Students of Central New York Middle School were punished this week for a Facebook page about one of their teachers. The Superintendent of the School system suspended one student and issued detentions to about thirty others. One parent is on the record saying that he disagrees with the way the school handled the situation and will not let his child serve her detentions. He feels the school over stepped its bounds and the matter should have been brought to parents' attention. The Superintendent said the punishments were issued because the content was derogatory and hurt the teacher’s reputation.
Businesses have had to deal with this for a while, sometimes choosing to turn a blind eye, while some have used social media to address complaints and concerns to improve customer service.
As a marketer, I am interested in the development of the situation. While no one wants social media to dissolve into name calling, there is a measure of taking the good with the bad. Social media like Facebook is user driven and, unfortunately, sometimes that means the lowest common denominator. As a Central New York parent I have my own opinion on the matter.
What do you think?