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November 13, 2007
Why Don't They Listen to Me?!
I teach classes on digital composition, narrative, textuality, and culture. And in all of these classes, I invariably end up discussing with my students the delights and dangers of the now-textualized and digitally-immortalized world of digital communication.
That is, I tell them that drinking-and-e-mailing can come back to bite you on the butt. And not just at your Senate confirmation hearing or Department of Justice scandal investigation! Posting to your blog or MySpace or Facebook page can actually have an impact on your job interviews. Or your job performance evaluations...
Anywhoooo... meet Kevin Colvin:
Kevin is (was?) an intern at the North American division of the Anglo Irish Bank.
Kevin sent this e-mail to his boss:
I just wanted to let you know that I will not be able to come into work tomorrow. Something came up at home and I had to go to New York this morning for the next couple of days. I apologize for the delayed notice.
And then Kevin's boss had the smart idea to check Kevin's Facebook page. The fabulous picture above is what Kevin found... Valleywag explains it thusly: "freshly posted to Facebook from the Halloween party Colvin apparently missed work to attend."
Kevin's boss replied to Kevin's excuse e-mail thusly: "Thanks for letting us know -- hope everything is okay New York. (cool wand)" and attached the photo... and sent the reply to everyone in the North American branch of the bank.
And now Joe.My.God. and Valleywag and Australia's News.Com.Au and this blog and everyone else in the blogoverse is talking about Kevin and his cool wand and his fabulous glitter eye makeup.
And still, my students roll their eyes when I tell them to be careful about what they post online or IM or e-mail...
Posted by reparent at November 13, 2007 7:17 PM