Time was, being branded as an outlaw was a desirable thing. True American icons like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson made a living from the label.
In today's social media culture, participants are quick to jump
Evan Williams and company have taken the Marshal Dillon approach, riding heard on Twitter Spammers like the Dodge City of old. But it's not the heroics of their capture that intrigues me, it's the message they leave behind that is branding outlaw users for life.
The Twitter Suspend Owl.
He stares deep into your soul with those steely eyes as if to say, "WTF?" You know for certain that the Twitter account behind the outlaw brand is up to no good, or as twitter puts it,"strange activity".
Marshal Williams dismisses onlookers with John Wayne like swagger, "Mosey along now, nothing to see here." The Twitter Suspend Blog reads like a declaration of bad behavior. It's claim as to why this user has been branded an outlaw and a warrant for their removal. Despite the bad behavior associated with the Suspend Owl, he's quickly becoming the symbol of the modern day outlaw.
How long will Williams and company be able to hold off these thieves of the social media spirit? With the help of citizen deputies like you and me, surely we put the hurtin' on the Outlaw 2.0.
Follow me and my posse - @pitchengine and keep riding for the social media brand. Share this post via shortened url: http://bit.ly/Mc1N
