Beware Web 2.0 Weapons of Mass Reputational Destruction
Written by Aaron Kwittken on May 7, 2009
They are infiltrating our society from the ground up. They are your friends. They are your neighbors. They are your employees. They could even be your parents.
While you know them by another name, from time to time, they can hold a more dubious title: terrorists. No, not those armed with an IED. Social media terrorists are inflicting mass reputational destruction everyday armed with only a keyboard and a camcorder.
The danger is real. The recent Domino’s YouTube fiasco alone made it painfully clear that any isolated incident can be spun into a social media weapon of mass reputational destruction.
Examples of social media terrorism abound—cue montage of rats scurrying in Taco Bell, a finger tucked inside a box of Wendy’s fries and bucket of Kentucky Fried rats. The attacks can come at any time, from anyone, anywhere. They don’t have to be true, and, most important, they are not limited to the destruction of prominent brands.
Any individual can fall victim to social media terrorism, causing untold damage to their reputation, their credibility. You don’t have to be on Facebook for that compromising cell phone video of you at a friend’s cocktail party to abruptly end your career.
As useful as social network tools are to reach a mass audience, they are dangerous. Within only two days, the compromising Domino’s video was viewed more than a million times on YouTube, which does even not count the other videos it spawned or the barrage of broadcast specials and newspaper articles.
Like it or not, today we all live in a brave new world beset by endless commentary in the form of tweets, posts and videos. Our actions are recorded continuously.
If you don’t want to fall victim to social media terrorism, you need to learn to live alongside it and adapt your actions accordingly. Be careful what you say. Be vigilant about who’s recording you, and monitor what’s being said about you online.
If you are attacked by a weapon of mass reputational destruction, don’t duct tape the windows and cower in your basement. Minimize the fallout by quickly going on the offensive and responding genuinely on the same social media channel, just as Domino’s did.
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