A Public Apology
I am taking this opportunity to publicly apologize to Joselin Mane for misjudging the nature of our relationship. If that seems like an odd thing for one to need to apologize for I assure you it is not.
Joselin I am deeply sorry that I made the assumption that you and I had a relationship where we could lightheartedly joke with one another via Twitter and other social media channels. When I posted the picture of you flashing the peace sign with the caption "This is @joselinmane committing a flagrant @FourSquare foul." I did so with the belief that our interactions up to that point, which had always been friendly and filled with laughter, would allow for some fun. In fact at the very moment I made that post you and I, along with serval other people were, standing outside Starbucks in Central Square laughing after having just filmed the Four Burgers episode of NomX3. I would hope that alone would serve as evidence that I had no malicious intent to harm your public image.
I had always held you in high esteem and enjoyed seeing you at events around town. If you recall I was pleased to see you show up during the taping of the show that day and made a special point to engage you with a hearty handshake when taping had wrapped. Going back further, I have promoted you and your BostonTweetup project on Tweetworks TV (see episodes 39 and 46) freely and spoke highly of you and the effort. Again, I would hope this would be top of mind when you considered whether I was out to do your harm.
Based on your direct messages to me (listed below) after the post however, I know you believe diferently. For this misjudgement on my behalf I am truly sorry and I hope you can forgive my lapse in judgement.
Warmest,
Mike Langford
To anyone else reading this public apology, Joselin is a good man and he is working very hard. Despite the dust-up caused by my error in judgement I still wish him well and want to see him succeed. I posted this apology and the supporting material below because I owe it to Joselin.
What is Foursquare?
Foursquare is a location based, social application with a fun game compontent layered on top. Users connect with their friends and check in at locations as they go about their daily lives. Points are awarded for checking in. Add a new venue and you get extra points. Check in to a particular venue often enough and you are declared the Mayor of the venue. Then there are the badges which are awarded to users as a fun way to keep them engaged and competing with their friends. Badge names range from the PG rated Adventurer and Explorer to the more adult themed Crunked or Bender.
All in all the game is supposed to be fun. C'mon people are psyched when they unlock the Crunked badge. The lesson learned here though is, only connect with people you know well enough to share your location, share a beer and a laugh with on a regular basis.
The Post
Here is the original post typo in Joselin's name and all.
This is @joselinemane committing a flagrant @FourSquare foul.
[[posterous-content:LW3gnFImepNGzmkgaOpn]]
The Direct Messages That Followed
The lesson learned here is people see and react to things much differently than you might expect sometimes. Tread lightly. Make sure you have a good relationship with the people you are joking with. If you find that relationship isn't there as I did, beg off and give the peson his space. Life is too short for grudges. I only post these messages below to ensure there is no future misunderstandings.
- JoselinMane: As supportive as I have been to you & your brand, what U tweeted was extremely uncalled For! I will no longer support YOU!
- JoselinMane: An inside joke is an inside JOKE, Think before you tweet something out to the public timeline!
- JoselinMane: Good think I hadn't spoke to the Exemplar team about you yet.
- JoselinMane: look at what you tweeted & how it makes me look, why would I joke about my public image?
Again, I like Joselin and assumed he was joking because I had never seem him without a smile on his face. I hope the next time we see each other the smile is back.
