Note to Best Buy employees: Don't post humorous technology videos to the Internet, even if they don't mention Best Buy, because they could land you a pink slip.
Showing a complete disregard for the Streisand Effect (where attempts to silence information only brings it more prominence), Best Buy has reportedly fired an employee over a pair of videos that mock Android and iPhone devotees. The first video shows one cartoon animal pleading desperately for an iPhone 4, ignoring the supposedly superior features of Sprint's HTC Evo 4G. A follow-up shows an Apple Store employee taking a customer to task over the Evo 4G's glitches, bugs and hostile set-up process. Both videos are Not Safe For Work due to harsh language.
When Best Buy got wind of the videos, they suspended 25 year-old Brian Maupin of Kansas City, Miss., and submitted his termination to human resources for approval, TechCrunch reports. They felt it disparaged a brand they carried (iPhone/Apple) as well as the store itself and were fearful of stockholders & customers being turned off to Best Buy Mobile," Maupin said, according to TechCrunch.
This is despite the fact that neither video mentions Best Buy at all. A generic "Phone Mart" is mentioned in the first video, while the second takes place at a fictional Apple Store. Best Buy likely made the connection due to some other videos Maupin created with his friends, which did mention Best Buy, but taking those videos down wasn't enough. When Maupin refused to remove the other videos, which at present have received a combined 2 million views, Best Buy started the firing process.
There's not much I can say that isn't completely obvious. Best Buy will gain nothing from this -- its reputation can only be hurt by the fallout -- while Maupin says he'll take this opportunity to launch the graphic design career he's always wanted. So all's well that ends well. It's just too bad Best Buy can't lighten up and laugh at the crazy culture of tech enthusiasts.
