Taking on the Mob

Today's extended column for the Daily Banter once again examines the subject of the good and bad of our internet outrage culture. Over the past week, we've seen two restaurants attacked through social media for business decisions they've made -- and one story of a really stupid move by a pop star publicist.

Yeah, we love it. But has it gotten out of control? Or was it never under control to begin with?

Here's the opening shot:

"I caught a decent little documentary on Netflix last week called Heckler. It attempts to document the contentious relationship between comics and comic actors and those paying comedy club patrons who take it upon themselves to confront them during their sets, hoping to, I guess, get the upper hand in a battle they’re sure never to win. At least that’s the way it starts. What the movie eventually evolves into, though, is an examination of every kind of criticism those who put themselves out there as performers have to endure in the internet age: from the traditional art of criticism that’s degenerated into an 'anyone can do it' mentality to the legion of snarky anonymous trolls who turn the comment section of every internet post into an ugly flamewar.

Keep in mind, given that Heckler was made all the way back in 2007, an eon ago in terms of social media development and proliferation, it barely scratched the surface of how vicious it is out there. These days, internet outrage is an everyday fact of life — one that’s been honed to a scalpel’s edge. If anything you do is public, you need to understand that your good reputation, success, even personal respect in the community exists solely at the mercy of the largess — or at least ignorance — of the internet millions. And here’s the catch: Everything you do is public — thanks to the internet. Whether you know it or not, you’re likely under surveillance, a permanent self-sentenced inmate in a digital version of Bentham’s Panopticon. If you’re not sitting alone in the panic room you built in your basement, making the mistake of thinking no one’s watching you can be a near-fatal one."

Read the Rest Here