I personally find Google Trends, in particular the Hot Trends, fascinating. It’s a real insight into what really interests the US at any given time. And a quick check this morning shows the top five listings dominated by the American “sportsman” LeGarrette Blount violently losing his temper.
Whatever’s left of LeGarrette Blount’s career and credibility will be forever tainted by this incident. No matter what he may do to redeem himself, the news stories, columns and videos will stay online, instantly accessible, for the rest of his life and beyond.
When I was at school, I was able to research major past events by poring through microfilm of national and international newspapers. Doing so involved a lot of research, filling out forms and slowly scrolling through endless miles of film. But the information was there for me to read, understand and make notes from.
The web today makes my childhood research tools laughable. Today I can find details of current and historical events from all over the world. And if I like what I find, I can save, print or copy it instantly.
The flip side of this is that every single comment, posting and article that I ever write is not only accessible to most of the world, but is almost certain to be available for a long time to come.
Emails, articles, radio interviews, presentations, blog posts, tweets, comments on other people’s blogs, newsgroup/forum debates and more are there for the taking. And if I’m ever foolish enough to lose my temper and say something in anger, trying to erase the evidence of my stupidity will be next to impossible.
A snide or stupid comment is not only visible to the world, but may be found many years later. So next time someone’s post, article or comment annoys you, think before you hit the send button.
The whole world is watching. Forever.
