheoRoger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR is produced by Kristine D’Arbelles and Ashlea LeCompte.

Comments

  1. I agree with all of you, Justine Sacco showed poor judgment with her tweet. But I believe that IAC showed poor judgment in firing her as a direct result of the mob mentality. The message there is that IAC has no real leadership, but makes business decisions based on non-client emotional reactions. And that is a clear indication of immaturity. Once the Twitter blasts started I was waiting for a response from IAC like this:

    We will be talking with Justine Sacco about this incident and are looking forward to a swift resolution to this issue.

    Simple, short, holds themselves to a mature standard of handling a problem, and lets the mob say what it will.

    Then, after the talk with Justine Sacco, a release that states that she will continue to be a ‘senior communicator’ with IAC because…oh heck, you could list all kinds of emotion soothing things here.

    I guide my clients to respond this way and it works. Emotional outbursts are short and are similar to tantrums thrown by a child. Respond as an adult and you have a better than average chance of surviving. Respond as a child and you have a better than average chance of surviving with a tarnished view of how you handle your business, which leaks into your current client relationships and trust level.

    Good blog post and podcast – oh, and when you find a Google app that will transcribe? Please share!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.