Tag: social behavior

Open post

Social Media: Is it the end of society?

Walking through the mall and heading to the grocery store, one thing has become blatantly obvious to me: smartphones are everywhere. And it's not just the youth.

Some years back (when my daughter was in her early teens), my husband, my daughter, and I decided to enjoy a nice lunch out together. At the table next to us was a couple in their 60s, and both of them were busy texting—or doing whatever—on their smartphones. Even my daughter commented on how they weren't talking to one another.

"Don't they like talking with one another, mum?"

I just shrugged in response and continued on with my conversation with my husband.

But that interaction got me thinking. Are smartphones and social media the end of our society?

Read More

Open post
Legal Proceedings

#CockyGate: There are lessons to be learnt.

In early 2018, I sat watching my Twitter and Facebook feeds with my jaw dropped. #CockyGate was this tornado that measured 5 on the Fujita scale, and no writer was safe from the disaster left in its wake.

For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, I'm referring to the trademark that was issued to a romance writer, effectively granting her sole possession of the word cocky. I know that might sound like an exaggerating, but the responses from Amazon and Goodreads in relation to this mess sent the publishing industry into a frenzy.

I won't go into the details of the ludicrous situation. If you are interested in the little details, just Google it. Trust me. There is a mountain of articles and information out there about it.

No, I want to focus on the effects of social media and how mob psychology works. I want to talk about how one woman destroyed her reputation and likely her writing career. And it wasn't by this trademark disaster. Granted, that didn't help in the slightest. No, in today's industry, so much of your reputation and sales rely on public perception and the face presented online.

There are lessons to be learnt from this mess, that's for sure.

Read More

Scroll to top