There seems to be a lot of stories lately about things such as cyber bullying where the incidents ranged from public figures who get harassed by anonymous commentators or kids in schools that get harassed through various social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Most noticeably, that story about Amanda Todd seemed to have gained global attention. That then led to someone asking me if I ever dealt with a “bully” online when it comes to an online arena and I how dealt with it.
I think like all other bloggers or people that publish content online I have had my fair share of people that simply try to send negative messages. I guess for me I have a different kind of mindset on why it doesn’t really get to me as much because I know for many of these people they feel that because it is being done through the Internet that it somehow creates a shield from them ever having to take accountability.
Have I ever encountered this in a business environment online? I was trying to think back and the only thing I could think of was a post I made a few years back titled “Famed Marketer Condones Unethical Practices And Piracy” http://al6400.com/blog/2008/09/01/famed-marketer-condones-unethical-practices-and-piracy/
The reason why that post made me think of this topic is because this example I felt is probably more in lines on how one can end up getting “bullied” in a business environment where when people have the money and what they feel is power they think they can say and do whatever they wish with no consequence. It also made me think too as there is usually a debate on what you should do in these situations. For example, ignore it or expose it fully?
Like in that case thinking in retrospect maybe I shouldn’t have blocked out the name of the person or company as in many ways it only encourages the person to do it to others as well. Funny how as adults sometimes it takes younger people to make us realize that certain issues need more attention than they normally get.