Week 5 - I'm performing for you (but not you)

Once something appears on the internet it is there FOREVER – You can take it down but someone somewhere is clever enough to find it again.

I loved the subject of the ‘Glass Bedroom’ – “a bridge between partially private and public worlds constructed online through signs and language” (Pearson, 2009). You can keep things private, but your social networking site is made of glass – anyone can see in.

A few years ago Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice found herself in trouble over Facebook photos. Swimming Australia, her employer, deemed the pictures too raunchy and ordered they be removed. This is a classic example of the ‘Glass Bedroom’.

These pictures were probably meant for her chain of friends however Joe Public had access to them, they appeared all over the internet and Rice was in the middle of much debate. The photos were eventually removed from her page.

Rice probably didn’t know it at the time, but the signals she sent with the raunchy pictures risked her reputation (Donath & Boyd, 2004). Luckily for Rice, she was able to come out of the situation positively and maintain her image in the eyes of stakeholders.

There is a lesson here – be very careful what you decide to post on your social networking site. Everyone is watching.

Cheers,
Andrew


References
Donath, J. and Boyd, d. (2004). Public displays of connection. BT Technology Journal, volume 22 (4): 71-82. Available at: http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?content_id=_3070112_1&displayName=Week+5%3A+%22Vital+Signs+of+Life%22+or+Maintaining+Visibility+on+the+Social+Stage&course_id=_60765_1&navItem=content&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.danah.org%2Fpapers%2FPublicDisplays.pdf (accessed March 23, 2010).

Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web’s a stage: the Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks. First Monday, volume 14, Number 3. Available at: http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/contentWrapper.jsp?content_id=_3070112_1&displayName=Week+5%3A+%22Vital+Signs+of+Life%22+or+Maintaining+Visibility+on+the+Social+Stage&course_id=_60765_1&navItem=content&href=http%3A%2F%2Ffirstmonday.org%2Fhtbin%2Fcgiwrap%2Fbin%2Fojs%2Findex.php%2Ffm%2Farticle%2Fview%2F2162%2F2127http%3A%2F%2F (accessed March 23, 2010).

Saurine, A. 2008. Stephanie Rice Facebook pictures censored. The Daily Telegraph (online). April 2, 2008. Available at: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/rice-facebook-pics-censored/story-0-1111115947818 (accessed March 23, 2010).