I need to do this in English. Yes, I know that my English language skills are a kind of a disaster. But it’s just fair because the guy who is the reason for this post is US-American and the problem I’m talking about is an international problem. It’s about the lack of responsible behavior by people who should be more responsible than others. About the power of money. And about fu**ing never deleting (unpleasant) comments on social media platforms.
I like Instagram. Because I love great pics. Yesterday I had a post of Jordan Herschel in my newsfeed. Jordan is a „professional photographer and outdoor enthusiast based in Northern California and Nevada“ as Mashable says. And he has a popular Instagram account @jordanherschel with almost 300,000 followers. I like his great outdoor pics especially from the mountains in California. So yesterday’s pic shows a tent that was put just a footstep away from a mountain lake in John Muir Wilderness. Inside the tent somebody was using an Amazon Kindle. The pic got more than 10,000 likes because the scenery is really great. But I had an issue with it so I wrote a short comment saying that it’s not good to put a tent that close to a mountain lake because mountain lakes are really sensitive habitats. And that it’s not good to publicize pics like this because some people (also some self-appointed nature lovers) have no clue about how to camp outdoors without too much impact on nature (see Leave No Trace outdoor ethics). And additionally it’s a really bad idea if you just put the tent there to make a great pic with a lot of likes because you get paid by somebody (e.g. Amazon) to make a pic with one of their products that gets a lot of likes.
So I wrote this comment, but Jordan never answered. Oh sorry… He sort of answered, because he deleted my comment. At first I thought it was a technical problem and I commented one more time. This time I got a short answer by Jordan saying „@bjoekoe thanks for sharing!“ and a note by another Instagram user (@newyorkcity) who was asking me what my problem with Jordans pic was. So I told him/her, why I had a problem with this „great/awesome/unbelievable/so beautiful“ picture.
When I checked in at Instagram this morning, Jordan had blocked me (ok, I really don’t care about that) and had deleted my comments and answers to @newyorkcity. That is pretty uncool dear Jordan. At least he changed the text next to the picture to point out, that Amazon gave him the Kindle (for free? with extra money?) what makes it more transparent to his followers.
At the end there is one more „fun fact“ and a conclusion. The fun fact: The Instagram account @newyorkcity (1.2 million Instagram follwers!) that had asked me what my problem with Jordans picture is, is hosted by Liz Eswein. So I thought she is probably a „criminal in mind“ because she also doesn’t like Jordans picture (or at least that he has deleted my comments). But Liz Eswein is the Executive Director of 247 Laundry Service New York City, a social media agency and „global influencer network (that) creates + amplifies content for the world’s top brands“. And guess who is responsible for Jordans contacts to potential clients…
The conclusion:
1. You should never put a tent next to a lake (or river) – especially if your are up in the mountains. It’s bad for the nature. And it’s bad for your personal comfort inside the tent.
2. As Hilary from The Gription says: Do not destroy any nature just to get an awesome Instagram picture.
3. Deleting comments is fu**ing bullshit (at least as long as they are not against the right or against ethical or moral standards of our society).
4. If you are an influencer for any reason, you are more responsible for what you are doing than any other person. So take care of what you do and what you say.
5. If you are an influencer and you get paid for company messages or you get expensive gifts, just let your followers know. And don’t sell your soul for any „cooperations“ with companies. Or is your soul less worth than a cheap Amazon Kindle, Jordan?