Culture Shocked: Tenga Eggs.

I can’t even talk on this one. Just watch. (via YesButNoButYes)

Good Morning Forbes

So…who needs a new sofa?

Good Morning Forbes Avenue.

Culture Shocked: G.I. Joe

Every G.I. Joe character in one picture might be the greatest thing ever.  Remember, just 4 more days till that horrible movie spoils it for everyone.

Jennifer Love Hewitt. playing basketball. in a bikini

Man…I sure am glad I’m not a celebrity.  Its like people look for you and take pictures when you’re just trying to play a friendly game of basketball in a bikini with your boyfriend…right Jennifer Love Hewitt?

Staged? Don’t you dare even think like that!

all images (via Fame Pictures)

p.s. apparently the thumbnails have decided to waive “bye-bye”.  But clicking on the boxes still brings up the images.

[nggallery id=7]

The divorce video that follows that wedding video

By now, seemingly everyone on the internet has seen this video.  Never has a Chris Brown song been used in such a whimsical manner (take that Double Mint Gum commercials!).  I’m sad to report though, even after those wonderful nuptials, that 6 months later the couple got divorced.  Oh, of course we have video of the divorce!

I’m guessing it would have been inappropriate to most the honeymoon video, no?

Watch what you tweet, you might get sued.

In what will probably be the first of many, attempts at least, a Chicago resident now finds herself in a bit of trouble this week due to comments she made on Twitter.

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications.

Everybody caught up? Lets continue.  Anyway, Chicago resident, Amanda Bonnen apparently was having issues with her landlords Horizon Realty.  Feeling a bit fed up, she tweeted this to her friend…

…and here we are, one $50,000 defamation law suit later.  More info from Marian Wang (give her credit if she breaks the story first, people…)

Today, Horizon Group Management filed a lawsuit against her, alleging that her statement damaged the company’s business reputation.

According to the complaint filed in Cook County court today, Bonnen “maliciously and wrongfully published the false and defamatory Tweet on Twitter, thereby allowing the Tweet to be distributed throughout the world.”

Bonnen has 20 followers on Twitter.

The complaint in all its glory can be read here, for those of you that are in to that sort of thing (RAWR!)

So, where do we go from here? I guess to a basic definition of the tort, defamation.

Defamation requires the defendant to make a defamatory statement (something that lowers the reputation of another) and that statement has to be about the plaintiff, false, and broadcast to a third party.  In situations where the statement is about a public figure there is an additional requirement of “actual malice”; intentionally stating falsities or statements with and utter and complete reckless disregard for the truth.  Statements made about private figures or companies that are matters of public concern require that a negligence standard be met (namely that the speaker was negligent in determining whether or not the statement was true).

Is the statement defamatory? Sure. it has the potential to lower the reputation of whomever it is Ms. Bonnen was referencing.

Is the statement about the plaintiff? The plaintiff is technically Horizon Group Management, and Ms. Bonnen’s tweet referred to Horizon Realty.  Not the same, but based on the context clues (i.e. Ms. Bonnen rented an apartment from them, she previously sued mentioning a moldy apartment, etc.), I think the courts could make that connection.

Is the statement broadcast/publicized to a third party? Yes. The publication requirement for defamation suits just requires that some third party see (libel) or hear (slander) the defamatory language. This defamatory language can either be intentionally released or negligently in order to satisfy the publication requirement. Ms. Bonnen could have been sued for defamation by only having one follower, or 1 million followers; as long as the elements for defamation are met.

Is the statement false? This will obviously be one of the reasons for a trial, if they go to a trial.  In a press release after the lawsuit Horizon does mention that there was a leak in various apartments, including Ms. Bonnen’s in March of ‘09.  After inspection, Horizon themselves did not find any mold, but I’m assuming, based on Ms. Bonnen’s tweet that she feels differently.

Standard? This is at the very least, a matter of public concern, and based on the wording in Horizon’s lawsuit, they seem to be holding themselves out as public figures or a public company, meaning that the “actual malice” standard must be met.  This should also be a matter of argument should the case go to trial, because if Ms. Bonnen does have mold or believes she has mold and that Horizon had not done anything about it, she wouldn’t be intentionally stating a falsehood, nor showing a reckless disregard for the truth.

Obviously, being a completely outside party looking in, I don’t know all the details, but it seems like this lawsuit may do more to harm Horizon than help.  Even if they are able to successfully meet all of the elements of a defamation suit, and win the case in court, it is the court of public perception that is truly important.  Especially when you are in the business of renting out property to tenants.  I personally think that solving problems like Ms. Bonnen’s and having them spread positive messages by word of mouth would be more helpful than even winning this lawsuit and proving Ms. Bonnen falsely defamed the company.  You always catch more flies with honey…at least, that’s what people used to say.

The point of this whole matter though, is that its easy to not realize the power and responsibility individuals now harness due to social media and the internet.  Companies have been defamed, using much worse language, for years.  But until the advent of the internet, most of this was word of mouth, or at least not as easily disseminated to so many people, so companies either didn’t worry about it, or never knew about it.  But now, now that people have blogs, and twitter, and facebook, and followers and message boards?  People really need to be careful about what the say.  And that advice applies to the housewife in California or the Football Star in Buffalo.

…because if you aren’t careful? You just may find yourself embroiled in the middle of a $50,000 lawsuit.

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