Weiner flap shows reach of cyber data
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It's tough to say which part of the Anthony Weiner story is generating the most chatter -- leaving aside the topic of his physical attributes.
After days of denial, the New York congressman on Monday admitted that he had taken a picture of himself in his briefs and tweeted it to a woman he'd been flirting with online. He mistakenly posted it to Twitter for all to see, panicked and took it down.
In addition, he confessed to having exchanges with five other women by phone and online in the past three years, some of them after his recent marriage. He insists he didn't break any laws and that relations did not go beyond the virtual. Now he faces a storm inside the Democratic caucus and with the House ethics committee.
Mr. Weiner is something of an expert in using the social media to his political advantage, so how could he have been so reckless as to tweet lewd pictures of himself?
Did he really think he could get away it, knowing that the proof was out there? And having seen the results of other pols lying about their "private" behavior, how could he have so badly botched his attempt at spin?
His wife, Huma Abedin, has not appeared by his side for the denials or the mea culpas. Does her absence signal the end of that made-for-media, woman-as-appendage tableau?
And finally, why aren't any women getting caught in these compromising positions?
Are they not engaging in such acts, are they just smarter about it, or are they simply not in powerful enough positions for it to matter?
One thing seems clear: Five years into social media networking, most people still do not grasp the infinite reach of online information. Once a message, post or tweet goes out, there is no controlling where else the recipient might send it.
Communiques intended as private can, and often do, wind up going viral.
"Few of us fully appreciate just how exposed we can be in a social media environment," said Michael B. Spring, associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Science.
"I might send a private email, which is what Anthony Weiner thought he was doing, but that's still bad because it can be forwarded and there is a record of it. Google, for example, owns all your data. It's very scary."
First Published June 8, 2011 12:00 am
