[Editor’s note: We’re happy to announce the first-ever Weiner Awards, a fun way to remind everyone out there that the way you use social media can bring some seriously nasty consequences!]
LOS ANGELES, December 10, 2013 — Have you ever horrendously embarrassed yourself using social media? You send a Tweet, you post on Facebook, you blog something — and then realize, too late, that you made a really bad decision? The worst such offenders seriously damage or destroy their personal and/or professional lives.
“We call that Social Media Darwinism,” said Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management [McGraw-Hill]. “The truly sad thing is that the most sensational examples come from public figures who should have known better.”
From the agency employee who accidentally tweeted, “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f#@&ing drive” using the @ChryslerAutos account, to Dominos cooks posting YouTube videos of themselves doing disgusting things to food “for the lulz,” to a certain congressman for whom these awards might be named, social media Darwinism is evolving – or devolving – new examples.
“We hope that others can learn from their example,” said Bernstein Crisis Management Social Media Manager Erik Bernstein, “That’s why we have created the Weiner Awards – to educate by entertaining.”
The Weiner Awards will regularly recognize the most egregious demonstrations of social media natural selection at work, with the first winners to be announced on January 7, 2014. The public is invited to submit nominees no later than December 24, 2013. That list will be narrowed down to 10 semi-finalists by Jonathan and Erik Bernstein. Then a prestigious panel of pundits, punsters and curmudgeons will select the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.
Submissions for The Weiner Awards are now open. You can make your Weiner nomination by emailing erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com or by posting on the Weiner Awards Facebook page.
Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., which celebrates its 20th anniversary in January 2014, was one of the world’s first virtual consultancies. It provides 24/7 access to its president, Jonathan Bernstein, and a network of carefully screened and highly experienced crisis management experts who are on call nationwide and in many markets overseas. Bernstein Crisis Management engages in the full spectrum of crisis management services: crisis prevention, response, planning, training and simulations.
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For more information:
Jonathan Bernstein, (866) 772-5552, jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com
Erik Bernstein, (310) 918-2667, erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com