A few months ago while on Skytrain, a guy was talking so loud on his phone and had the volume on the phone up so loud that I could now hear the entire conversation.
In short, this person was bragging to one of his bro’s about tricking a girl he met at the Roxy into sleeping with him. This guy was carrying a laptop case with his business card so I took a photo, asked him to quiet down and suggested his loud bragging made him look “douchey”.
He responded by saying that I was eaves dropping on a private conversation and that was illegal. I then called him by name (remember, the business card?) suggested that as someone who worked for ABC Company (again, the business card) he could not be that silly. So, either way, quiet down because the conversation was annoying. He was stunned and ended the call.
I did not Tweet out the details of this encounter but I did Tweet something to the effect of “Next time someone is having a loud phone conversation on Skytrain, I am recording and putting up on Youtube”. The overwhelming favourable response I had was encouraging.
So fast forward to a few days ago. Web developer Andy Boyle from the Boston Globe was at a Burger King when a couple in a near by booth was having a public break up. Andy did what any self respecting social media guy would do – live Tweet.
Was he wrong to do so? From a legal point of view, no. This couple had no expectation of privacy in a Burger King. As back-up to this claim, please note I have watched every episode of Law & Order and I like to argue.
How about from a moral or ethical point of view? Maybe. But in our world of reality TV, if you are going to bring into public your loud phone conversations, insane break-ups, violence or poor fashion choices – you will be featured on social media to a potential world wide audience.
That is our world. Now that you know, you can act accordingly.
UPDATE:
Here is a four minute interview I did with CKNW today:
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…and here is a seven minute interview I did with CFAX:
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What do you think – was Andy right or wrong to Tweet this break-up? Have you ever had a “private moment” in public which was shared on the web?
And before you answer – read Andy’s live Tweets from that day, which I have below. Enjoy!
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