Recently, I was interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle on the ‘Sarah Slocum’ phenomenon. Now, I am getting a flurry of emails accusing me of supporting Sarah Slocum. Let’s be clear: I do NOT support Sarah Slocum; I do NOT support Google Glass. I am merely commenting on the Internet / social media aspects of this issue.
By Jason McDonald
Senior SEO Instructor – JM Internet Group
Posted: March 25, 2014
Sarah Slocum and Google Class
Recently, I was interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle on the ‘Sarah Slocum phenomenon.’ (See article, here). The article quotes me as:
‘Hit a nerve’
Jason McDonald, an Internet marketing consultant at JM Internet Group in San Jose, said Slocum’s emergence comes as the public is looking for something tangible to latch onto in the debate over Glass.
“People are quick to condemn the person, or come to a person’s defense, because they really hit a nerve on an issue,” McDonald said. “In this case, she’s become a flash point. She’s like the guy in font of the tank at Tiananmen Square.”
A Clarification
I am NOT endorsing Sarah Slocum! I am NOT taking a position on Google Glass – good or bad, positive or negative. What I meant to say, is that Sarah Slocum is touching a visual and emotional nerve, being a flashpoint, an iconic Internet ‘meme’ at the tension points between –
- Our need for privacy in public spaces; vs.
- Our ever-increasing use of Internet gadgets like cell phones; vs.
- The tension in San Francisco between the Internet ‘haves’ (Google, Twitter) and the social ‘have-nots.’
Ms. Slocum just happened to be at the ‘right place / right time,’ or ‘wrong place, wrong time’ like the guy in front of the tank in Tianamen square. She therefore has become the FLASH POINT of the debate, the ICONIC IMAGE to which people are referring in the controversial conflict between our RIGHT TO PRIVACY and our RIGHT TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS
Is she right? Is she wrong
I can’t say, and I’m not saying. I am NOT taking a position on that issue. As an expert in Internet social media, I am merely pointing out that she is the ICONIC MEME of the moment, the FLASH POINT on this issue.