EHarmony CEO: Same-Sex Marriage "Really Damaged Our Company"
Neil Clark Warren, co-founder of online dating site eHarmony, may have gone too far in speaking about his personal views of homosexuality. Warren, a Christian theologian, was a marriage counselor before creating the popular site.
The company started by offering the service only to straight couples, but lawsuits claimed that same-sex couples had the right to meet through eHarmony as well. Having lost the battle, eHarmony created Compatibility Partners for gays and lesbians. Believing homosexuality is a violation of scripture, Warren recently told Yahoo! Finance,
"I think this issue of same-sex marriage within the next five to 15 years will be no issue anymore. We've made too much of it. I'm tired of it. It has really damaged our company."
and
"I have said that eHarmony really ought to put up $10 million and ask other companies to put up money and do a really first class job of figuring out homosexuality. At the very best, it's been a painful way for a lot of people to have to live."
Discussion Starters:
- What is Warren's intent? Try to see the situation from his perspective first.
- What is Warren's responsibility as a CEO? What are his responsibilities to himself? To eHarmony customers?
- What's your reaction to Warren's comments? How do you think people would react?
Foot-in-Mouth Moment: Prostate Cancer Warning
The Australian Prime Minister's partner needs a lesson in decorum-or something. As one of the country's Men's Health Ambassadors, Tim Mathieson took theopportunity after a cricket match to encourage men to have prostate exams:
''We can get a blood test for it, but the digital examination is the only true way to get a correct reading on your prostate, so make sure you go and do that, and perhaps look for a small female Asian doctor is probably the best way.''
Referred to in the National Times as a "merry prankster sidekick," Mathieson has embarrassed himself before. When he met the Queen at Buckingham Palace for the second time, he said, "You again!" Proud of his quip, he told the press, who published the misstep widely.
Mathieson admitted that the joke was a mistake: "'On reflection I accept it was in poor taste. I apologize for any offense caused."
But reactions are mixed. In a poll of almost 40,000, the National Times reports only 35% of respondents as offended.
Discussion Starters:
- What's your reaction to Mathieson's joke? How would you have responded to the poll?
- How do you assess his apology? What, if anything, else should he do to make up for the misstep?
Doctor's Handwritten Note Makes the Internet Rounds
A doctor hand wrote a lovely message to the husband of a woman who died. Within two weeks, the note had more than 2 million views on image-hosting site Imgur and countless views on other social media sites. The emergency-room doctor wrote that it's the first time in 20 years that he's been moved to write to a family.
This is a classic "goodwill" message, which requires nothing in return but spreads warmth and good wishes.
Discussions Starters:
- Why would the note generate so much interest? What's special about it? Consider the medium, writer, audience, and so on.
- When in your own life could it be appropriate to write a note by hand?
Facebook Admits Hacking
After weeks of reported breaches, Facebook has admitted that it was hacked. The same issue with Oracle's Java software that allowed hackers to access data from 250,000 Twitter users provided inroads to Facebook. Although Facebook apparently knew about the breach for at least a month, the company just came clean.
In a blog post titled "Protecting People On Facebook," Facebook assured users that personal information was not compromised and that its systems have been fully patched to prevent future break-ins. The first two paragraphs provide context and the admission:
"Facebook, like every significant internet service, is frequently targeted by those who want to disrupt or access our data and infrastructure. As such, we invest heavily in preventing, detecting, and responding to threats that target our infrastructure, and we never stop working to protect the people who use our service. The vast majority of the time, we are successful in preventing harm before it happens, and our security team works to quickly and effectively investigate and stop abuse.
"Last month, Facebook Security discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack. This attack occurred when a handful of employees visited a mobile developer website that was compromised. The compromised website hosted an exploit which then allowed malware to be installed on these employee laptops. The laptops were fully-patched and running up-to-date anti-virus software. As soon as we discovered the presence of the malware, we remediated all infected machines, informed law enforcement, and began a significant investigation that continues to this day."
Next, one sentence appears in bold type:
"We have found no evidence that Facebook user data was compromised."
The post echos Twitter's blog post from February 1.
Discussion Starters:
- What arguments does Facebook use in its post to convince us not to worry about the breach? Which do you find most and least convincing?
- How easy is it for non-technical people to understand Facebook's post? What, if any, jargon or business slang can you identify?
- How does Facebook's blog post compare to Twitter's? What similarities and differences do you notice?
Carnival Cruise Apologizes for Stranded Ship
Triumph, the stranded Carnival Cruise ship will finally reach a port in Alabama today after a fire caused power outages on day 4 of the 7-day cruise. Without functioning toilets and air conditioning, and with limited food, the ship has become a vacation nightmare.
Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill led a press conference to apologize for not delivering on the company's service promise and to describe plans for getting more than 4,000 passengers home. Cahill also explained what happened with the fire, failure to restart, and tug process. Focusing on getting guests home, he then described plans to get the ship to Mobile, Alabama, and what would happen at the port. Summing up, Cahill thanked local organizations and Carnival team members.
From the ship, one passenger texted ABC news:
"Elderly and handicap are struggling, the smell is gross. Our room is leaking sewage."
In the news conference, Cahill did acknowledge "the conditions on board."
The company cancelled 14 upcoming cruises scheduled for the Triumph. As compensation, Carnival is refunding passengers' money and offering a discounted future cruise (which people aren't too excited about) and $500.
Download Carnival's Press Releases.
Download Carnival's Email to Past Guests.
Discussion Starters:
- Analyze Cahill's news conference: content, organization, tone, and delivery style. If you were his speech coach, on what would you compliment him, and what suggestions for improvement would you have?
- How did Cahill handle the "conditions" on board? Did he say enough? Too much? What are the difficulties in addressing the situation of sewage, etc.?
- From your perspective, did Carnival do enough do manage the situation? Is the compensation appropriate?
Marco Rubio's Notable Drink of Water
After President Obama's State of the Union Address, much of the chatter is not about his speech but about Marco Rubio's odd duck-and-reach move for water.
The Republican Senator from Florida was in tough spot, as are all politicians who follow a president's address. But in preparing for his response, Rubio could have done a better job planning where to keep-and how to access-water if he got thirsty.
The Atlantic Wire published a play-by-play "deconstruction" of the sip:
"Then, the reach. Rubio stopped talking, but maintained eye contact with the camera and kept his head level. Out of frame, he must have been doing a really weird crouch.
"At the moment of contact with the bottle, Rubio must break eye contact with the TV audience and look at his beverage. A false move and he would have toppled the mini-bottle! So it's a quick camera-bottle-camera zag. Poor guy didn't know his nose was behind the C-SPAN logo, but he still managed to keep his eyes floating above the graphic."
This isn't the first time Rubio's presentation skills were criticized. When delivering a speech about immigration reform, he lost a page of his script and had to retrieve a copy from a staff member.
But the senator has a sense of humor. He tweeted a picture of a Poland Springs water bottle and, 17 hours later, this:
Not to miss a marketing opportunity, Poland Springs had some fun on its Facebook page. But this wasn't cute enough for The Huffington Post, which noted the company's response, delayed by a mere four or so hours: "Finally! After a dry spell of more than half a day..."
Discussion Starters:
- What could Marco Rubio have done to prevent his awkward movement?
- How do you assess his tweets? What, if anything, could he have done differently?
- How do you assess Poland Spring's response? Do you agree with The Huffington Post's assessment that it took too long?
S&P Emails and IMs Part of Government Suit
When will people learn that internal communications can go public? The federal government is suing Standard & Poor's for knowingly rating securities too highly, in effect, bolstering deals before the 2008 financial crisis. Internal emails and instant messages support this claim.
In one IM exchange, two analysts discuss a pending crash, and one admits that "we give in anyway."
In another exchange, one analyst IMs to another that "we rate every deal...it could be structured by cows." And in an email exchange, an analyst describes the pressure at S&P, and a client questions the built-in conflict of interest.
Although the video doesn't seem to be available online, analysts created a parody of the song, "Burning Down the House," by the Talking Heads.
What was apparently clear to some pockets of Wall Street took a while to hit Main Street, where the real damage was done.
Discussion Starters:
- How else could these analysts have handled the pressure they were under?
- Why did these analysts feel comfortable communicating this way? Do you think S&P doesn't have a clear email policy? What else could be going on?
Good Grammar Is Sexy and Improves Your Chances of Finding Love
A survey of 1,700 online daters found that 43% consider bad grammar a turnoff, and 35% consider good grammar sexy.
Eighty-seven percent of online daters posted their profile without having someone check the grammar. This could be bad news if they want to attract love, particularly if they're looking for someone who earns more than $100,000 a year. This group cares about grammar 10% more than do those earning less.
Women surveyed had stronger feelings about grammar than did men, a finding inconsistent with a survey I conducted with Professor Judi Brownell in 2009. In our survey, we asked hotel managers to rate how challenging they found "poor grammar and incorrect punctuation" in emails they received. Women rated this 1.42 (with 1 being the least challenging and 5 being the most), while men rated this item 2.88, for a difference of 1.46-by far the biggest difference of the 16 items we asked people to rate.
Discussion Starters:
- Do these findings surprise you? Why or why not?
- How important is grammar to you in your personal relationships?
H&R Block Continues to Fight Back Against TurboTax
Since TurboTax attacked its employees, H&R Block hasn't stopped its defense. Last week, the company's CEO posted an email to employees, building them up after TurboTax commercials criticized them of being part-time, unprofessional tax advisors.
H&R Block has increased its communication, using its website, advertisements, social media, and more email. On the company website, CEO Bill Cobb posted this "open letter":
AN OPEN LETTER FROM BILL COBB, CEO OF H&R BLOCK
January 30, 2013
Dear Clients and Future Clients,
Today is the first day of tax season, and you might think I am writing an open letter in this forum to tell you that we are ready for you-and we are! But the real reason I am writing is because I am offended that TurboTax® is targeting our 90,000 H&R Block tax professionals in a series of commercials that we believe to be false and misleading.
TurboTax is trying to promote itself on the backs of our tax professionals, misusing our nearly 60-year-old brand and taking cheap shots at hardworking plumbers and retail sales clerks, not to mention millions of Americans holding down two jobs. We say no way-not on our watch.
I am incredibly proud of our tax professionals, who for nearly six decades have built the H&R Block brand, anchored by trust, and I will not let them be tarnished by some overzealous marketing campaign.
I would never disparage their people, but let me set the record straight about ours:
- We are the largest tax preparer in the industry.1
- We sign and stand behind every return we prepare for our clients in our offices.
- Since 1955, we have prepared and signed more than 500 million tax returns in our offices – TurboTax has prepared and signed 0.2
- We have over 7,000 Enrolled Agents (the highest credential awarded by the IRS) – more than any other tax preparation company.
- At our tax offices, the average client is served by a tax professional with over a decade of experience and hundreds of hours of training. 3
- We guarantee the accuracy of returns prepared by H&R Block tax professionals.
- And, if you're one of the millions of H&R Block At Home® software or online clients, our tax professionals will back you up, if needed, with audit support and in-person audit representation, which only H&R Block At Home® offers at no additional charge.
- Our first-in-industry independent research and analysis advisory group, The Tax Institute, is staffed primarily by CPAs, tax attorneys, enrolled agents and former IRS agents.
At H&R Block, we believe in our people. And you can meet some of these exceptional people at #IAMHRBLOCK on Twitter.
On behalf of our tax professionals and all the people of H&R Block, thank you for your respect, your consideration and your business. If we haven't seen you already this year, we look forward to seeing you soon. Call 1-800-HRBLOCK to make an appointment, or go to www.hrblock.com to get started.
Sincerely,
Bill Cobb
P.S. And to all the plumbers, retail sales clerks and other hardworking Americans, please know we would be honored to serve you.
A new commercial shows H&R Block tax professionals touting their credentials.
In a second email to employees, Cobb continued to show his support:
"You know I am proud of our tax pros, but I am also proud of the entire H&R Block organization that has risen up to defend our brand and tax pros. From the lawyers to our CSC support teams, field leaders and marketing teams, and of course our franchisees, there is a lot of energy behind this effort to set the record straight."
Discussion Starters:
- How effective is H&R Block's response? In what ways do the messages address concerns raised by the TurboTax ad?
- What are the strongest and weakest arguments in H&R Block's commercial and in the CEO's message?
U.S. Postal Service Rallies Support for Cutting Saturday Service
The United States Postal Service is going all out to convince the public that eliminating Saturday delivery is a good move.
As the nation's second-largest employer, the USPS has been cutting locations and jobs for several years. After losing $16 billion last year, the organization has announced the service reduction as an essential decision, saving $2 billion a year.
In the press release, Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe emphasizes "financial realities" and customer input to the decision:
"The Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America's changing mailing habits. We developed this approach by working with our customers to understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate significant cost savings."
On the USPS Facebook page, a key message is customer support: that 70% of Americans support the decision. This is reinforced in the press statement with a quotation by Donahoe:
"The American public understands the financial challenges of the Postal Service and supports these steps as a responsible and reasonable approach to improving our financial situation. The Postal Service has a responsibility to take the steps necessary to return to long-term financial stability and ensure the continued affordability of the U.S. Mail."
However, the USPS is facing opposition. Congress still may block the move; some consider the service cut illegal. The employee union-the National Association of Letter Carriers-and the greeting card industry both oppose the elimination of Saturday delivery. The union president referred to the decision as "a disastrous idea that would have a profoundly negative effect on the Postal Service and on millions of customers."
Staying ahead of the controversy, the USPS also posted a fact sheet about the new schedule. The sheet clarifies important information for customers, for example, that packages still will be delivered on Saturday
Discussion Starters:
- Read the USPS fact sheet. Which are the strongest and weakest arguments?
- What do you notice about the headings in the fact sheet? How can they be improved?
- In the press release, the CEO could use more natural language. Rewrite the quotations for a broader audience.
Southwest and JetBlue Model Twitter Interaction
Two of the more engaged companies on Twitter have been engaging with each other. Unusual for competitors, Southwest and JetBlue teach us what social media is all about-human interaction.
After a friendly discussion about a radio station in Chicago and Guitar Hero, the two representatives got kudos from Twitter followers:
One of Southwest's tweeters told PR Daily,
"People sometimes forget when you work in the same industry you share a similar passion for what you do with your competitors. We all get along and admire the great things each other does, and playing nice oftentimes makes the competition more fierce, and certainly more fun to play in."
JetBlue has been praised for its use of Twitter as a customer service platform, not as an advertising tool:
"JetBlue responds quickly to customer service questions on Twitter. They don't take any days off (just like their airlines) and are there to help at any time."
And Southwest has been a superstar since the early days of Twitter. See the "too-fat-to-fly" situation with movie director Kevin Smith.
Discussion Starters:
- What risks did the airlines take in participating in this interaction? What are the potential downsides?
- On the other hand, what can other competitive brands learn from the exchange?
- On what other social media sites can brands potentially engage each other?
Responses to the Super Bowl Outage
Twitter users were active during the Super Bowl outage, and parties involved are responding to the blackout that delayed the game by 34 minutes.
A joint statement by Entergy and Superdome manager SMG blames energy lines for the outage:
"A piece of equipment that is designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system. Once the issue was detected, the sensing equipment operated as designed and opened a breaker, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue. Backup generators kicked in immediately as designed.
"Entergy and SMG subsequently coordinated start-up procedures, ensuring that full power was safely restored to the Superdome. The fault-sensing equipment activated where the Superdome equipment intersects with Entergy's feed into the facility. There were no additional issues detected. Entergy and SMG will continue to investigate the root cause of the abnormality."
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the power outage was "an unfortunate moment in what has been an otherwise shining Super Bowl week for the city of New Orleans. . . . In the coming days, I expect a full after-action report from all parties involved." He may have reason to worry: critics say that the outage may affect whether New Orleans hosts future games.
During the outage, fans were active on Twitter, reporting what they saw and making jokes. And marketers took advantage of the downtime, quickly generating relevant ads:
Other advertising tweets were timely:
- Walgreens: "We do carry candles" and "We also sell lights."
- Tide: "We can't get your # blackout, but we can get your stains out."
- Audi: "Sending some LEDs to the @ mbusa Superdome right now…" (This one is a dig on Mercedes-Benz' sponsorship of the stadium.)
Discussion Starters:
- If you watched the game, what did you do during the outage? Did you visit social media sites to post or see commentary? What did you expect, and what did you find?
- Read some of the tweets sent during the Super Bowl. What strikes you about these examples? How would you summarize the two or three ways that people used Twitter during the game?
Applebee's Receipt Goes Public
Unhappy with not receiving a tip, an Applebee's server posted the signed check online-and got fired. The customer, Pastor Alois Bell, crossed out the 18% tip automatically added for large parties and wrote "0%" with the note, "I give God 10% why do you get 18?" The server, Chelsea, posted the receipt to the Atheism forum on Reddit.
Bell apparently left a $6 cash tip, but the server, Chelsea, was still offended by the note. When Bell learned that the receipt was posted online, she returned to Applebee's and demanded that everyone be fired. Later, she regreted her actions, calling them a lapse in judgement: "I've brought embarrassment to my church and ministry."
As expected, social media reactions are mixed, with many comments criticizing Applebee's decision to fire Chelsea. The company posted this response to its Facebook page:
"We wish this situation hadn't happened. Our Guests' personal information-including their meal check-is private, and neither Applebee's nor its franchisees have a right to share this information publicly. We value our Guests' trust above all else. Our franchisee has apologized to the Guest and has taken disciplinary action with the Team Member for violating their Guest's right to privacy."
In addition, the CEO posted a statement on Applebee's website, including the excerpt from the policy:
"Employees must honor the privacy rights of APPLEBEE's and its employees by seeking permission before writing about or displaying internal APPLEBEE'S happenings that might be considered to be a breach of privacy and confidentiality. This shall include, but not be limited to, posting of photographs, video, or audio of APPLEBEE'S employees or its customers, suppliers, agents or competitors, without first obtaining written approval from the Vice President of Operations. . . . Employees who violate this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment."
Discussion Starters:
- What's your reaction to Chelsea's posting the receipt online? Was it her right, or did she misstep?
- Did Applebee's do the right thing by firing Chelsea? Why or why not? How do you assess the company's rationale-that posting the receipt was a violation of the guest's privacy?
- Read the CEO's statement. What do you consider his strongest and weakest arguments for terminating Chelsea?
Employee Live Tweets During Layoffs at HMV
Note to companies: Maintain control of your Twitter feed, particularly in tough times. At British Electronics company HMV, an employee "live tweeted" during layoffs.
We can understand the marketing director's wanting to stop the tweets, but it sounds funny for him to ask, "How do I shut down Twitter?" That's like wanting to stop Facebook. We've all had that dream.
When the company reclaimed control over the feed (I'm not sure how), they tweeted this response:
Discussion Starters:
- How could HMV have prevented the Twitter feed from being hijacked? Should management have anticipated this, or is that too much to expect?
- How do you assess the company's response? What, if anything, should management have done differently?
Taco Bell Pulls Anti-Veggies Ad
"Veggies on game day is like punting on fourth and one-it's a cop out." So says a Taco Bell commercial that the company has since pulled. According to the ad, people will hate you for bringing vegetables to their house for the Super Bowl.
Nutrition organizations took offense. The Center for Science in the Public Interest urged people to tweet complaints to Taco Bell.
The company responded quickly. The CSPI posted this statement on its website:
"It's bad enough that there aren't many ads on television for broccoli, kale, or carrots. The last thing healthy fruits and vegetables needed was to be the subject of attack ads. We are delighted that Taco Bell is pulling an ad that urged people not to bring veggie trays to their Super Bowl parties, but to instead bring 12-packs of Taco Bell's tacos. Thanks to Taco Bell for responding with record speed to address nutritionists' and consumers' concern over this ad campaign."
A spokesperson for Taco Bell explained the decision simply: "We didn't want anyone to misinterpret the intent of the ad."
Discussion Starters:
- Are people justified in their criticism of the ad, or are they just too sensitive? What's your view?
- Did Taco Bell make the right decision to pull the ad? What are the arguments for and against the decision?
A Resume to Set You Apart
Philippe Dubost is one clever web product manager. Rather than producing a boring, print resume or an overwhelming online resume, he designed his to resemble an Amazon product page.
The resume has attracted a lot of attention, leading him to post an "Instant update" on his Amazon page: "Hi everyone, thank you so much for the overwhelming (and unexpected!) nice feedback! I'll share what happens on twitter." Dubost also has appeared on news programs to talk about his "Amaz-ing" resume.
When asked why Dubost has so many one-star reviews, he tweeted: "lots of ex-girlfriends."
Here are two other recent attempts to get noticed on the job market:
Discussion Starters:
- What's your view of Dubost's resume? Gimmicky, clever, or something else?
- What risks would you be willing to take to get hired?
- For what industries or type of positions would this approach be most and least effective?
H&R Block Responds to TurboTax Ads
TurboTax pokes fun at H&R Block in two recent ads, and H&R Block is fighting back.
The first ad shows a salesperson in a retail store helping a customer. When the customer realizes the woman did her taxes for her, she says, "I thought you were an expert with returns."
With a similar message, the second ad shows an H&R Block employee as a plumber.
TurboTax is differentiating its product by promising that users get advice only from CPAs, EAs, and tax attorneys-"real tax attorneys." In the commercial, TurboTax also claims that more Americans used the system than all H&R Block and other tax stores combined.
Bill Cobb, CEO, H&R Block called the ads "outrageous" and sent this email to reassure employees:
When we say we believe in our people, we mean it.
TurboTax has launched two new outrageous commercials that attempt to sell their tax advice resources as more prepared, more professional, and simply superior to ours. As you can see in the links to these ads below, TurboTax uses misleading data and statements to not only suggest that their advisors are better, but to also make fun of plumbers and retail sales clerks as not very smart.
We work in a competitive business that challenges us every day to live by and defend our values. So when a competitor takes a pot shot at our people – the tax professionals who deliver for our clients every day and in every season – we step up and say: no way – not on our watch.
We have a strong brand built on integrity and professionalism and anchored by our tax professionals. We are going to defend our tax professionals and our brand against this attack – and we will do it quickly, directly and aggressively.
New H&R Block TV commercials to fight this challenge are in development and will augment our current marketing campaign that is all about the tax pro. Legal considerations are being assessed and appropriate action will be taken quickly. And we will develop a way for each of you to have your voice heard in support of yourself and all our tax professionals – stay tuned for more specifics this week.
The season begins next January 30, and we are focused on executing our plan. Don't let these commercials be a distraction – we've got this covered. Instead, stay focused on your day-to-day efforts to deliver for our clients – this is our best response. And let every client or potential client who is a plumber, retail clerk, salesperson or other hardworking American know we are honored to serve them.
We believe in our people. I believe in our people – and I want the world to know I've got your back.
Discussion Starters:
- What strategies of persuasion does TurboTax use in its commercials?
- What strategies does Cobb use in his email to employees?
- Which do you find more convincing and why?
Let the (Commercial) Games Begin!
A week before the Super Bowl, marketers are already capitalizing on a strong audience. Last year, ads that ran on YouTube received 600% more
views than those that waited until the big day (9 million compared to
1.3 million).
Although some companies hold out for the "big reveal," Nielsen data shows that the early release didn't hurt last year's brands. Opting for short "teasers" on YouTube still is a popular strategy, but this may change. The YouTube audience for Super Bowl ads is 300 million, far more than the 111 million who watch the game on TV.
On the other hand, so far, the most talked about video is a teaser. A new Mercedes Benz video featuring model Kate Upton aims to reach a younger audience for the car manufacturer-people in their 30s and 40s rather than the current 50-year-olds who currently buy the cars. The company's compact sedan sells for under $30,000, which is part of their new strategy as well. In classic Super Bowl ad fashion, the commercial plays on Upton's sex appeal.
Discussion Starters:
- Why would some companies hold out for a "big reveal," rather than post videos online before the game? What are the trade-offs of each strategy?
- What is your view of the Mercedes commercial? How effective will it be in selling more cars?
- Compare the Mercedes commercial to Go Daddy ads from previous Super Bowls. Other than the obvious sex appeal, what similarities do you see?
Teacher May Be Fired for Posting Pics of Students
A teacher is under pressure for posting pictures of her students with duct tape across their mouths. What was intended as a funny moment within a class has become an issue for an Ohio school board.
When a middle-school student had trouble with her binder, 33-year-old teacher Melissa Cairns gave her some duct tape to hold it together. Instead, the student put the tape across her mouth. Getting a laugh from students encouraged others to do the same.
According to Cairns, the students asked her to talk a picture. She did. And posted it to Facebook with the caption, "Finally found a way to get them to be quiet!!!"
Another school employee reported her. Cairns removed the picture, as requested, but she is now suspended on unpaid leave, awaiting the school's decision.
Discussion Starters:
- What about the teacher's perspective (in her video interview) makes sense to you? What doesn't?
- If you were the school principal, how would you handle the situation?
- Imagine that you're a parent of one of the children whose picture was posted. What do you suppose your reaction might be?
- The CNET article refers to Cairns' "private" Facebook page. Is Facebook private?
- What could a school do to prevent this type of situation in the future?
More Teens and Young Adults Use Tumblr than Facebook
Is Facebook becoming passé? Among 13-to-18-year-olds and 19-to-25-year-olds, Tumblr is the social media winner, according to one recent study. Although Facebook is still popular among these age groups, 55 % of teens and 52% of the young adults are on the site, compared to 61% and 57% on Tumblr.
One digital marketing consultant explains the difference this way:
"Facebook is where teens and young adults connect with family and some friends. Tumblr is where they connect with like-minded people about the topics they care about."
With its single-subject, short blog entries and animated GIFs, Tumblr appeals to the younger crowd. Facebook certainly is showing its age, with the average user now 40.5-not exactly the Harvard social seeker of its roots.
Survey researcher Gary Tan, 31, is concerned that he's already a "geezer":
"To be honest, it's a sobering notion that there's some piece of technology out there that you and your peer group doesn't use and doesn't understand. As far as I can tell, it might be a first for me and my geezer friends."
This survey is consistent with other reports that teens may not be as excited about Facebook as their older peers. A Los Angeles Times article in May 2012 reported that young people's "goal is to hook up with smaller circles of friends and share their thoughts and feelings away from the prying eyes of Mom and Dad." When parents are online, it's just not as much fun anymore.
Discussion Starters:
- Does this latest survey match with your experience of social media sites? If you have younger brothers and sisters, do you find them interested in sites other than Facebook?
- What reaction do you have to the survey? Do you feel old and stodgy on Facebook?