A corollary to observations I made recently: Don't be a narcissistic twit who assumes everything other people do on the internet is CLEARLY about YOU and SOLELY about YOU. It's probably NOT.
Even if that (stupid) thing you said or did last week, last month or the last time you spoke to them is relevant to or helped inspire a thing they said recently in public, you are probably NOT the only person who ever did (stupid thing) to them. It is maybe the most recent example and made them go "Oh, THIS again. I should say/do something about that."
Even if you are mega famous and they used YOU in specific as an example in the thing they said, it's probably NOT SOLELY about YOU. And if you aren't mega famous or otherwise "matter" somehow to THEM/this situation: Don't "flatter" yourself.
Furthermore, even if they are TRYING to send YOU a message, best practice is to MAKE A MENTAL NOTE to NOT DO (stupid thing) AGAIN.
The stupid way to handle this:
Odds are good YOU are the only person or one of very few people who even remember YOU did (stupid thing) and this might be an example of what is being talked about. And if you tell other people or tweet about it and pair YOUR older thing with this new thing, now people who would have never thought "This is about that" or who had no idea at all you did (stupid thing) AT ALL will KNOW and, wow, can people be jackasses in their effort to entertain themselves while not actually caring about any of the people impacted.
IF you feel it's SUPER IMPORTANT to do some kind of damage control, imposing on the person who found you annoying to begin with is about the worst thing you can do. If it is posted someplace where you can delete it or edit it or whatever, you can try doing that.
But odds are good just leaving it alone is the best way to handle it. Deleting it may invoke The Streisand Effect and call attention to it whereas if you do NOTHING you MAY be able to feign "Oh, it NEVER crossed my mind they meant ME." while studiously trying to NEVER do (stupid thing) again if you have ANY SENSE.
Even if that (stupid) thing you said or did last week, last month or the last time you spoke to them is relevant to or helped inspire a thing they said recently in public, you are probably NOT the only person who ever did (stupid thing) to them. It is maybe the most recent example and made them go "Oh, THIS again. I should say/do something about that."
Even if you are mega famous and they used YOU in specific as an example in the thing they said, it's probably NOT SOLELY about YOU. And if you aren't mega famous or otherwise "matter" somehow to THEM/this situation: Don't "flatter" yourself.
Furthermore, even if they are TRYING to send YOU a message, best practice is to MAKE A MENTAL NOTE to NOT DO (stupid thing) AGAIN.
The stupid way to handle this:
- TELL other people "They are talking about ME there! How dare they!"
- Bug the person who did it.
- Make it into a personal beef and intentionally aggravate them so it becomes a running feud instead of an opportunity for you to learn from your mistakes and STOP doing (stupid things) on the internet.
Odds are good YOU are the only person or one of very few people who even remember YOU did (stupid thing) and this might be an example of what is being talked about. And if you tell other people or tweet about it and pair YOUR older thing with this new thing, now people who would have never thought "This is about that" or who had no idea at all you did (stupid thing) AT ALL will KNOW and, wow, can people be jackasses in their effort to entertain themselves while not actually caring about any of the people impacted.
IF you feel it's SUPER IMPORTANT to do some kind of damage control, imposing on the person who found you annoying to begin with is about the worst thing you can do. If it is posted someplace where you can delete it or edit it or whatever, you can try doing that.
But odds are good just leaving it alone is the best way to handle it. Deleting it may invoke The Streisand Effect and call attention to it whereas if you do NOTHING you MAY be able to feign "Oh, it NEVER crossed my mind they meant ME." while studiously trying to NEVER do (stupid thing) again if you have ANY SENSE.