Sep 8

Written by:
08 September 2011 00:00 

We've written before about our work for colourful character the Purpleman of York. Recently Purpleman has been the centre of some regional media attention after first the threat of and subsequent carrying out of an attack on him as he performed in York.

New Tools, New Bullies
Seemingly on the back of the recent unrest/rioting in the UK, an individual started a Facebook page:

"... entitled “Using-riots-as-an-excuse-2-push-tht-****in-purple-man-off-his-bike-in-York,’ which by yesterday afternoon was “liked” by more than 400 people."
via: http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9194402.Violence_threat_to_York_street_performer

This was followed by threats and taunts as Purpleman performed in the streets and later an actual attack on Saturday 13th August where he was dragged off his bike.

Storifying the Story!
The story was picked up by various local and regional media including press, radio and TV. We've created a Storify page collecting media pages of the incident and its aftermath. Reading through it's interesting to see the story unfold and the reactions to it. 
(Storify allows you to tag and collect web materials and pull them into a timeline in order to tell a story of an event - it's free to use - have a try!)

Support and Goodwill
Following the attack and the media attention Purpleman received hundreds of messages of goodwill and support from his followers on Facebook and Twitter and via his web site.
We would like to add our own message of goodwill and support for Purpleman's courage and resilience in the face of some cowardly bullying.

Effects of Scoial Media - A Printing Press for All
Recent years have seen the impact of the internet and Social Media on national and global events (e.g. UK Riots, Wikileaks, Arab Spring, Trafigura) with plenty of opinions on the real and perceived level of that impact. This incident with Purpleman shows that what happens at the national or global level can also apply to the local and regional.

In business too we can see that a flavour of what works for the big brands can also apply to local businesses - with the ability of small, local suppliers and service providers to interact directly with their customers and prospects - and in some cases to reach a global market via their online presence (see article: Moto Connection Worldwide).

We're passionate about helping businesses and entrepreneurs achieve their goals through the use of Internet technologies and methods. Today's technologies are affordable and can be an effective way to disrupt existing business models and allow new, smarter players to emerge.

The Internet, and social media are tools... as the experience of Purpleman shows they can be used for good or ill... or indeed both.