SpeedPlexer Blog

We’ve chosen two stories, ripped from the nation’s headlines, to offer further proof of the growing power of social networking over our lives and jobs. 

First, a woman in Connecticut was fired after making disparaging comments about her boss on Facebook, but later won a court battle saying she couldn’t be fired for that.  A story from Digital Trends says “It’s now a little safer to complain about your boss on Facebook” and explains that:

“While her former employer maintains that she was fired based on her performance as a staff member, what’s most significant in this case is what it means for employees. Souza is not the first to get fired for this, but she is the first to be defended for it. In this virtual age, companies everywhere are enforcing social media policies and today’s ruling will directly affect how legitimate they are.”

The article describes Facebook as the modern “water-cooler” where employees meet to chat, but they also warn employees not to get too comfortable with the idea that their chit-chat is protected. A more formal hearing will take place in January.

Then, dubbed the King of Social Media by Fast Company, who said, “Using almost every online tool available, from Facebook to Twitter, YouTube to Foursquare, the late night host shows that social media is a force to be reckoned with.” All of it helped Conan O’Brien triumph over adversity and competition as he began his new job on TBS.  Fast Company says that, “Bolstered by his almost 2 million Twitter followers, a first-of-its-kind social media strategy, and an innovative digital team, Conan soared on the late-night scene with huge ratings, besting both David Letterman and arch-nemesis Jay Leno with 4.2 million viewers.”

So go ahead and harness the twin powers of internet speed and social networking, but do so responsibly!

TechCrunch reports, “In an effort to increase voter turnout for next Tuesday’s Congressional Election, President Barack Obama has put out a call on Twitter for constituents to install a Facebook application called the “Commit to Vote Challenge.” 

Obama harnessed the power of the internet speed and social networking to his advantage in his presidential campaign, and has kept it up. In addition to using it to keep people engaged in politics, he posted a video to YouTube   last week that supports the “It Gets Better” campaign we talked about in an earlier post.  The goal of that campaign is to get teens to quit committing suicide as a solution to bullying, especially about being gay. 

TechCrunch said about the Facebook app, “Like a more noble version of Fast Company’s Influence Project  the Commit to Vote Challenge takes advantage of the ‘network effect’ by using Facebook to spam your friends about voting. Facebook’s population is currently greater than that of the United States.”

Notice the use of the word “spam”, which indicates that the TechCrunch writer isn’t a fan. She also called the Commit to Vote Challenge, “a serious case of social gaming mechanics taken too far,” and said “it’s scary,” I tried it anyway. 

Basically, you share your reason for voting only with the people you choose, and then you see a list of your friends who have done the same.  Maybe it shouldn’t require social networking peer pressure to get people to take part in their country’s political process, but it couldn’t hurt, and there are much less noble things to bug people about.