I never thought I'd have enough to say to warrant my own little space on the KARE 11 web site.
I wanted to blog, but what would I blog about? What would people think? Can I really say what I really want to say? Well, I'm not sure I have the answers to any of those questions yet, but I am looking at this as an opportunity - an opportunity to provide more depth to the stories I cover, an opportunity to "get with" the technological program and an opportunity to vent every once in a while.
So, here's my first blog attempt.
Please, bear with me.
For the last week, I've been covering the Dominic Jones trial. He is the former University of Minnesota Gophers football player charged with sexual assault. Jones is accused of raping an 18-year-old woman last April. Prosecutors say Jones took advantage of her while she was passed out and there's a cell phone video to prove it. Jones' defense says there's nothing on that video that warrants him being found guilty of third degree sexual assault.
So here we are - Day 2 of jury deliberations.
And so we wait, while twelve of Dominic Jones' peers determine his fate.
It has certainly been an interesting trial. We've heard from the alleged victim and we've heard from Jones, who took the stand in his own defense.
And then there's the video - proof that in this day and age, you better be careful about the decisions you make. I'm not saying one way or another what I thought of seeing the video. It just got me thinking about how nothing can be deleted - ever.
Just like this blog. A million years from now, someone, somewhere, if they care, will find it. The blog will exist forever in the technological world.
It bothers me when I hear about high school kids taking "questionable" photographs of themselves and posting them on the Internet. Do they not realize that ten years from now, when they're trying to be taken seriously, maybe get a decent job, prospective employers can find those pictures? They will exist forever. Nothing can be deleted.
That's one lesson from the Dominic Jones trial. Someone tried to delete the cell phone video - but someone else, a Secret Service computer forensics expert , was able to recover it. The cell phone video that shows Dominic Jones performing a sex act on the alleged victim will never go away - not for him or for the woman.
Please - think before you hit record. You'll thank me later.