In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Jeffrey Michael, an executive at Horizon, said the tenant’s tweet was untrue, adding: “We’re a sue first, ask questions later kind of organization.”
He later apologized for the comment and, in a press release, explained Horizon was involved in another legal matter involving Bonnen.
Neither Michael nor Bonnen returned phone calls seeking comment. Ardia said that corporations who sue customers who post comments on Twitter may find that the strategy backfires as it sparks criticism of them.
“The old way of silencing someone doesn’t work” online, he said. “We as a society have to realize this type of behavior isn’t going to go away. We are not going to have civil conversation in all corners of the Internet. Part of that means we have to develop a thicker skin. We should not accept physical threats, of course, but what we recognize as upsetting and hurtful will diminish over time.”
It is anybody’s guess who will emerge as hallway monitor for the “have three drinks and tweet how much you hate your boss” set. Maybe it will be someone like Tyrone Schiff, a graduate of the University of Michigan who lives in suburban Chicago and who in August started the Web site Twaxed.com, whose slogan begins: “Beware of What You Share.”
Schiff trolls Twitter to find the most obnoxious, embarrassing tweets and post them on his site.
So far it is a collection of tweets about sex, sexual organs and the occasional jab at an ex-girlfriend or co-worker. While Schiff seeks to entertain, he also wants to send a message.
“You never know how your words are being used, or used against you,” he said. “We are living in a world where people don’t censor themselves; they don’t use their words carefully. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s reality.”
RSS