Originally published 7/30/2015 on LinkedIn
"Murderer." "Poacher." "Coward." The awful story of Minnesota dentist/recreational big game trophy hunter Dr. Walter Palmer and the killing of Cecil The Lion has dominated the news cycle the past 24 hours, and nowhere as fervently as on Facebook, Twitter and Yelp. Enraged animal slacktivists (ahem) have virulently condemned the doctor and his practice, brought down his website, launched petition drives for his prosecution and greater protection for Zimbabwe's lions, brought a late-night host to the brink of tears, and mocked his manhood with glee. (Guilty as charged on that one)...
Beyond the horror of killing a beautiful animal (and national icon in Zimbabwe) for nothing more than bragging rights in his man cave, Dr. Palmer has provided a cautionary tale for businesses large and small in our real-time, always-on social media age.
To wit:
A) The People Have An Infinite And Immediate Voice:
The evisceration of Dr. Palmer was swift and brutal. His Yelp page was overrun with "reviews" from outraged consumers posting takedowns ranging from the deadly serious to the viciously mocking. His business' Facebook Page was removed after being overrun with comments ranging from the righteously indignant to baldly threatening. #CecilTheLion has been trending on Twitter for two days, and the level of vitriol has reached a fever pitch befitting the capture of a war criminal. Ghastly images are being shared across Facebook. Petitions have been launched and shared on these channels and peer-to-peer via dark social.
(Yelp has been removing these reviews in near real-time, as they violate their terms of service. But the damage has been done. Screenshots last forever.)
B) Your Private Life Isn't So Private:
Everyone has hobbies. Most of them run the mundane gamut and wouldn't inflame anyone's ire. Some of them will. If your personal proclivities have the potential to negatively impact your business--albeit at a much lower scale than this--be wary. And be ready. Have a crisis plan on standby, just in case. Dr. Palmer's practice is closed for the foreseeable future. Photos of his previous trophy hunts have surfaced, along with convictions for illegal hunting and sexual harassment suits settled out of court. It doesn't take long for Hacktivist Nation to dig up more dirt than the Big Dig. How long could you afford to shutter your business, waiting for the social media storm to blow over?
This story will fade from the headlines soon enough. The perpetual fury of Internet Everywhere will move on to focus its wrath on another outrageous tale of human malfeasance. But the damage, deserved as it may seem, is permanently done to Dr. Walt Palmer, his family, and his practice. This is the detritus left behind by the ever-chewing maw of omnipresent social media. Dr. Palmer has become another cautionary tale. Pay attention to the overarching lessons here (and don't pay $55,000 to kill a so-called trophy animal, either, please. That's just sick.).