There was a time when an embarrassing moment in life was merely
something that tarnished your reputation among some friends, and cost
you a few others. These days, you have to be sure no one has a camera
around. Thanks to websites such as YouTube and eBaum's World, any
social faux pas can be instantly shared with millions of sarcastic
bloggers online, who are all anxious for their next target of ridicule.
With all the alcohol and digital cameras floating around university
campuses these days, it is important to keep the following cautionary
tales in mind:
THE STAR WARS KID In 2002, a boy made a video of
himself wielding a golf ball retriever like a light saber. It was a
private video made for fun, but when some malicious classmates posted
it online, the clip became the first viral-video phenomenon. The video
is estimated to have been downloaded over 900 million times and has
been parodied on a variety of television shows including Arrested
Development. The boy was forced to drop out of school due to constant
persecution and later sued the students responsible. Even more
tragically, George Lucas never cast him in any of the prequels.
THE PARIS HILTON SEX TAPE There is a reason Paris Hilton is famous and it isn't the result of her family tree or The Simple Life.
IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING Last October, Aleksey Vayner – a
student from Yale – included a video portion to his resumé when
applying for a few investment-banking positions. Vayner's video
outlined his philosophy for success and showcased how he applied it to
weightlifting, tennis, ballroom dancing and karate. The clip was
heartfelt, but also pretentious, absurd and unintentionally hilarious.
The resumé was posted online, became a huge hit with webheads and was
even parodied by Michael Cera. Vayner, meanwhile, was humiliated,
rejected and had all of his references demand to be removed from his
resumé because of constant harassment.
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE FOOTBALL RIOT Last year,
overwhelmed police officers were only able to arrest two students after
a post-game riot at Pennsylvania State and there was concern that no
one else would be prosecuted. That is until the authorities discovered
the subtly titled Facebook group “I Rushed The Field After The OSU Game
(And Lived!).”
AFRONINJA Mark A. Hicks was a successful stuntman
working in Los Angeles with over 40 film credits and 60 commercials to
his name. Then one day he failed to land a back flip while recording a
video audition. He was not seriously hurt and landed the flip on the
next take, but the footage of his fall was soon discovered and posted
on YouTube under the title Afroninja. The clip was quickly passed
around the net and featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Once he
was recognized, Hicks' stunt career was ruined. He has recently
regained some credibility by recreating the botched stunt for an HP
commercial, but sadly it was not enough to get him hired as Chris
Tucker's stunt double on Rush Hour 3 after fulfilling the role on the
first two entries. Actually... that might have been a good thing.
THE MICHAEL RICHARDS TAPE One day Michael Richards was
one of the most beloved American comedians for his immortal
performances as Kramer on Seinfeld. The next day he was the country's
most infamous racist. All thanks to two and a half minutes of footage
captured on a cellphone camera and shared with the world.