Entries by Mike Merriman

Facebook Doubles Down on Content Moderators

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve heard the stories of murders and suicides posted on Facebook.  In order to keep that type of content away from the public, Facebook has just announced that they will hire an additional 3000 content moderators.  This is on top of approximately 4500 current moderators.   In a recent post, […]

The first 24 hours in a social media crisis are critical – is United Airlines listening?

The first headline I saw in my newsfeed today was “Bloodied Passenger Dragged From United Flight At O’Hare Airport.”  Upon reading the story in numerous international publications, I checked various social media channels to learn more about the incident.  Not surprisingly #BoycottUnited and #Flight3411 are trending hashtags – and the story doesn’t get better for […]

Social Media Crisis costs Target Millions

Last April, Target published a blog post highlighting their stance on transgender bathroom policies, and specifically their policy of inclusion.  As a result, nearly 700,000 consumers signed a pledge to boycott the store.  In the weeks that followed, numerous individuals posted opinions about the policy on various social media channels which went viral.  While Target […]

United Airlines in a Social Media Crisis as Twitter blows up over (gasp!!) spandex.

United Airlines made headlines over the weekend as a gate agent refused to allow two young girls to board a flight from Denver to Minneapolis because they were “not properly clothed”.  The infraction – spandex leggings. The young girls donned other clothing and boarded the plane.  The incident was witnessed by Shannon Watts (https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts) founder […]

Hate Speech, Free Speech, or a business decision?

Many large social media channels are coming under fire for not being “tough on hate speech.”  Refer to this recent article in The Guardian – Face-off between MPs and social media giants over online hate speech.  In the US, while hate crimes are illegal, the constitution gives a great deal of latitude to hate speech […]