In my mind, a "real" social networking expert isn't a professional. It's someone who uses sites like Facebook and MySpace habitually and regularly. So I spoke with "Jim" (who prefers to remain anonymous). Jim is 24 and was a freshman in college when Facebook launched. In other words, he was a Facebooker from the very beginning.
Most interestingly, Jim is friends with Kevin Colvin, who made it onto CNN (in addition to Rolling Stone Magazine) due to a Facebook photo blunder. Colvin's story gained considerable traction in the blogosphere and eventually made national news headlines.
What happened? Last Halloween (which was on a Thursday), Colvin (a senior in college) sent an email to his bosses at the bank where he was interning. In his email, he claimed he would be unable to show up to work on Friday, November 1st due to a family emergency.
Apparently, he was always making excuses for not coming in. And it was the day after Halloween. So Colvin's boss looked him up on Facebook (to check his story) and found a photo of him dressed as a fairy at a Halloween party. It pretty much speaks for itself.
Colvin's boss - upon finding the photo - sent him an email, which included the photo, a (sarcastic) note of empathy regarding his "family emergency" and, added a P.S. of "nice wand." The email went viral because Colvin's boss bcc-ed the entire company on the email.
Below are some exerpts from my conversation with Jim.
Q. Why do you think the blogosphere and news media latched onto this story?
This was a social networking case study that everyone had been waiting for. It shows how Facebook can intersect with the business world.
Q. So, what do you and your friends think about what happened?
We thought it was hilarious when it happened - and knowing the kid, it was great. But, it was also unprofessional that the email went to the whole company. This could have completely ruined his career. The email made its way to all of Wall Street within half an hour. I had it forwarded to me by multiple friends within ten minutes. It was all over Internet... tons of blogs were posting about it.
Q. How did Colvin respond to the whole thing?
At first, he thought it would totally blow over... but it was everywhere. I heard that he threatened the bank with litigation because his boss violated the company's privacy provisions, and was offered a permanent position upon graduation.
Q. Has this changed the way you approach Facebook (and other social networking sites you belong to?)
Honestly, we started to see it as a potential problem. So most of my friends changed our profiles and made most of our information private. It also made me realize that an internship in college could still have an effect on your professional career after you graduate.
Colvin wasn't conscientious enough on Facebook. People just have to be careful with Facebook, work email and the intersection between their social lives and their work lives. Anyone who doesn't accept that there is no "known fine line" between business and personal spheres is kidding themselves.
3 comments:
Here's my question though because I hate all the scare tactic crap out there about bosses' looking at Facebook profiles....
Was Colvin's boss looking at his profile on work time? On a company computer? Jesus-- some people clearly need more to do at work (especially management). Back off the fairy, leave my profile alone, stop Google'ing me and work!?! What happened to the old days when you could be in the closet about anything!?!
funny though, I just went and changed my profile settings in Facebook. Even Reader's Digest wrote about this!
I completely agree, Eddie... what happens in Vegas, right?
I think the Colvin issue (based on what I heard from Jim) was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back. He was perpetually not showing up for his internship, and the day after Halloween seemed suspicious.
And for the record, I don't think it would have been anywhere near as viral/funny if the photo hadn't been of the kid dressed as a fairy. Priceless.
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