Fail Whale: Someone should wash your profile out with soap

“Fail Whale” honoree: Buck Burnette

What he did wrong:

Buck Burnette is the backup center for the University of Texas Longhorns. He has a Facebook page like millions of other college students across the nation.  He decided to post a racist comment towards the new president-elect Barack Obama in his Facebook status on Tuesday night.  Buck Burnette is no longer the backup center for the University of Texas Longhorns.

What he should have known:

Facebook, like most social networks, is not a private location to share information.  A person can add privacy to Facebook, but must think about how much they trust their “Friends” to not share information that has been posted.  It is also important to remember that if a ‘Friend” holds a different view than the person, this could also cause them to share information with others.

High school kids have been expelled for inappropriate photos they have posted in platforms like this, people have lost jobs  and relationships have been destroyed over shared items online.

What he could have done better:

Burnette should have thought about his social networking profile as an off-shoot of himself.  If there is something on the profile that a person would not feel comfortable having their boss, a teacher, a coworker or their mother see…..then it probably should not be added.  Giving yourself rules, within reason, to what should and should not be shared will help make sure it is appropriate.

On a Side note: Racism is also something that should probably never be placed on the Internet (or shared ever) with direct relation to a name….but that is just a thought