By Johnny Manrique Pezo
The Internet is undoubtedly one of the most significant blessings of the 20th century. Since the Industrial Revolution in 1760, nothing has so stirred the world across industries, audiences and governments. Connectivity, the effect of globalization and its radiant ways of connecting audiences across multiple sectors.
Political confrontations at different levels have turned to Twitter; Justin Bieber was discovered for his enormous prominence on YouTube and thousands of entrepreneurs find enormous possibilities to subsist online, but most striking of all, is the parental discussion on the responsible use of electronic devices to underage children, trapped by Fortnite At what point do we change our family photo albums for a Finsta?
Based on Hootsuite's Digital Social Trends report, by the end of 2020, 59.9% of the world's population are digital users, with 1.3 million new users every day. Internet use has become an undeniable basic need for many people. Added to the situation surrounding the pandemic, it is not surprising that Maslow's Pyramid has been substantially modified.
Although we are already aware of the value of the internet in our lives, we must also be realistic about what is stored in the cloud. That moral undertow of posting comments or videos that 10 years later may hurt us, don't usually make it to our thoughts by the time we hit the “send” button.
The main reason for this article is precisely to bring to the table this reflection: Is there content on the network today that could undermine my chances for a better future? Are there publications that would damage my reputation and that of my family in certain cases? And although a tweet, post or appearance in a video may seem minimal, there are notable examples that show the opposite.
Although we are not going to delve into the cancellation movements on social networks, where huge exponents of the likes of Chris Brown, Ellen Degeneres and Donald Trump have suffered the effects of an inflamed digital mob; it is clear that the content exposed and our opinions regarding certain issues are vulnerable to public opinion with exponential effects.
Let's remember the story of acclaimed entrepreneur, singer and music producer Andre Rommelle Young, better known as Dr Dre. Many will remember him for his artistic journey in NWA or his influence on artists like Eminem and 50 Cent, without a doubt, all of Dr Dre's accolades are connected by his abysmal passion for sound and style of work. An obsession that led him to create Beats, starting his product line with headphones that we saw in the music videos of various artists and were used by professional players during the Olympic Games in London 8 years ago, which forced the organizing committee to legislate its appearance as it was not an official sponsor.
Beats had managed, after multiple months of negotiation, to close a 3.2 billion dollar deal with Apple. This agreement, under the strict negotiation conditions imposed by the technology giant led by Tim Cook, was about to be annulled by an 84-second video where two friends were celebrating the success of one of them. In the video posted on Facebook, Tyrese, a little too drunk, expressed his excitement in front of the new billionaire Dr Dre inferring that the acquisition of Apple had been made official and he would officially become the first artist from hip hop to occupy a space in the Forbes mogul list. At the end of the day, the deal stood and is even the introduction to the documentary “The Defiant Ones” on Netflix, where you will find more details about it.
A similar case happened with Sergi Guardiola in 2015. The striker from Alcorcón, arrived at Barca B with great fanfare to stand out in the land of Xavi, Iniesta and Pep. Everything was celebration and happiness in the Guardiola's house until, three hours after the official announcement came another one, the termination of the contract by FC Barcelona after proving offenses issued against Barcelonismo and its land, Catalonia.
Sergi's tweets had been exposed by the Catalan fans, where in the heat of a derby, Madrid - Barcelona, Guardiola clearly exposed his preferences with severe offenses to the Club for which he had just signed. They were tweets from October 2013, 3 tweets that cost him probably the most important contract of his soccer career.
So, when we want to vent our feelings of anger and rage or simply share our opinions with the world, it would be worth asking ourselves, could this hurt me in the coming years? Is it really necessary for me to leave it in the cloud? Although we do not know if Andres Arauz's campaign team was amused by reviving his tweets of the past “friendly de-dollarization”, it served as content for his rivals to take advantage of and became a trend in a few hours. At the end of the day, we must be clear that the internet, as well as many internet users, do not forget.
Sources
Digital Trends 2021. Global Report. Hootsuite. Retrieved from https://www.hootsuite.com/pages/digital-trends-2021 (10/04/2021)
Apple to Acquire Beats Music & Beats Electronics. Press Release. Apple. Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2014/05/28Apple-to-Acquire-Beats-Music-Beats-Electronics/ (10/04/2021)
Olympics ambush marketing winner goes to Dr Dre. Blog. Persona Design. Retrieved from https://www.personadesign.ie/olympics-ambush-marketing-winner-goes-to-dr-dre-beats/ (10/04/2021)
