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N O V E M B E R 13 - 19 , 2 017 |
CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
Opinion From the Editor
Think before you tweet
Editorial
Four for four Regardless of what you think of the job Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has done in his nearly 12 years in office, respect is due for what he pulled off last week: winning the support of voters for an unprecedented fourth term, and doing it convincingly. Jackson took 59% of the vote in his race against Zack Reed, a longtime councilman from the city’s southeast side who ran an energetic campaign but was unable to erase doubts about his leadership capabilities. In his four successful bids for mayor, Jackson has never received less than 55% of the vote. In other words, he has won four landslides. That’s especially impressive given the economically turbulent times in which Jackson has served, and that he can’t rely on a dazzling personality to attract votes. Those who cast ballots for the mayor in 2017 — and 2013, and 2009, and 2005 — chose substance over style. Veteran mayors in Beachwood, Brook Park and University Heights all lost last week, so it’s hardly a given that experience will be rewarded. Jackson earned his place in Cleveland political history by offering stable leadership and careful fiscal management. We endorsed Jackson on this page on Oct. 23, so we’re pleased with the outcome. But given that in January the 71-yearold Jackson will enter what is likely to be his final term in office, we implore the mayor to avoid complacency and act with vigor in addressing the city’s problems, and we hope that a city council with as many as five new members is an aggressive partner in doing so. It would help, too, if Jackson made a serious effort to groom a viable successor to present to voters in 2021. After his election last Tuesday evening, Jackson sent the right signals. “People are suffering in many respects ... and they want bureaucracy to respond quicker to their needs,” he said. At another point, Jackson noted, “It’s our responsibility to relieve (residents’) pain and suffering and to create an environment where they and their families can have prosperity and quality of life and just plain peace. The work is not done.”
Indeed, it’s not. Some city neighborhoods, especially on the West Side, are doing well economically, but others have seen little improvement. Jackson earlier this year announced the $65 million Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, a public/private partnership to bolster development throughout the city, and its efficient implementation must be a top priority for 2018. Equally high on the agenda: careful oversight of money raised from an income tax hike voters approved in November 2016 that will bolster city services and pay for additional police reforms. Reed’s campaign gained its limited traction by calling attention to the way crime reduces both the quality of life and economic opportunity in the city. Away from the heat of yet another election, we trust Jackson will, as he has done for the last 12 years, continue to work methodically to make Cleveland a better place for all its residents.
A prudent delay
It’s never pleasant to watch the sausage being made in Washington, D.C., but we were encouraged by some developments last week as the Republicans tackle tax reform. The Washington Post reported that the Senate GOP tax plan would propose delaying until 2019 a cut in the corporate tax rate to 20% from 35%, a departure from President Donald Trump’s stated desire for the change to take effect immediately. Delaying the corporate rate cut could lower the tax plan’s cost by more than $100 billion, a significant figure, since House and Senate Republicans must keep the keep the cost of their plans within a $1.5 trillion limit set by the parameters of budget reconciliation. If the delay and subsequent savings offers a greater opportunity to shift tax reform more in the direction of the middle class, and to preserve the Federal Historic Tax Credit program and other policies that aid development in cities, it’s a move in the right direction.
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Last week, Twitter rolled out its expanded character limit. No longer must users restrain themselves to 140 characters. Their thumbs are now free to tap out 280 characters about the weather, today’s lunch plans or how the Cavs are going to work out their rotation problems and get back on the winning track. Reaction to the change, predictably, has been mixed. Some (likely the kind who keep talking even when the elevator door opens and it’s your floor) embraced the extra space, while others longed for the efficiency of the 140-character limit. Twitter offers reassurance that once the novelty wears off, most users will return to their normal tweeting habits. Twitter product manager Aliza Rosen wrote in a blog post that in the initial test of the expansion, Elizabeth only 5% of tweets were longer than 140 charMcIntyre acters, and just 2% were over 190 characters. I’m seeing a lot more than that, and I’m hoping this temporary infatuation lifts soon. My feed filled up with folks experimenting with extra spacing, quoting novels and repeating words. It clogged my timeline and rendered Twitter far less useful. The wonder of Twitter is its brevity. How many times have you been on a call with a salesperson or a client and thought, “Please, can you just get to the point?” If only there was a character limit for phone calls, or for marathon meetings in the conference room. It’s not just about brevity for the sake of efficiency, though. More words means more chances for users of social media to use the platform inappropriately, and that can lead to all kinds of trouble at work. Twitter’s change is a good time to remind users of all kinds of social media that with freedom comes responsibility. Just because you can expand your thoughts doesn’t mean you should. That extra space on Twitter just might be just enough rope to figuratively hang yourself professionally. What you post reflects not only on you, but potentially your employer. And once it’s out there, you can’t ever really make it go away. Most companies these days have social media policies or guidelines. They shouldn’t be treated as afterthoughts by employees. Read them closely. Yes, you have a right to your individuality and to use social media. But you may not have the right to keep your job while saying or doing whatever you like in such a public forum. The internet is full of stories of famous and not-so-famous people who have been suspended or lost their jobs or reputations for posting inappropriately on social media. Take the recent case of Juli Briskman. The Virginia woman was fired last month after posting on Twitter and Facebook a photograph of herself giving the middle finger to President Donald Trump’s motorcade during a Saturday bike ride. The photo, snapped by a press photographer, went viral. When Briskman returned to work, she informed human resources that she was the cyclist in the photo. The next day, Briskman was fired. Not necessarily for her “salute” of the president’s motorcade, but because she had used the photo as her profile picture on Facebook and Twitter. It was, her employer said, a violation of the private company’s social media policy regarding obscenity. Being Virginia is an employment-at-will state, meaning an employee can be dismissed for any reason, Briskman doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on. But it doesn’t have to be a viral media sensation. Using your 280 characters to blast your boss, trash your coworker or share unenlightened opinions isn’t just bad for your career, it’s bad for your personal brand. Here’s an old saying, updated for today’s age, that might help: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to post and to remove all doubt.”
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