Off the Record
bcupin@theguidon.com
Kids, it’s time to lock your Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Set them to private because someone’s watching. No, it’s not your intrusive tita or cousin, but it might as well be. It doesn’t get more Web 2.0 than this because the latest addition to the Twitter world is none other than our very own Rizal Library.
Institutions with Twitter accounts are not new. Governments have official Twitter accounts to keep Tweeps updated on official news and developments.
But it’s different when a school office gets a Twitter account, isn’t it? The Rizal Library’s tweets are mostly replies to students’ queries about the lib and their services. But it can also do so much more.
Over a month ago, a student tweeted about accidentally ripping a page off a library book. The tweet was random and rather mundane, much like everyone else’s tweets. But @rizal_library would not take it sitting down. They spoke, informing the student that “the act is in violation of school policies re: vandalism and damaging properties of the university.” The student apologized, even going as far as taking a picture to prove that the page had been taped back.
It didn’t end there. Nine days later, the library tweeted: “The Library will reward anybody who will reveal [the student’s] identity.” It was amazing and surreal. It was a manhunt via Twitter. Like I said, you can’t get more Web 2.0 than this.
The thing about social media is that it’s new and therefore its rules aren’t set yet. Media organizations and corporations have only institutionalized social media ethics and etiquette recently. In the public sphere, there are no rules yet.
But what was the Rizal Library trying to prove? Has Twitter suddenly become an official medium for student investigations?
The library reassured people that a proper investigation was being made after people had tweeted back, concerned over the means they were using to investigate. But this didn’t do anything to stop the public trial of the student in question. Screencaps of the library’s tweet circulated all throughout the internet through Facebook and Twitter; people started criticizing the student’s character.
All this hullaballoo over a torn page is kind of insane, don’t you think?
When formal complaints are made against students, they’re always given the benefit of the doubt. ADSA doesn’t go posting their violation or searching for the identity of the accused by posting messages in official bulletin boards, online or otherwise. The student’s privacy is respected. Even in the world of Web 2.0, privacy and boundaries must still be honored, especially by official Ateneo institutions.
A few weeks ago, I tweeted about the lack of internet in the library’s multimedia room. The next day, @rizal_library had tweeted back, telling me that it was normal for the internet connection to fluctuate and that all I had to do was approach library personnel.
The help is very much appreciated but the tweet tracking is not.
