From Mario Balotelli, to Justin Sacco, the ‘death toll’ of social media gaffe victims continues to rise, the latest being Congressional staffer Elizabeth Lauten who lost her job after disparaging comments about President Obama’s daughters; there’s no mulligan for those who tweet before thinking.

Unfortunately, it’s a lesson that’s taking long to sink into the heads of millions of social media users; the excitement from the new found power to create messages and publish instantly to ‘virtual followers’ seems to be overwhelming many a Facebook and Twitter fanatic.

There’s a growing obsession for ‘re-tweets’ and ‘likes’ that many are willing to post just about anything in the hope of ‘going viral’ but a few cases have learned the hard way that if you post before thinking, there will be no second chance, no mulligan, no sorry.

New media presents new problems. Responsibility on many social media platforms is still lacking even from those you would expect to know better.

A good case is that of Elizabeth Lauten who posted last week, derogatory remarks against the Obama daughters.

Before the post, she had a good job as the communications director for Tennessee Rep. Steven Fincher but jobless twenty four hours later after resultant pressure and embarrassment forced her to resign.

Remember Justine Sacco? Yes, of course you do, her costly blond moment. Sacco caused a Twitter revolt on December 19, 2013 after twitting that: ‘Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just Kidding; I’m white!

By the time the plane landed, she was out of job as a public relations officer, her tweet had gone viral during the flight and not even an apology could set things right; she belatedly realized that there’s no mulligan for a Twitter gaffe.

Closer to home, in October last year, a prominent journalist of Uganda’s Daily Monitor was asked by Facebook what was on his mind and his thoughts, shared in one long angry post shocked the nation.

He posted that Banyarwanda (Ugandans of Rwandan descent) were Uganda’s biggest problem. He went on to list a cocktail of evil associated with them and concluded that unless that particular group was dealt with, ‘real’ Ugandans like himself will never get peace.

All hell broke loose, the post attracted hundreds of likes and comments of mixed arguments majority condemning the sectarian and hateful nature of the post; the cunning journalist, realising that he was bound to lose the job, posted that his account had been hacked.

He survived and enjoyed a rare mulligan for a Facebook gaffe.

Responsible freedom

When the Internet came to Africa, millions who were hitherto voiceless finally found a voice, a platform where they could yell out their thoughts without seeking permission from anyone.

Every time one checks the newsfeed, there’s mention of a leaked sex tape here and a celebrity’s nude pictures there, for that’s the way things are in the ‘Blue Nowhere’ as Jeffery Deaver called it.

It’s the New Media baby! Everyone is a journalist and everyone is their own editor. But how do we ensure a certain level of responsibility among social media users?

Where I work, the administration is currently seeking an answer to that question. Although none of our people has fallen victim to a social media gaffe, we want to be proactive rather than reactive.

Can a social media code for staff help corporate organizations to keep their people in line? Would this be intruding into the private space of workers? What should or shouldn’t an employee of a reputable company post on their private pages?

If you’re a famous radio presenter with a huge following on Twitter, whose image is at stake when you commit a gaffe on Twitter?

In the case of Balotelli, Liverpool football club came under fire even when the player posted in his own capacity, on a private account.

Should we have an Internet regulatory authority, after all those in the traditional media industry are regulated? Can we police or regulate Internet usage without eroding people’s new found freedoms?

In some companies, the idea of a social media code for staffers is received with mixed reactions; those who are very active on twitter feel no one should tell them what to post, when and how claiming they have a responsibility to their own followers.

However, those in administration insist that their high corporate responsibility and public image must be protected from possible social media gaffes of employees.

In Rwanda, we haven’t experienced major social media gaffes in recent years but one of these days it will happen; to avoid being the victim of that moment, think before you post because there’ll be no mulligan for you.