With more than half the year gone, we tend to look back at some of the serious buzz that caught on in Social Media sphere so far. Some of the incidents really opened up discussions that would have long standing effects in policy and judgement. We are listing out 5 events that got the feeds roaring.
1. The Zimmerman Case: Its a nightmare. The case exposes the weakness of the system and the blindness of judiciary. Worst of the racially charged criminal cases in recent times. We don’t know about the verdict but the protests that were triggered right after surely cause a setback in the efforts to establish equality and justice. We would want to see it as a one-off incident but the people on the streets tell us that this one goes deeper. The entire Social Media has been trending over the verdict. There are some things yet to come out of it we guess. Say for instance a look at the gun laws?
2. NSA, Snowden and the Exile : Edward Snowden was a Ex-CIA spook and was doing his usual job at NSA. Then one day he decided to become a whistle-blower and the sky came crashing down. Can’t believe that nothing is leak proof now? The Snowden saga has everything that makes for a great thriller – Secret files, Military Intelligence, Threat to National Security, Mass Surveillance, Espionage, Exile, Asylum. The Snowden issue is more global than you think. We are talking about free speech and privacy here. While it is yet to unfold, we have lot to learn from the sacrifices of the ‘Few Good Men’. Speaking of which, guess who is backing Snowden in his travails? You know who!
3. Egypt Erupts again: One of the biggest dramas being played out right now is the Egyptian torment. People want Morsi, People don’t want Morsi, we are not sure. Seems like the Pharaohs and the Medjeys of Egypt still Play their game of thrones and accession. The thing to observe is that ever since the Arab spring disturbed the status quo, people have started coming out on streets every once in a while. We all want fair governance but common people standing against military, not fair at all.
4. The Boston Bombings: Can’t say if ever a terrorist act was so widely debated and mitigated through Social Media before the Boston incident. From support sites to forums, internet was abuzz with all sorts of stories from the moment the incident happened. Police and agencies openly used Social Networks to track down the culprits. The marathon and the bomb explosions became an icon of people’s resistance against cowardly acts of terror. Social Media help bring the people together for a cause that has become the most challenging issue of our generation.
5. Black Man Saves the Day: Sorry for being so blunt but that’s how the media played it out once Charles Ramsey rapped about rescuing the girls from their captors in Cleveland. The whole thing went super viral and we soon saw all those auto-tuned remixes of Charles’s interview with the TV reporter at the scene of crime. “Dead Giveaway” became an instant hit! After all the late night TV appearances, Charles is ready with his website where he is going to sell his merchandise. We wish him well for the future.
6. Amy’s Bakery Woes: Reality TV went into the management books when Gordon Ramsey walked out on the restaurant owner who would refuse to get knocked down even in the face of total annihilation. This unfinished episode of kitchen nightmares went viral on the internet spewing hundreds of nasty comments. The bloggers, the Redditers and the Yelpers just were waiting for this meltdown. The response from owners? Retaliation in CAPS lock! We simply stood and watched in awe. Somewhere deep down we were smiling to see Gordon go down. Oh how we love to see the mighty fall! Anyway the loss is all for Amy and her baking co.
7. Nutella’s Lonely Crusade: You know how possessive are we about our brands. So when the Italian confectionery maker saw that a worldwide army of housewives and in-general foodies celebrated a day in honour of their great brand, they obviously felt threatened. They retaliated with a Cease and Desist order bringing down the entire carnival. This is a textbook case of archaic branding rules. Marketing gurus can keep shouting at the top of their lungs to set your brand free but this birdie ain’t flying any time soon.
8. And the star that almost killed us: The Meteor that burned up in the sky in Russia injuring over 1000 people left us with vivid imaginations of the dooms day. The videos from car cams went viral and the bright streak left behind by the shooting star made us wonder if in-fact life on Earth was so vulnerable. How long do we have on our watch before we actually go extinct like Dinosaurs. Maybe we are all dead already and our souls are still in denial. Your world might just be an illusion after all.
9. Indecent Players League: If you are a Cricket fan then probably this was the most shameful thing that happened in the history of the sport. Indian Premier League was supposed to make the players rich as it is. Seems like the money was not enough. With money came corruption and women. This highly charged drama unfolded on television as well as the Social Media. People didn’t shout or cry much this time although that’s just the sign of heartbreak.
10. The Siege of Taco bell, Tesco, McDonald’s: The grossest crisis ever! Taco bell employee uploading pictures of himself licking Taco shells onto their facebook page. If you thought that was not bizarre enough then there’s horse-meat found in Tesco products and the McDonald’s running out of Hello Kitty toys. Funny that when on one hand these physical goof ups happen more often, on the other we see social media hacking incidents growing faster than ever. This just tells us to invest more time in policies and proper implementing of them. Social Media is getting more troublesome than manageable.
Nice read