Snapshot Social Media

Well, I may have gone and done it this time! -- Last week, while observing a mayoral debate that was being broadcast live on Shaw TV, I snapped a picture of a camera man who was talking on his phone during the debate and I posted it on Twitter.

I think my exact tweet was: "GET OFF THE PHONE!!!" (Yes, in all caps with a ton of exclamation marks. What?! I was annoyed.)

Anyway, the next day I log onto Twitter and find out that the chatty camera man had been fired, and the speculation was that it was because of my picture!

I felt terrible.

When I posted the picture of the camera man on his phone, I certainly didn't think it would result in him being fired! I figured that since he was so brazen about talking on his phone while shooting the debate, that it wasn't even a big deal. (Well, I only thought that for a second, before another camera man had to tell him to stop.)

Anyway, the long and short of it all is this: Social media is a very powerful tool, and you have to be so careful about what you post. (And to take it a step further, as a professional, you have to be careful about what you do. Especially in the public eye.)

I later heard that I wasn't the reason that the camera guy got fired. (To be honest, I am not even sure if this guy even got fired!) Regardless, the whole situation made me realize how careful we all have to be when it comes to using social media.