A Picture is Worth a Thousand Tweets
Posted by Jennifer Ouellette on January 25th, 2010
One evening, TTC rider Jason Wieler uses his iPhone to snap a picture of a TTC booth collector catching a few winks. A few weeks later he remembers taking the photo and posts it to his Twitter account with the caption “Yup, love how my TTC dollars R being spent…”
What happened next is a classic example of how technology and social media are completely changing the face of communication. The photo was re-tweeted and became a top news story in a matter of hours, following on the heels of bad press resulting from the recent transit fare increase. TTC officials were being asked to comment on a photo they may not have even seen yet, and Toronto media were trying to determine the identity of the worker who was photographed. Today, the story has come full circle and the man who was made unintentionally famous by all of this, George Robitaille, has released a public apology.
Thinking about this situation, I was reminded of the very first lesson I had in how an image can alter public perception from a University communications lecture – The televised presidential debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. In a nutshell – those who listened on the radio thought Nixon had won the debate while those who watched the televised events thought that Kennedy came out on top. While listeners thought that Nixon’s arguments were stronger, Kennedy’s appearance, composure and charisma worked in his favor with TV audiences. The content seemed to play less of a role on public opinion than the image.
In a similar way whether it was due to “an underlying medical issue and side effects of medication” as TTC officials and Mr. Robitaille have released, or a case of an employee simply caught sleeping on the job, the photo of the TTC collector reclined and asleep in his booth is what most people will remember.
A picture is an incredibly powerful form of communication, and even after it has been explained or contextualized it is one of the first things we think of. It can impact or reinforce opinions, and change the way we look at individuals, companies or entire organizations. For better or worse, we are becoming an increasingly visual society who relies on images for “proof” and to capture our attention.
Watching the situation unfold with this particular TTC operator created so many questions for me regarding privacy, disclosure and how social media is impacting our actions, interactions and reactions.
How do you feel about the role social media and technology plays in the creation and sharing of information/news?
January 25th, 2010 » 2:09 pm
Well said Jennifer, that photo had more firepower than any words could convey. Add the sharing leverage of social media and it is truly potent. More about visual influence:
http://bit.ly/8IGYw8
January 25th, 2010 » 3:53 pm
We have to remind ourselves a thousand times a day the camera is always “on.” Whether it’s a security camera in an elevator, a friend recording a professional development event at a resto-pub, a kid with a smart phone. We may be frequently “in” the frame but we need to act in the “right frame.”
January 25th, 2010 » 4:56 pm
Thanks Mike, I knew you of all people would understand the impact of the visual, and great post about the tablet – I had heard buzz about these new gadgets but never actually seen one.
And I completely agree LeeEllen, I think there’s a huge lesson in that for the online generation. We should always be conscious of our actions in the public sphere because once images are released into the world wide web, we essentially lose control of them.
January 26th, 2010 » 2:34 pm
Indeed, it seems we have invited Big Brother into our midst, and it turns out that he is, in fact, ourselves. Put another way, we have become one another’s Big Brother.
January 26th, 2010 » 3:24 pm
Though not a fan of people who sleep on the job, the ridicule and exposure that the snoozer has been subjected to far outweighs his transgression.
The beauty of technology is everyone has an opportunity to publish – without a copy editor of filter. But that also means I can take a photo of you, alter the image to embarrass you, post it any number of places, and before you can respond, the damage has been done.
We are living in a media wild west.
January 26th, 2010 » 6:00 pm
Thanks for that brain teaser Andrea! I had to read it twice, but I see your point. We’re all trying so hard to catch something “interesting” on camera that we are invading eachother’s privacy.
And Guy, that’s a very good point and one of the questions/concerns I had stemming from all of this. I do feel that the man in question was used as a scapegoat for all of the anger and frustration people are having with the TTC, and can feel sympathy for him. But as a transit rider, I admit I was not impressed. Thank you for bringing that up.