http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23notwittertv
Anyone who doesn't think Twitter is the most powerful social media platform in America should try to start a reality TV show about celebrities who use it — or be like me and write 200 words about it and post it on the Internet.
Yesterday morning I saw a Variety story about a new reality TV show in which "ordinary people put on the trail of celebrities" on Twitter and I immediately pictured people literally trailing celebrities, or as I call it, stalking. It was funny in a very dark way, but mostly scary. I searched Google news for more information, but no matter where I clicked, I hit the same dead end: Producers were not telling any details about the show's format.
I couldn't call anyone about it because it was a holiday (Memorial Day). And frankly, I don't know anyone to call. You'll never see me on a red carpet or even on a D-list like that other redhead. No, my job is to comment on what other people are writing and talking about. I'm like a bridesmaid's chatty third cousin.
Anyway, I wrote a cautionary tale about stalking celebs on Twitter reality TV and called it Look out, Ashton Kutcher: Twitter wants to track celebrities on new reality TV show. Then I took my potato salad out of the fridge and headed to the beach for a barbecue with 100 of my closest friends.
When I got home last night and checked my TweetDeck, I found out that all hell had broken loose. Demi Moore and Alyssa Milano and thousands of their followers were tweeting about the #notwittertv movement and were linking to my story as the source of the rumored celebrity-stalking Twitter TV show.
Needless to say, I freaked out. Didn't they understand that the format I described was hypothetical? Didn't the sentence about the producers not revealing what their format would be "but we're guessing it could go something like this" make that clear? Apparently not. Twitterers were clicking on the link to my headline like bees dipping into pollen.
I tweeted Alyssa and Demi, but of course they don't follow me or have any idea who I am, so that was useless. Then I tweeted to the entire Twitterverse, but got no response. I have only 88 followers on Twitter, and most of them just are just looking for random followers. So, nothing.
So I added an update to the story, re-emphasizing that the stalking format was simply a hypothetical scenario that I hoped would not happen. Then I went to bed. But I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility that my little cautionary tale was being spread around the internet like misinformation on steroids. So I got up, logged into my publishing tool and took the story down.
When I woke up this morning, the Twitstorm was still in force. A New York Daily News story said:
... the protest was spurred by speculative reports — including one in particular on the Buffalo Examiner Web site that was later amended — that the show might involve celebrity stalking."
Not one person — including @No_tweet_show on Twitter or Matt Marrone, who wrote the Daily News story — had e-mailed me, called me, called Examiner.com or responded to my tweets.
My supervisors at Examiner.com reinstated my story and after an in-depth phone conference, convinced me to leave it on the site and to stand by it. They do not believe I am spreading minsinformation, and since they sign my paycheck, I am not arguing.
But it does matter to me that what I have written — even though it was misunderstood and misquoted like many the celebrities it sought to defend — has been at the center of a misinformed viral storm. Lest you think I am profiting from this whole thing, let me be perfectly clear: The page views died down as soon as I added the update to further clarify that the stalker scenario was hypothetical. That just didn't feed the twits, I guess.
RELATED STORY:
Comments
This is what happens, I did not get any message regarding your story. Even if it was meant as "dark humor" it is tasteless and influences MANY people this (twitterstorm) is not just about you. It is about the idea of a show that may do this type of activity.
I think just mentioning something in a hypothetical manner puts ideas out there for people to pick up and run with. It is hard enough for celebrities to interact with their friends/fans but to have to worry that they are being watched for the chance there may be a TV show somewhere in the making - it is just not right.
You did exactly what reporters are supposed to do: reported on a topic of interest - alot of tweeps didn't even realize that potential tv shows were in the works. It was clearly stated that the "plot" was your idea and not an actual verified theme.
The reaction to the possibility that twitter gets used in a manner even remotely resembling your example hopefully will remind potential producers/directors/writers that there are lines that must not be crossed.
Perhaps the word "stalking" even if hypothetical was not a word I would have chosen to use as an example of a show that is in development; hence a mass twitterstorm could have been averted? I don't think anyone blamed you personally for the idea that Twitter sold out to do another <yawn> reality show. You reported a story, no one shoots the messenger! And if they did, the only thing they could address is the word "Stalking" - that was definitely a poor choice of words.
From the Vanity Fair article:
"Project was announced with few details Monday by Reveille and Brillstein Entertainment."
All of the speculation and outcry could have been avoided had they announced the project and made all the details available. From the original announcement, it seems like they're going to turn a select group of people into Twitter paparazzi. It's just a bad idea for a show. Boring and lame.
I really don't think anyone got past "the show will feature ordinary people put on the trail of celebrities in a competitive format" ... so the uproar wasn't about you and your hypothetically of "how the show would go"
Regardless, the title and the photo you chose to present the article was, in my book, very tasteless. However it serve the purpose you intended it for . . .your page views went up. Congrats on your "fifteen minutes of fame" - hope it was worth it.
Well, as long as your publisher and editors aren't trying to decide which window to toss you out of, just take it as a lesson to -clearly- distinguish reporting from rumor from commentary, even if the whole thing is a commentary.
An embarrassing lesson to learn the hard way. I say that with experience.
The story was "the show will feature ordinary people put on the trail of celebrities in a competitive format," not anything you wrote. I wish you wouldn't have backpedaled so fast. Others who picked up on the story haven't. I thought you had some guts. Who has gotten to you?
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!