WebProNews

Tag: Social Media Fails

  • Riley Cooper Apologizes To Media, Gets Fined By The Eagles

    Say what you will about the Sad Saga of Riley Cooper, but one thing’s for sure, it’s life cycle has been extremely quick. In the course of a few hours, Cooper’s video went viral, he apologized on Twitter, the NFL Player’s Union issued a damning response, he met (and again apologized) with the Philadelphia media, and he’s already been fined by his team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Without social media driving it, this situation might have played out over the course of the entire preseason, if at all. Speaking of social media, the Twitter account of Eagle’s beat writer Jeff McLane has been on fire with updates about Cooper’s boneheaded actions and the surrounding fallout.

    Before that, however, Cooper’s made-for-media apology:

    The owner of the Eagles, Jeff Lurie, made sure to let interested parties know that the Eagles absolutely do not support Riley’s actions, and so they fined him:

    “We are shocked and appalled by Riley Cooper’s words,” Lurie said. “This sort of behavior or attitude from anyone has no role in a civil society. He has accepted responsibility for his words and his actions. He has been fined for this incident.”

    Cooper said the fine was a “good amount of money.” He said he has yet to hear from the league office and if they had planned to discipline him.

    Over at the aforementioned Jeff McLane’s Twitter page, he provides an idea of how Cooper’s teammates responded to the news:


    As for the perhaps the most recognizable player on the team, Michael Vick, he echoed the thoughts of his teammates:


    Michael’s brother Marcus was not as forgiving, however:

    The tweet in question has apparently been removed, but there is this:


    Somehow, it feels like the social media interaction adds a dose of silliness to the proceedings, but maybe that’s just me. As for Cooper’s future, the fine clearly indicates the Eagles organization still thinks he can still be valuable on the field, otherwise, he would be the newest addition to the NFL’s waiver wire.

    Lead image courtesy

  • Twitter Helps NYPD Shut Down Gang Meeting

    Attention criminals, would-be criminals, rioters, gang members and all who are of interest to local police departments: Social media is public – really really public.

    And while services like Facebook and Twitter are wonderful platforms for fast, large-scale communication and mobilization, it turns out they are also wonderful for getting yourself busted.

    I’m quite fond of social media fails when it comes to people and their run-ins with the law. In the past, I’ve told you about the genius who used live Facebook updates to document his crimes during the Vancouver riots as well as the fugitive who posted a Facebook status taunting officers to arrest him and giving a location of where they could find him.

    This time, the police have used social media to shut down a possible situation before it ever happened.

    According to the NY Daily News, dozens of suspected gang members were arrested in a Brooklyn park after the NYPD learned of their meeting via Twitter.

    56 suspects in all were arrested, suspected to be part of the Crips. According to the police, most were dressed in the trademarked blue colors. Police recovered a 9mm handgun from the scene.

    “We don’t know exactly what their intentions were,” said one law enforcement source with knowledge of the arrests. “But a gun was recovered. The potential for danger was there.”

    Apparently, the Crips members used Twitter to coordinate the meeting, what they called “Crips Holiday” on the social media service. Officers caught wind of the event via Twitter and interrupted the meeting before it could really begin.

    Earlier this month, the NYPD announced the formation of a new unit devoted entirely to tracking criminal activity on social media outlets. That unit’s goal is to stop criminal activity before it happens by monitoring chatter on Twitter and Facebook.

    They also plan to patrol the sites for evidence from people “who announce plans or brag about their crimes.”

    According to the NY Daily News, there is no word on whether this new unit was involved in this operation to shut down the “Crips Holiday.”

    It probably won’t be long until law enforcement departments all over the country begin to actively patrol social media for leads on criminal activity. For those trying to organize unlawful activity on Twitter and Facebook, it may become more of a risk than an asset.

    Do you think this is an effective crime-fighting strategy? Let us know in the comments.

  • Casey Anthony Verdict Leads To Social Media Mishap For Entenmann’s

    Perhaps social media marketing is a harder beast than it gets credit for, because there has to be an explanation for all the abject failures — both professional and personal — that seemingly occur on a daily basis. Whether it’s an athlete broadcasting insults to the commissioner of his league or a car company commenting on the driving quality of potential customers, it’s pretty clear social media is not the easiest field to navigate, especially when a little forethought can prevent all kinds of backlash.

    The latest incident comes courtesy of Entenmann’s, maker of some fantastic donuts and other bakery items, and the Casey Anthony trial. As WebProNews’ coverage indicated, the Anthony verdict caused so much reaction on Twitter, not to mention an almost constant switching of the most popular Twitter trends, it was almost impossible to keep up with the deluge of tweets being posted. Unfortunately for Entenmann’s, one of their tweets did not escape the Internet’s watchful eye — of which, there are plenty.

    One of the popular trends after the Anthony verdict was for the #notguilty hashtag, which was par for the course. People jumped on and shared their opinion about the trial, which is standard fare in today’s world. However, during the tidal wave of related tweets, Entenmann’s Twitter account tweeted the following, which has since been deleted:

    “Who’s #notguilty about eating all the tasty treats they want?!”

    While the tweet should probably be considered insensitive, especially towards the memory of Caylee Anthony, as Twitter screw ups go, Entenmann’s was fairly mild. That, however, did not stop them from total capitulation, which including putting the company they hired to handle their social media activity — Likeable Media — on notice. The result was an avalanche of apologetic tweets from the Entenmann’s account, and a post from Likeable, explaining the reason for the unfortunate tweet.

    Simply put, Likeable didn’t understand the meaning of the hashtag and was simply following the crowd:

    The truth is, our team was leveraging the trending topics and moving so fast they neglected to see what the hashtag was related to. It was obviously insensitive, and on behalf of the entire Likeable team and our client, Entenmann’s, I’m sorry. Please know that I am working on refining our process to ensure that this does not happen again.

    The question is, is that a legitimate excuse for a Twitter failure? I mean, if you’re going to post something that leverages a trending topic, shouldn’t you know what the hashtag is referring to? Furthermore, if that was indeed the reason behind the Entenmann’s tweet, why are there no tweets related to the never-ending popularity of the #riseandgrind trend? That topic falls in line with products Entenmann’s offers, but yet, no related tweets.

    Another discussion for another time, apparently.

    It’s hard not to wonder if Entenmann’s is going to retain Likeable Media for future social media endeavors? When a company is reduced to making these kinds of Twitter posts:

    @Entenmanns
    Entenmann’s    Our #notguilty tweet was insensitive, albeit completely unintentional. We are sincerely sorry. 17 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    One would think the professional relationship that caused these unfortunately necessary reactions would come to an end.

    Lead image is courtesy of the Fading Ad Blog.

  • Did Kenny Britt Fail At Social Media?

    Did Kenny Britt Fail At Social Media?

    There have been far too many incidents of athletes failing at various social media outlets, so much so, in fact, it’s almost impossible to keep up with. Names like Santonio Holmes, Stephon Marbury, Carmelo Anthony and Kat Stacks (Miss Stacks has a history of winning since she’s come onto the social media scene) litter the Internet news environment as tales of their social media woes keep us entertained.

    The latest social media victim from the wide world of sports? Tennessee Titans wide receiver, Kenny Britt. Apparently, the NFL lockout has been so boring for Britt, he’s decided to see just how much trouble he can get into from simply operating a motor vehicle. As an example of his sterling driving record, Britt has already been arrested twice since April, 2011 for two separate incidents involving a car owned by the receiver.

    In fact, the first linked article has Britt’s laundry list of incidents since joining the professional football ranks, and let’s just say if Britt wasn’t a professional athlete with a decent bank account, it’s doubtful he’d be walking the street as a free man:

    Britt has been involved in several off-field incidents since the Titans selected the Rutgers star in the first round of the 2009 draft:

  • Earlier this offseason in New Jersey, theft-by-deception charges against Britt were downgraded to a misdemeanor level. Two bailbonds companies had accused Britt of not following through on a pledge in court to pay bail for a friend who was arrested in January 2010.
  • Last October, Britt was involved in a bar room fight at a Nashville club, but he was not charged.
  • Last August in Nashville, he received a misdemeanor citation for driving on a revoked license.
  • Last offseason in New Jersey, police suspended Britt’s license after an arrest for outstanding traffic warrants. He paid $865 and was released.

    • Needless to say, it’s doubtful such a productive rap sheet has gone unnoticed by NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, who is known to come down incredibly hard on players who jeopardize the image of the league. Although Goodell has yet to respond to Britt’s latest misadventures — which would undoubtedly be with some kind of suspension — apparently, Britt decided a preemptive strike against the NFL commissioner was the best way to approach the situation, which leads us directly to the social media failure.

    Over at Kenny Britt’s Facebook page, a post appeared, and it wasn’t too kind to Goodell or the Britt’s NFL career. As reported by Pro Football Talk and Brendan Prunty’s — he of the Newark Star-Ledger — Twitter account, Britt apparently posted the following on his Facebook wall:

    @BrendanPrunty
    Brendan Prunty    Uh, so on his Facebook wall Kenny Britt just posted: “Retiring from the NFL. F*** You Goddell.” So there is that. 17 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Indeed. I mean, that’s the smart way to conduct your business, right?

    Of course, once the news of Britt’s Facebook post hit the wires, Britt responded with the to-be-expected “my account was hacked” defense, but not before a follow-up was also posted at his Facebook page. The second post tried to apologize for the “F-You, Goodell” stuff by saying Britt would take his punishment like a man and whatnot. The “my account was hacked” post was entered after the follow-up, and it said both of the previous posts were made while his account was under someone else’s control.

    As of now, there is only one post from Britt on his page, and it’s from January, 19th, meaning all of the previous fun was deleted. Unfortunately, the Google cache snapshot was taken during March, so no luck there either. Although the posts may have been removed, that doesn’t mean there isn’t other areas of fun happening on Britt’s Facebook page, because there is. This time, however, it is in the form of comments from fans. Let’s just say not everyone approves of Britt’s activities.

    Instead of individual quotes, the following screenshot captures the mood perfectly (click for a bigger image with more comments):

    Kenny Britt's Facebook

    All things considered, if I were an owner of a professional sports team, the idea to ban all social media would be so very tempting. If I can write million dollar checks for grown men playing a game, then I can issue “no social media” edicts, as well. These incidents also demonstrate just how immature a great many of “professionals” really are. Britt should consider himself lucky for winning the genetic lottery. Too bad his actions speak to a sense of entitlement that’s about a mile wide.