People who want to stay on their boss’ good side probably shouldn’t share their opinions via Twitter.
Censorship has accompanied the rise of social networking Web sites. Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach banned his players from tweeting after linebacker Marlon Williams tweeted that Leach was tardy to a team meeting Sept. 27.
Offensive lineman Brandon Carter, a team captain, tweeted, ‘This is not how I saw our season,’ after Tech fell to UH 29-28 Sept. 26. One day later, Carter was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Although Tech claims the violations were unrelated to the Twitter incident, Carter’s tweets were deleted shortly after news of the suspension surfaced.
Another example is Jon-Barrett Ingels, who was fired from his job as a waiter at Barney Greengrass, located on the 5th floor of Barneys New York in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Many celebrities have dined at the restaurant, including Hung star Jane Adams. A day after Adams allegedly skipped out on a check, Ingels tweeted, ‘Her agent called and payed (sic) the following day. NO TIP!!!’
Barneys corporate officials discovered Ingels’ Twitter page and fired him. He had worked for Barneys for five years.
‘I understand they want to keep a safe environment for the celebrities, and I think that I broke that safety,’ Ingels told AOL’s Slashfood. ‘Had they came to me and said you need to take this down or change it to private ‘hellip; I would’ve done that.’
Although many companies want to harness Twitter’s power for business purposes, they can’t stand to see one of their employees sharing their thoughts on a customer or co-worker.
People need to vent, but complaining on a Web site where anyone can view one’s comments is a terrible idea. Freedom of speech has limits, so students must remember that the Internet is not the proper place to criticize bosses and patrons.
