I recently read one of those thought provoking articles that are so good at hitting that special subliminal sweet spot that is responsible for opening the floodgates to intuition and your creative aha moments.

The article is titled “The Selfie Video That Changed the World” written by Shelly Palmer, the well-known guru of technology and digital media.

The article is about the young woman who started a Facebook live stream on her phone, in her car, while her boyfriend lay dying at the hands of a police officer. The world saw how pitiful she was and she notoriously died while the phone broadcast it live for the world to see.

I am sorry for your loss. I feel sorry for her boyfriend and yes, I feel sorry for the policeman.

The article is not just about that. It’s about Facebook and its new live streaming option.

With that said:

This is not a political article.

This article will serve as a warning to the world that the fourth horseman of the apocalypse has arrived.

You had social media, cameras on your phone, video on your phone, and now you have live broadcasts, via Facebook, on your phone.

There’s no place to run, there’s no place to hide.

“All significant truths are private truths. As they become public they cease to be true; they become facts, or at best, part of the public character; or at worst, slogans”. T. S. Eliot

Very dangerous and foggy times. The button is pressed 15 minutes after a particular, possibly incendiary, situation begins, and then the live broadcast begins.

Is this new version of lie by omission the new truth?

We may never get “the whole truth and nothing but the truth” ever again.

What is the problem?

The difference between live streams vs. recorded streams is that with recorded streams:

1 – you can always go back and study the recording and

2 – with cameras on buildings, light poles and in the hands of other people, you can have the opportunity to see a situation from all angles, and even get to the truth of the situation and not just someone’s biased “truth” .

Even if someone wants to edit it, they may be able to get it from other sources.

You have options. These are the operative words: You have options.

With live broadcasts: you only have one choice and you only have a fleeting moment to absorb the “truth” and sadly the biased mind’s eye sees what it wants to see. There is no way back.

You have no options. These are the operative words: You have no options.

That’s the “street” side. What about the business and personal side of it?

My suggestions, and I know I’ll get flak for this:

a – Do not allow cell phones at any meeting you attend. Because?

An example, just one: Secretly live streaming to someone outside of the meeting could lead to texting the opposing team that has information that creates an unfair advantage for them and works against them.

Live streaming is riddled with manipulative and deceitful genes, and it’s your responsibility to meet with everyone within your limits and borders to devise new rules of engagement to deal with the “The four horsemen of the apocalypse”.

b – All cell phones must be checked and turned off at your workplace. The company has phones. The time has come, and now more than ever, to consider the smartphone as a frenemy and a little too smart for his own good.

c – Video, images and now live streaming. Protect your home and protect your business. My mother always insisted that she wear clean underwear. His explanation: You never know. I’m telling you now: always assume there’s a camera on you and behave accordingly. you never know. Again, now more than ever.

A good dose of paranoia as a preventative measure will go a long way in protecting your life and livelihood. It is no longer an option. It is your fiduciary responsibility to implement and explain the necessary increased precautions to those in your community to support success and beyond.

Do it now… Be proactive. Tomorrow brings many more challenges.

Good luck out there.