Twitter posts - right or wrong?

[Arianddu]

Ok, here's my take on why I am uncomfortable with all the Twitter posts about Steve going up:

Steve Perry is someone who for a very long time has been notoriously shy about sharing his private life. He's said in more than one interview, over many years, 'you have a private life by keeping it private.' Unfortunately, he's also a celebrity with a public profile, so people take notice when he is out and about. I don't think there's any point in going into the whole debate about whether or not it's ok to take someone's photo without their knowledge/permission; you either think it is or it isn't. The point I want to make is the time scale.

Pre-internet, if someone saw Steve out and about, and took his photo, it was a private event. How many people can you show-and-tell it to? Friends, maybe a fanzine, not that many. The internet came along, and suddenly you could show-and-tell the world. So for over a decade now, every time Steve goes out, if someone sees him, snaps a pic, whatever, off they toddle home and if they chose they can post it on the net. Once that's done, fans all over the world scouring the net for info for him pick it up, share it around, speculate on who he is with, what he is doing, how he is doing based on how he looks, etc. Public privacy is gone, but at least in the moment there was some sense of Steve being allowed a modicum of privacy. It took time to go home, download stuff, post it up, have it found by the waiting loons, etc.

Twitter has robbed celebrities of even that momentary illusion of privacy. The instant that moment occurs, someone can send out the message. So we have details of flights being posted, we have immediate locations, there is no delay and there is no thought time for the poster. And it's being found instantly; it's no longer people with a set trigger to search new items on SP on the net once a day if they are really enthusiastic, it's people getting immediate responses all the time. So what used to take five or six days to disseminate across the web is now being done in five or six hours.

When you talk about how lovely it is to get new information/pics on Steve, what I'd ask you to do for a moment is to think about how that information was gathered. These aren't new articles, or interviews, or photo shoots, or industry events. This is a day to day, minute to minute, invasion of his life. It's group stalking - not by one person but by many. Just because one person only took one photo, or only posted one twitter up, doesn't make it any better, because the net effect is lots of photos and personal details going out. Nowhere is safe now; everywhere outside his own home isn't just public, it's potentially all-over-the-web-in-fifteen-minutes public. Twitter is new technology, it is changing behaviour just as surely as mobile phones and the internet did, and unfortunately one of the things it is changing is publically known people's ability to be private.

So, SPiffy (and potentially others) will keep making these posts, and that's their right. Some people on this board will love it, and will think it's ok. Some people on this board will hate it and feel that it is disrespectful and invasive. Some will see it as stalking and bordering on psychotic and/or obsessive behaviour, others will not think of it as stalking, because they aren't the ones out there actually taking the pics and making the tweets. I don't think anyone is going to jump the fence any time soon.

What I do think is going to happen is that some celebrities in the next 12 months or so are going to get fed up, and Something Will Be Done TM, what I don't know. What I'm hoping is that Steve Perry will do an interview soon and will mention twitter and how he feels about it, and maybe that will change a few opinions, one way or the other. What I'm afraid of is that this man we all love in one way or another will pull back further into his shell, and distance himself from the fans he meets, who in the past he has been very generous with his time with.

Speaking purely for myself; SPiffy, this isn't a personal attack, and I say this with no rancour or judgement; I would appreciate it if you stop posting twitters about Steve. It makes me uncomfortable - I know I would hate to have that sort of attention focussed on me. If people want to follow him on Twitter, they can and will; maybe post the searches, links, whatever, that you use and those who will can follow. Like everyone else here, I like to know that he is out and about and doing well, but this is too much. I could shrug it off and say 'I won't read those threads' but to be honest, it feels like shrugging and saying 'I won't listen to the bangs and thumps from my neighbour's house that sound like someone being thrown into a wall during a fight'. It isn't something I can do; I think this is wrong. I can't get you to stop, but I can say that I don't think it is appropriate, I don't approve of it, and respectfully, with an explanation of why I am asking, I am asking you to please stop. You don't have to, of course, you are perfectly within your rights to continue, but you will need to understand that I, and others, will keep saying we don't think this is right or ethical.

[TRAGChick]

Hi, Ari.....great post

I was just thinking about this the other day.....how it must feel to someone like Steve "Fort Knox of Privacy" Perry (and I say that with respect) that he can't "be himself" anymore....there's always gonna be SOMEbody there NOT WITH A CAMERA....

... but with a tiny cellphone - that can take a picture - and "make or break" a person, in seconds.

Court of Public Opinion, now in Session..... y'know?

And yes; I commented about how he looked the other day with my "nice guns!" comment as a reaction to seeing him out and about; looking healthy.....not thinking about how he must feel about all of this.....and for that, I do feel kinda weird about my reaction.

I mean, what does a person have to do....move to another Country? That's what Shania Twain did - noted as one of the hottest women in Country Music.

Has anyone bothered HER over the last few years...?

[Duncan]

Agree 100%

Ari - do you know the tune below. It was the theme music to Tommy Vance's Friday Rock Show. Just listening to theme I can here him talking "... and tonight in session we have Praying Mantis, Samson and the Tygers of Pan Tang"

----------------
Now playing: Van Der Graaf Generator - Theme 1

[SP Fan in Oregon]

Ok, here's my take on why I am uncomfortable with all the Twitter posts about Steve going up:

Steve Perry is someone who for a very long time has been notoriously shy about sharing his private life. He's said in more than one interview, over many years, 'you have a private life by keeping it private.' Unfortunately, he's also a celebrity with a public profile, so people take notice when he is out and about. I don't think there's any point in going into the whole debate about whether or not it's ok to take someone's photo without their knowledge/permission; you either think it is or it isn't. The point I want to make is the time scale.

Pre-internet, if someone saw Steve out and about, and took his photo, it was a private event. How many people can you show-and-tell it to? Friends, maybe a fanzine, not that many. The internet came along, and suddenly you could show-and-tell the world. So for over a decade now, every time Steve goes out, if someone sees him, snaps a pic, whatever, off they toddle home and if they chose they can post it on the net. Once that's done, fans all over the world scouring the net for info for him pick it up, share it around, speculate on who he is with, what he is doing, how he is doing based on how he looks, etc. Public privacy is gone, but at least in the moment there was some sense of Steve being allowed a modicum of privacy. It took time to go home, download stuff, post it up, have it found by the waiting loons, etc.

Twitter has robbed celebrities of even that momentary illusion of privacy. The instant that moment occurs, someone can send out the message. So we have details of flights being posted, we have immediate locations, there is no delay and there is no thought time for the poster. And it's being found instantly; it's no longer people with a set trigger to search new items on SP on the net once a day if they are really enthusiastic, it's people getting immediate responses all the time. So what used to take five or six days to disseminate across the web is now being done in five or six hours.

When you talk about how lovely it is to get new information/pics on Steve, what I'd ask you to do for a moment is to think about how that information was gathered. These aren't new articles, or interviews, or photo shoots, or industry events. This is a day to day, minute to minute, invasion of his life. It's group stalking - not by one person but by many. Just because one person only took one photo, or only posted one twitter up, doesn't make it any better, because the net effect is lots of photos and personal details going out. Nowhere is safe now; everywhere outside his own home isn't just public, it's potentially all-over-the-web-in-fifteen-minutes public. Twitter is new technology, it is changing behaviour just as surely as mobile phones and the internet did, and unfortunately one of the things it is changing is publically known people's ability to be private.

So, SPiffy (and potentially others) will keep making these posts, and that's their right. Some people on this board will love it, and will think it's ok. Some people on this board will hate it and feel that it is disrespectful and invasive. Some will see it as stalking and bordering on psychotic and/or obsessive behaviour, others will not think of it as stalking, because they aren't the ones out there actually taking the pics and making the tweets. I don't think anyone is going to jump the fence any time soon.

What I do think is going to happen is that some celebrities in the next 12 months or so are going to get fed up, and Something Will Be Done TM, what I don't know. What I'm hoping is that Steve Perry will do an interview soon and will mention twitter and how he feels about it, and maybe that will change a few opinions, one way or the other. What I'm afraid of is that this man we all love in one way or another will pull back further into his shell, and distance himself from the fans he meets, who in the past he has been very generous with his time with.

Speaking purely for myself; SPiffy, this isn't a personal attack, and I say this with no rancour or judgement; I would appreciate it if you stop posting twitters about Steve. It makes me uncomfortable - I know I would hate to have that sort of attention focussed on me. If people want to follow him on Twitter, they can and will; maybe post the searches, links, whatever, that you use and those who will can follow. Like everyone else here, I like to know that he is out and about and doing well, but this is too much. I could shrug it off and say 'I won't read those threads' but to be honest, it feels like shrugging and saying 'I won't listen to the bangs and thumps from my neighbour's house that sound like someone being thrown into a wall during a fight'. It isn't something I can do; I think this is wrong. I can't get you to stop, but I can say that I don't think it is appropriate, I don't approve of it, and respectfully, with an explanation of why I am asking, I am asking you to please stop. You don't have to, of course, you are perfectly within your rights to continue, but you will need to understand that I, and others, will keep saying we don't think this is right or ethical.

The last thread about the NIN concert had NOTHING to do with TWITTER. I will say again. It was a telephone call from a cell phone from a friend, a NIN fan, who knew I was a SP fan, excited to
tell me that SP was three people away from her at that concert. I waited until the next morning to post it here long after SP was GONE from the venue. I was not anymore disrespectful to him posting that then the person who just posted about him appearing in GLEE, or that SP would be doing a radio broadcast on CBC. I'm sure SP didn't think it was disrespectful for a fan to tell other fans that he's doing a radio broadcast. The only thing I've posted here from twitter was the repost of the photo in the airport. I agree with you on that one. In hindsight I should not have reposted it. However, I waited until he was long gone from landing before I posted it and I thought others would like to see it. I'm not arguing with your well thought out post. I read it. I agree with you about Twitter and the dangers of it in the hands of a fan that is looking for Sp's bushes. I'm not a fan looking for his bushes.

I also agree that the age of technology and information overload has many dangers. We are still learning new legal issues associated with just the internet, myspace, facebook, and now Twitter comes on the scene without any controls. It quite literally has turned the general public into the papparazzi. Your post has touched me and persuaded me to believe that I do not want to be a part of furthering any problem for SP. I truly care about this man. I see your point. You made your case, without any attacks on me personally. So, I listened. I"ll keep what I know, what I hear, what I see, and who I know to myself.

[Duncan]

I think it is abnormal to have any interest in a singer beyond the music he releases. How does the leap occur from "I like his music" to "I need to know what he is doing every moment of the day". Normal people don't go there.

----------------
Now playing: Valentine - Runnin' On Luck Again

[artist4perry]

I think it is disrespectful to take a photo of someone just because you have a camera, and post it all over creation. You should get their permission to take a photo. But we live a slippery slope. Just because you can take a photo, does it mean you should?

We all have days where our hair is not so great, or the clothes we are wearing are not our best, or the photographer is crappy and we look terrible............I can see why that would drive people crazy.

Now a meet and greet, they usually know they are going to meet fans, but even when I met Jon, I asked to take the photo of him. I did not take a photo just for the heck of it.

These are people folks, just like you and I. Yes, talented I agree. But just folks. Dads, Husbands, Fathers, and regular guys. They are just trying to live life just like the rest of us, with some normalcy. If you really admire their work, respect them as a person who could be in your own family, a brother, uncle, or Dad. They are just that................normal folks.

[ChildInTime]

I'm pretty glad you made this thread, because the whole Twitter thing seems to be a stem for a lot of the drama lately.

My two cents... if you see something on Twitter or whatever, and you wanna post it... but it crosses your mind *even once* that it might be construed as weird or creepy, you should just keep it to yourself. (SPFan, I'm not talking to you, don't worry. I just mean in general.) It'll cut back on the drama, and everyone'll be happy. For some time, anyway.

[Lula]

".....think about how that information was gathered. These aren't new articles, or interviews, or photo shoots, or industry events. This is a day to day, minute to minute, invasion of his life. It's group stalking - not by one person but by many. Just because one person only took one photo, or only posted one twitter up, doesn't make it any better, because the net effect is lots of photos and personal details going out. Nowhere is safe now; everywhere outside his own home isn't just public, it's potentially all-over-the-web-in-fifteen-minutes public. Twitter is new technology, it is changing behaviour just as surely as mobile phones and the internet did, and unfortunately one of the things it is changing is publically known people's ability to be private."


well said ari. a line has to be drawn somewhere. if it is an interview, press junket, etc... no problem. but regular living? i'd go insane if my moves were tweets for all to see. if someone chooses to tweet, so be it, it is a personal choice. this is in no way directed at anyone, just some thoughts.

[treetopovskaya]

all the people i "follow" on twitter say the most random things. i just like to read the funny quotes. }:C)

john mccain hikes! that is awesome. }:C))

[Deb]

".....think about how that information was gathered. These aren't new articles, or interviews, or photo shoots, or industry events. This is a day to day, minute to minute, invasion of his life. It's group stalking - not by one person but by many. Just because one person only took one photo, or only posted one twitter up, doesn't make it any better, because the net effect is lots of photos and personal details going out. Nowhere is safe now; everywhere outside his own home isn't just public, it's potentially all-over-the-web-in-fifteen-minutes public. Twitter is new technology, it is changing behaviour just as surely as mobile phones and the internet did, and unfortunately one of the things it is changing is publically known people's ability to be private."


well said ari. a line has to be drawn somewhere. if it is an interview, press junket, etc... no problem. but regular living? i'd go insane if my moves were tweets for all to see. if someone chooses to tweet, so be it, it is a personal choice. this is in no way directed at anyone, just some thoughts.

I face, I don't tweet. LOL I don't even know what a tweet is. I've never even looked into Twitter, half the time I forget to even check my facebook. Now that all 3 of my faves have their own forum, I pretty much live here. Besides, EM's and JSS's blogs emailed from their sites are enough to keep me posted on their goings on, right from the horse's mouth. lol: Would be cool if SP had his own site and did that too.

[tammy]

The Twitter thing does seem uncomfortable as you explained, Ari. And, I'm not even sure what it is exactly - is it on a cell phone going directly to computer? I just know that the airport thing was disturbing.

Some people/fans might not have a problem with that invasion but I do...just because there is this new technology doesn't give anyone the right to invade - even if the person being invaded is a public person/celebrity...it is like the papparazzi. I suppose it is different if you happen to be in the same place as the celebrity and you phone/text a friend...but, it being broadcast in real time across the Internet is scary. Maybe, some fans don't realize this and think it is innocent...but, there are, no doubt, wackos hiding out there in cyberspace getting their info from it.
As a fan of the man, I'll admit I love to see his photos (then and now) and know what music he loves and heck, yeah I even like to know what food he likes - just 'cuz I'm curious like that not 'cuz I am a nut job...lol, I hope...I even like to know what regular people do, too - their personal stories, anecdotes. I love to read autobiographies, doesn't matter if they are NASA Apollo 1960s flight directors, a guy who moved to France to live on a houseboat, or an actress/housewife living in the Australian bush...but, I want to hear it from the people themselves - the info THEY give themselves. So, if SP isn't giving the info or the pics then it feels wrong. All these camera phones are disturbing & misused. I'm not trying to act like police here but just giving my thoughts...obviously, I can't tell people what to do here just that I don't want to join Twitter and track SP's every move. If SP himself chose to Twitter info then great, but I highly doubt he would...I don't even think he likes having his pics taken. Apparently, there are some celebrities that do Twitter for whatever reason...but, I think those are the people in the spotlight now - who are in the News, rag sheets, or touring musicians - maybe, to keep current with their fans. Even if SP releases new music I still doubt he would set up a website or Twitter or whatever else there is. Anyway, yeah, it's the REAL TIME INSTANT thing on celebrity happenings that is disturbing.

[BlueGin]

I don't follow twitter. Although, I did see an interview where Rob Thomas said he tweets to his fans..so I do know that some celebs think it's a good tool for keeping the fans informed, but like most things it can be a double edged sword. I do think it's rude (not to mention extremely obnoxious) to just snap pictures of celebs without asking, while they are out tryng to enjoy private time with their family and friends. Cell phones/texting/cameras are one of my pet peeves anyway.

I get emailed birthday wishes every year from one of my other favorite celebs... along with a newsletter of upcoming events/information (not saying who cuz that is just private LOL). I figure,if they want me to know stuff..they will find a way tell me.

[Suzanne]

Hi, Ari.....great post

I was just thinking about this the other day.....how it must feel to someone like Steve "Fort Knox of Privacy" Perry (and I say that with respect) that he can't "be himself" anymore....there's always gonna be SOMEbody there NOT WITH A CAMERA....

... but with a tiny cellphone - that can take a picture - and "make or break" a person, in seconds.

Court of Public Opinion, now in Session..... y'know?

And yes; I commented about how he looked the other day with my "nice guns!" comment as a reaction to seeing him out and about; looking healthy.....not thinking about how he must feel about all of this.....and for that, I do feel kinda weird about my reaction.

I mean, what does a person have to do....move to another Country? That's what Shania Twain did - noted as one of the hottest women in Country Music.

Has anyone bothered HER over the last few years...?

Steve "Fort Knox of Privacy" Perry - I love this. They say if you even stop out on Dixie Hwy. to take a picture of parts of Ft. Knox (i.e. the vault bldg.) they will lock you up. What if paps and other people could get locked up for posting pics w/o that person's permission? Just wondering. Random thought....