You know what they say, when you do clownery....

[rogueslayer452]

++ For those few who aren't aware of the explosive news, the Roseanne revival was cancelled yesterday after its star made a racist tweet, which then started a rapid chain of events of everyone and everything no longer supporting the actress and the show, new and old, completely disappearing from television schedules. It started off as the highest rated series premieres which granted an immediate renewal and ended up becoming quickly cancelled after a mindless act of stupidity. All I can say is, good riddance. As someone who enjoyed the original series (the later seasons not so much, though), this revival was completely unnecessary from the very start, especially the more I read about the changes made which contradicted a lot about the original and the messages made there, the less inclined I was to even bother checking it out.

This is probably one of the best examples why not all revivals/reboots are always needed or necessary, and why relying entirely on nostalgia will often lead to disappointment.

++ Remember last year when Photobucket done fucked up with their abrupt policy change out of nowhere? Apparently now everything has been restored underneath new management. Granted, I think it's too little, too late because people were rightfully pissed off at the abrupt horrible business decision and have since moved onto other free image-hosting platforms. However, all images that were broken from that decision have been restored, which is definitely good since many sites were affected. I doubt people will go back to PB, though, since even with this statement it has gone relatively unnoticed by most since I don't think many care anymore. I'm happy that images have since been restored, but that's the only good thing about this.

++ I've been following what has been referred to as Cockygate for a while now. For those who don't know, here is a basic rundown of everything happening with it to date. The shorthand version, essentially an author is trying to trademark and claim the word "cocky" as her own, defending it as trying to protect her "brand", and is going after various romance authors demanding them to take away the word from their titles/descriptions/etc or else she'll sue them. With her level of unbelievable arrogance and entitlement, it has since escalated into something much bigger than it needs to be, as her latest antics has her wanting to take this non-issue to court. This entire situation is both ridiculously entertaining akin to old school fandom wanks, but is also equally frustrating especially for the authors unfortunately caught in the middle of this nonsense. Although I have to admit, the way the authors are uniting together to fight against this is remarkable (including creating a limited book that is basically a middle finger to the entire situation), even though this isn't a fight that they needed to be having anyway. This entire kerfuffle is still ongoing, so I'll be keeping my eye on how things progress.

Comments

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

this is why I think public figures and professionals should be way, way more careful about what they say on social media. Honestly, I think that's a good rule in general

My thoughts exactly, since I always thought that was rather the basic kind of etiquette for anything, whether it's on social media or speaking out in the real world. I also agree that it doesn't matter who you are, you should always be mindful what you're posting or saying. Which is why I'm perplexed that public figures don't watch what they write or at least don't have a PR person handling or overseeing what they're doing.

I do think we're living in an age right now where this is a huge disconnect of awareness when it comes behavior surrounding social media. Sure, people are aware that they're talking to people, but I don't think many realize the scope of how massively public it is and the impact their words and actions can have. Because, as you said, social media is a platform for engaging and responding to the masses, if you don't want a response then don't engage or at least be mindful of the way you approach your followers/audience. Though in our current culture it's become more common for people to do/say things for the brief thrill of posting it and getting as many likes as possible, which is something that I think needs more evaluation of how we validate ourselves through these kinds of outlets. Many don't seem to understand the weight of their words have so much as just needing those likes/retweets/reblogs/etc. It's also interesting because many have gotten into trouble for the things they have said on social media, oftentimes things that incriminate themselves (i.e. gotten fired from their jobs because it reflects badly on the company they're supposed to be representing), which should be a teachable moment of how actions have consequences especially when it comes to such public platforms like social media.

Granted, this then creates the debate on whether this is censorship or stripping the right of "free speech" (which is often misused because so many don't understand/don't bother to learn the actual meaning of "freedom of speech" and only use it when evading consequence and refusing responsibility). But honestly, I think the basic etiquette of "don't be an asshole" and "be mindful of what you're writing and who you're addressing" should be the best ways of operating on social media platforms. This is especially true for public figures, as they should be even more conscious of what they put out there. You're not talking to an empty void, you're talking to people, and what you say can and does reflect on who you are as a person.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Granted, this then creates the debate on whether this is censorship or stripping the right of "free speech" (which is often misused because so many don't understand/don't bother to learn the actual meaning of "freedom of speech" and only use it when evading consequence and refusing responsibility). But honestly, I think the basic etiquette of "don't be an asshole" and "be mindful of what you're writing and who you're addressing" should be the best ways of operating on social media platforms.

Yes.

I've seen incidents where people posted things that were incredibly hurtful to others, and backed it with "well, it's my Facebook/twitter/Livejournal." Yeah, but... you still need to employ basic tact. After all, it's expected in person. Although there are people who refuse to apply tact IRL as well. But generally speaking, you don't tell your grandma about your sex toy collection, you don't tell your friend who has PTSD from being in Iraq that you led a war protest in college, the list goes on. That's why I'm so careful about what I say even on LJ. I don't filter people out, but I do use warnings if I suspect there will be people who just don't need to hear about XYZ - unfortunately that's less doable on social media sites like Facebook and twitters. But sometimes you have to use filters, or even just don't say it. It's okay NOT to have the last word or make a bad joke. Really.

Then again, you make a good point that internet culture IS very reactionary. So people DO want to have the "last word" and freely make really bad jokes.

(i.e. gotten fired from their jobs because it reflects badly on the company they're supposed to be representing),

Yeah, and this one I think people REALLY don't understand. I think part of it is that people will either project their own experiences, or they'll decide to root for the "underdog." As you know, I'm all for that, but at the same time... you can't say you work at Specific Place and hate all the customers. I realize the Pizza Hut delivery guy who said that doesn't feel bound to protect the business, but the business owner does, so yeah. You're getting fired. Don't make it a free speech issue or "The Man hates me" issue. The Man has a business to run, and you've just told the whole world you spit in people's food, or that you hate all their customers, or that it's the worst place to work ever.

(My ONLY exception to this is when it's private posts that get leaked by people the person wrongly trusted. That I think is unfair. They tried to keep it to themselves. (Although if it's something like "I spit in people's pizza", I still don't have sympathy.)


I do think we're living in an age right now where this is a huge disconnect of awareness when it comes behavior surrounding social media. Sure, people are aware that they're talking to people, but I don't think many realize the scope of how massively public it is and the impact their words and actions can have.

For sure. They don't get it. Or think that it applies to them.