I’m always on the lookout for stories about bloggers who get into trouble with official government agencies, because I think that the freewheeling and fairly tolerant blogging community is one that’s hard to understand when you’re a government official. It’s kind of like “command and control” meets “out of control”.
When we add MySpace to the mix, you know the result is going to be even more volatile because people who haven’t been exposed to MySpace and its social networking ilk imagine a sort of prim and proper social chat community rather than the chaos, immaturity and just plain weirdness that is pervasive.
So when is a slightly sexually suggestive comment on MySpace grounds for an investigation from the City Council? And what about when you’re a volunteer committee member?
Boulder diversity committee chair Rob Smoke has a MySpace profile that pegs him squarely as an old hippie. He’s 50, single, quotes Jim Morrison, and talks about smoking “herb” but also says he’s not a drug user. He’s a pretty typical Boulder resident, actually.
But when he allegedly left a comment on a woman’s MySpace profile that included the phrase “my woody is chafing,” well, she decided that was too much and has filed a complaint with the city attorney about Rob. WTF? Has this unnamed woman spent any time on MySpace at all? I see more shocking and explicit comments on MY profile, and I’m a married guy!
Anyway, the city council is now going to investigate Rob’s MySpace presence and really have a chance to demonstrate whether it can accept diversity in the diversity committee or not. There’s some great irony here, isn’t there?
Dave Taylor has a much longer and more detailed commentary on this subject on his Weblog, The Intuitive Life Business Blog, entitled Boulder City Official in Hot Water over MySpace Blog. You can also find Dave hanging out at his popular Ask Dave Taylor Tech Support site.
[tags]blog,myspace,blogging trouble,blog law,rob smoke,boulder diversity committee[/tags]