Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Mind the Pink Slip
Anyone who has ever travelled to London and ridden on its world famous underground has heard the pleasant voice of Emma Clarke repetitiously warning passengers to "Mind the Gap." Despite her eight years of service the underground has sacked Ms Clarke, as reported on PRIs The World show yesterday.
It appears that Ms Clarke got into hot water by posting spoof train announcements on her personal website. They're pretty funny and also pretty darn harmless, as a listen on the above link will show. Still, it appears they were troubling enough to some folks for her to be canned. The authority responsible denies that the spoofs were the reason for her dismissal (although they must be popular, since her website crashed from all of the traffic), citing instead a comment she made calling riding on the Tube a 'dreadful' experience. Clarke insists that was taken out of context and that she said riding the underground would be dreadful for her since she'd be forced to listen to her own voice over and over again.
The bigger issue here is again privacy issues online. I guess its possible that in her contract the Underground prohibited her from goofing on it, though that would seem a bit extreme. Its certainly common enough on TV, where politicians and entertainers frequently go on shows like The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live and mock their positions or personas to get a laugh.
But its a slippery slope. Teens on MySpace showing drunken/stoned/explicit photos have found themselves in trouble with parents, law enforcement, and even colleges and universities. Recently an intern was fired for lying to his employer about faking a sick day and then blogging about his activities that day. The question of blogs and employment has hit Comedy Central and even CNN as young, cyber-minded interns record the details of their lives online, including things that they witness at work.
Mind the 'generation' Gap. And good luck to Ms Clarke; Kings Cross station won't be the same without you.
Anyone who has ever travelled to London and ridden on its world famous underground has heard the pleasant voice of Emma Clarke repetitiously warning passengers to "Mind the Gap." Despite her eight years of service the underground has sacked Ms Clarke, as reported on PRIs The World show yesterday.
It appears that Ms Clarke got into hot water by posting spoof train announcements on her personal website. They're pretty funny and also pretty darn harmless, as a listen on the above link will show. Still, it appears they were troubling enough to some folks for her to be canned. The authority responsible denies that the spoofs were the reason for her dismissal (although they must be popular, since her website crashed from all of the traffic), citing instead a comment she made calling riding on the Tube a 'dreadful' experience. Clarke insists that was taken out of context and that she said riding the underground would be dreadful for her since she'd be forced to listen to her own voice over and over again.
The bigger issue here is again privacy issues online. I guess its possible that in her contract the Underground prohibited her from goofing on it, though that would seem a bit extreme. Its certainly common enough on TV, where politicians and entertainers frequently go on shows like The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live and mock their positions or personas to get a laugh.
But its a slippery slope. Teens on MySpace showing drunken/stoned/explicit photos have found themselves in trouble with parents, law enforcement, and even colleges and universities. Recently an intern was fired for lying to his employer about faking a sick day and then blogging about his activities that day. The question of blogs and employment has hit Comedy Central and even CNN as young, cyber-minded interns record the details of their lives online, including things that they witness at work.
Mind the 'generation' Gap. And good luck to Ms Clarke; Kings Cross station won't be the same without you.
Labels: Privacy
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