“Fail Whale” honorees: All the Twitter users that got duped into Twitterrank. 
What they did wrong:
On Wednesday a large % of Twitter users gave up their username and password to find out their Twitterrank. It later came out that Twitterrank was likely a phishing scam. It then came out that the site’s creator just used the username and password once to calculate the rank. He did mention however that the next person might not be so nice and they could be in trouble.
What they should have known:
It is never good to give your password out to anyone you do not know and trust. This man could have caused some major issues for people with the information they freely gave him. You should think about these passwords just like the ones you use for email and banking accounts. When others have the ability to act as a representation of you or your company the chances of an online reputation issue skyrocket.
What they could have done better:
Next time you are interested in how your profile “ranks” in comparison to another make sure that you use a site such as Twitter Grader which just requires a username. Better yet, maybe don’t care so much about what a tool ranks you as and think about what you actually get out of the profile you are ranking.
“Fail Whale” honoree: Buck Burnette
What he did wrong:
Buck Burnette is the backup center for the University of Texas Longhorns. He has a Facebook page like millions of other college students across the nation. He decided to post a racist comment towards the new president-elect Barack Obama in his Facebook status on Tuesday night. Buck Burnette is no longer the backup center for the University of Texas Longhorns.
What he should have known:
Facebook, like most social networks, is not a private location to share information. A person can add privacy to Facebook, but must think about how much they trust their “Friends” to not share information that has been posted. It is also important to remember that if a ‘Friend” holds a different view than the person, this could also cause them to share information with others.
High school kids have been expelled for inappropriate photos they have posted in platforms like this, people have lost jobs and relationships have been destroyed over shared items online.
What he could have done better:
Burnette should have thought about his social networking profile as an off-shoot of himself. If there is something on the profile that a person would not feel comfortable having their boss, a teacher, a coworker or their mother see…..then it probably should not be added. Giving yourself rules, within reason, to what should and should not be shared will help make sure it is appropriate.
On a Side note: Racism is also something that should probably never be placed on the Internet (or shared ever) with direct relation to a name….but that is just a thought 
“Fail Whale” honoree: Courtenay Semel.
What she did wrong:
Ms. Semel went to court this week for an altercation in August outside of Pure nightclub. She was approached by a paparazzo and yelled obscenities at him. It came out in court this week that the statement she made contained the phrase “Google Me” in hopes to get the bouncer to figure out who she was.
What she should have known:
Courtney should have realized that since her father was once the CEO of Yahoo! she probably shouldn’t yell obscenities or tell the person to “google” her.
What they could have done better:
Next time if you get yourself in a situation where a bouncer doesn’t recognize you and they should, be polite and explain. If this doesn’t seem like a good option simply shout “yahoo me” instead.
The weekly fail whale is something pretty new to Geary Fresh. We will be posting a poor use of social media/marketing/general existence/did they really once a week. A company or person will receive the honor of being the “Fail Whale” of the week. We will also give some suggestions to ways that the winner could have handled the situation in a better manner
“Fail Whale” honoree(s): Anyone involved in the “Maple Story” Murder.
What they Did wrong (or just weird in this case):
A Japanese woman was recently arrested for killing her virtual ex-husband’s avatar in Maple Story. The two meet in Maple Story which is a popular online community in Japan that is similar to SecondLife. Their Maple Story characters fell in love and got married online. When the avatar relationship went south, the virtual characters got a virtual divorce. The woman was so distraught about the event that she hacked into the virtual husband’s account and killed his avatar. Virtual husband then contacted the police about the killing due to his extreme sadness over the loss of his beloved avatar.
So the list of things they did wrong includes but is not limited to:
- Falling in love online in character form not actual form in a site not intended for that
- Having online avatars become ‘legally’ bound by the laws of Maple Story
- Changing the characters to the point that they no longer enjoyed one another
- Having online avatars become ‘legally’ divorced by the laws of Maple Story
- Having way to much time on their hands
- Hacking
- Contacting the real policy over the ‘Murder”
- Clogging CNN with a very random bit of new
On the bright side a few things they did correct:
- Not having virtual children to involve in the messy matter
- Never actually “meeting”
What they should have known:
Social media sites like SecondLife and Maple Story are an innovative way to communicate. They offer more of a game like experience than say Facebook or Twitter. The site is not necessarily intended for dating, even if it is in character form and not in real life.
What they could have done better:
There are a lot of things that could have made this situation better, however lets start at the beginning. When you start thinking about joining an online community ask yourself what you are hoping to get out of the experience. Once this question is answered it will be much easier to find the site that fits with your goals. Hopefully this will leave you with a great experience, some new friends, a non-suicidal avatar and a out of jail (real jail that is).
The weekly fail whale is something new to Geary Fresh. We will be posting a poor use of social media/marketing/general existence/did they really once a week. A company or person will receive the honor of being the “Fail Whale” of the week. We will also give some suggestions to ways that the winner could have handled the situation in a better manner
Our first “Fail Whale” honoree: Tesla Motors.
What they Did wrong:
Electric automaker Tesla recently announced the layoff of 90% of its Detroit office through….a BLOG post. The blog post states “there will be some headcount reduction due to consolidation of operations” and also informs that the Detroit office will be closing. The brand new HQ in San Jose will remain open and the 10% that did not loose their jobs will be allowed to relocate and work there. Which makes sense because the cost of living in San Jose is extremely comparable to Detroit?
What they should have known:
Social media is about communication, connection and relationship building. Using it as the first communication of a sad occurrence like this does not fit the bill of proper uses. Maybe Tesla will take the stance that the economy and their “green” nature forced them to communicate this news through a public online portal versus an actual pink slip.
What they could have done better:
We would suggest that a company never use a public forum as a way to announce a lay off/closure before they address the employees. If a personal session by the company (be it in person or in a webcast) cannot happen an email is still a widely accepted form of business communication that is private. Addressing the employees in this manner will help to support internal morale (as much as possible in a lay off) and also work to minimize Online Reputation Management issues.
