I fit nicely into #6 (before you co-workers with nudity).
Some of my Merck colleagues still believe I got fired. The truth is left on decent terms, as the relationship became uncomfortable for both employer and employee. Once my identity as YouTube fart guy was linked to Merck, it was awkward for both me and my employer.
Would they have grounds to fire me over my extracurricular activity? Of course not. In fact that would be against “freedom of speech” as I never mentioned Merck. But did I want to try climbing the latter of a conservative company where my internal brand was damaged?
Anyway, while I didn’t exactly quit nude, I love the Cracked.com piece and hope I’m remembered that way.
Tim Chantarangsu, aka TimothyDeLaGhetto2 was fired from California Pizza Kitchen for negative “tweets” about the company. His title is “Twitter Got Me Fired,” but I think publicly bashing his employer might be another way to explain it. He had previously tweeted the nickname “CaliporniaSkeetzaKitchen,” and called the new black-shirt uniforms “the lamest shit ever.” He said he’s not encouraging a boycott, but he’s invited his YouTube viewers to tweet:
@calpizzakitchen black button ups are the lamest shit ever!!! #CaliporniaSkeetzaKitchen
And it’s working (see images below from Twitter and Trendistic). California Pizza Kitchen’s Twitter account is not acknowledging the campaign. Says an article in Peopull, “TimothyDeLaGhetto makes videos that on average get hundreds of thousands of views each, and to date, he has had more than 32 million video views in total. CPK could have found alternative ways to make things right. Had they truly realized Tim’s reach, they could have encouraged future positive messages regarding their brand which would have resulted in a mutually prosperous relationship.”
He’s not the first prominent YouTuber to be fired for his online behavior. ShaneDawsonTV, one the most-subscribed YouTube creators, was fired from Jenny Craig for a video involving a dance pole last year (his sibling and mother, he says, were also terminated).
Oh, hi. Did you get here from eBaumsWorld? I’m on the homepage with this “Mall Pranks” video. I think I’d have spent more time making it if I knew it was going to keep getting views and features a year or so later. The YouTube version has almost 3 million views for reasons I can’t quite explain.
Anyway, I don’t get too bothered when someone rips my videos and submits them in their name. It’s a little annoying when they make money or don’t credit you, though. The elusive Heishi must have ripped and posted this version. She’s not responding to messages, and since her account was just created days ago it’s probably a lost cause. Still, her piracy got me some homepage coverage so I can’t complain. And the weird thing is that some people recognized me (per the comments). Who’d have thought eBaums and YouTube viewers overlap?
POSTSCRIPT (June 8, 2008): I have to give it to eBaumsWorld. When l33t Dwarf Horses got featured by someone else, they made right by it. And that dandy video did a whooping 1.5 stars out of five. Now they’ve fixed this Mall Prank attribution.
