Yesterday morning, the Daily Mail published an anti-cycling rant by 'celebrity chef' James Martin. This is nothing unusual - derogatory comments about cyclists are common in the UK media and any online discussion about the article is usually over by teatime.
But this article was different. Martin admitted (or made up a story about) driving recklessly and causing an accident.
The look of sheer terror as they tottered into the hedge was the best thing I’ve ever seen in my rear-view mirror. I think this could be the car for me."
In a collision between a cyclist and a car, the consequences for the cyclist are usually severe. And as a result, nothing enrages a cyclist more than dangerous driving.
Within hours, the hard men and women of the cycling pack leaping out of the depths of Twitter and their various social networks to rip Martin to shreds in the full view of baying onlookers, inciting the masses to do all sorts of damage to Martin's online and physical brand.
These included Australian pro-cyclist Robbie McEwan (Twitter followers:25,814), the UK's largest selling cycling magazine Cycling Weekly (followers:4,486 - the magazine has a circulation of around 30,000), Tour de France fourth-placed finisher (for whom the crowds are coming out in their thousands in the current Tour of Britain) Brad Wiggins (followers:32,857) and his wife, Cath Wiggins (followers:1,820). While the more astute would point out that many of these followers would not be based in the UK (and that Robbie McEwan is Australian), this doesn't necessarily lessen the impact of the storm, since the BBC, which commissions programmes featuring Martin, sells its productions worldwide.
Quite a few things happened over the next few hours. Martin's Wikipedia page was doctored several times and has not yet quite gone back to its original state, a Facebook 'I hate James Martin' page was set up (1,320 joined the group in its first 18 hours) and the Daily Mail removed the 'comment' facility from their story.
Cyclists aren't just the inoffensive eco-warriors that Martin thought he could rile. Like everyone else, they all have multiple identities. Someone might be a cyclist but also be passionate about cars, TV, cooking, spending money ... And they also might work in the media or be famous in their own right - the sort of people that a budding TV chef with a sideline as a motoring correspondent doesn't want to upset. Coincidentally, while this story was exploding in the UK, Todd Defren wrote in his PR Squared blog :
It only took a few clicks for this story to reach a mass audience and damage Martin's personal brand. Whether this damage will be lasting is debatable. But due to the 'frictionless' nature of social media, Martin's views were circulated to people who might never read the Daily Mail but who were potential consumers of the James Martin brand. But now? They may never be.
(Incidentally, this story wasn't over by teatime. It was followed up the next day in the UK national and regional media, and even by a website in Austin, Texas. And it is still running)
