A Simple Simple Short Shot
Live Streaming on social media: Suicide is just the start
The recent events on Periscope underscore how reckless the web can be.
With the live streaming death of a young Parisian woman on Periscope today, you have to wonder how long until we see some real political movement to start “censoring” or “governing” new media like they do with more old-school offerings such as TV and radio — platforms where this suicide, beatings and reckless content streaming would rarely happen. It’s actually a little surprising that there haven’t been discussions and legislation tabled on this to date — periscope allows everyone to become a broadcast hub, and there are very few, if any guards in place to handle these tragic situations.
I’m typically pro-freedom, pro-anonymity and open-source, but this is scary. It’s easy to see a world where there is a lot of copycat activity. Where terrorism happens live streamed. Where brutal acts of violence or assault happen openly for all to watch, all the time. Where human cock fights happen via live streams.
I really do hope there’s a way to find a middle ground, but there’s definitely a need to have a discussion about these issues. As this becomes a more pervasive issue, it will definitely need to be addressed as advertisers will be skittish about having their brand shown next these types of calamities. And advertising revenue helps to make a lot of decisions online — could advertising actually have a positive effect on this topic?
