Saturday, December 4, 2010

Tom Cully's Privacy

2 days ago Tom Cully posted this status on his MySpace page:

"please do not take my pictures and videos and post them on to other websites, this is one reason i keep my privacy settings so high.” Mood: annoyed

A few of you wrote wondering what I thought about this. Thank you for your notes. I didn't answer right away, because I wanted to think about it. I don't have a MySpace page or any way to ASK Tom what he means. Only HE could really answer that. 

I don't think he is referring to photos taken while he was in Libera or while he is now working for Libera as Assistant Sound Technician. He obviously knows those pictures are being taken by fans, and he smiles and poses for them. I think he doesn't want his PRIVATE pictures taken and posted (like the ones that only his friends can see), and he doesn't want his new song videos put up on YouTube by other people.

I've seen a few people who took his MySpace profile picture and made it their avatar. He may not like that. But I think his biggest concern is videos on YT that have the actual recordings of Tom's songs, pictures (these look very private) and videos. I'm not sure what this fan's motivation is for doing this. While they ARE really good advertisements for Tom, if the real Tom wants to post stuff on YouTube, he can do it himself. I wish he would.  :)

Tom has the potential to be very successful in music, but he's still only 16. Now he has to deal with fans without the protective umbrella of Libera. And now that he's advertising himself on MySpace, it opens him up to fans more than ever. Someday he may even have the paparazzi chasing him. :) I like the way Ben Crawley handles himself. Stay warm and friendly with your fans, but keep your private stuff private. Only let your friends see your private pics, and know who your real friends are.

Tom took his songs down over a month ago saying that he's going to put out an LP in 3 months that we can buy. I hope that he is copywriting all of his songs. There ARE people who would like to steal his intellectual property and claim it as their own. And he shouldn't sign anything without a good lawyer. Think Paul McCartney.  :)

As fans, we should just keep supporting him. He's very talented and learning all he can in school. And in return we'll get to hear his new music when he puts it out. 

Update: On Dec. 5, 2010 Tom updated his MySpace status again saying, "one example of how pictures are being misused" and gives a link to a Korean blog. "Mood: angry" Well, now we know what he's talking about. Overly zealous fans have somehow gotten his private pictures (which look like pictures my friends and I put up on Facebook) and put them on a public blog. I'm very sorry about this. Hopefully these "fans" will see his message, remove his private pictures and be more careful next time about what they post.

As a fans we walk on a very fine line. I have gotten Libera pictures that I've chosen not to post. It's hard to explain. Let's just say that they were on tour but did not know their picture was being taken, so I chose not to post those. These pictures of Tom are a step beyond that. The Korean blog may not be the one that broke into his MySpace or FB (if he has one). They may have gotten them from somewhere else that also got them from somewhere else. It may be other kids at his school that are posting them. Who knows? But each of us must be careful not to spread them around and respect his privacy.

Update #2: On December 6 the Korean blog that Tom mentioned posted this message in English: "I feel deeply sorry Libera. I promise that I am going to close my blog and make an apology to all of you. Tom, One of these days I will apologise to you, Libera and all the fans of you."

I feel badly for this blogger. He/she is probably a big fan of Libera and just went too far in their enthusiasm. They may be just a kid, too. Now they know what is and is not acceptable. I'm all for learning from our mistakes and forgiving each other.

11 comments:

  1. Maybe one of the reason is because of Norman-Cully lies I think. It's a serious problem, you know.
    Act like 'real' Tom Cully and make the fans believe it.

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  2. Hmmm, yes it could be that. Tom did post about not being affiliated with a Norman. I don't know a lot about it and really don't want to get into the drama of it all. But that could be what he's talking about.

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  3. Almost anyone can enter Tom Cully's MySpace by deception. When this happens, pirating his pictures and works is easy. This is how true damage to Tom can occur, and probably has. A long time ago, I firmly cautioned Tom to copyright everything he writes, including his works-in-process, before going public with them on MySpace. But, there are those who will steal from him for their own selfish and devious reasons. For his own good, I wish Tom would keep the songs he intends to record and sell completely away from MySpace, but let us hear examples of his compositional and vocal talents with other lesser important works.

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  4. Thank you Lexi for your thoughtful comment.
    My opinion is almost exactly the same with you.
    I deleted some YT videos of Tom from my blog.

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  5. Tom - maybe he could just leave his fan covers of other people's songs up and save his own stuff for the LP.

    Teyko - very good idea. I'll do the same. :)

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  6. Tom updated another one, this time with a link.

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  7. Oh, boy. You're right. Turns out the link is to a Korean blog. :(

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  8. Aww man, i feel so sorry for him!! Poor Tom, hopefully he'll cheer up...ppl just hacking and bugging into his privacy is a big no-no, just wrong, i hate it when people do that (my friend was a youtube star and she got bothered that people kept posting her private or leaked pics on websites or other worse/unappropiate websites...and i feel Tom's pain as I did for my friend!!) And as fans we should respect him and all his rights!!!

    BTW Lexi I love your blog and your dedication to Libera, keep it up and I truly appreciate it for putting your hard work to it ^^

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  9. poor tom. i pity him. but we really have to take his privacy seriously. btw, lexi, has the package arrive yet?

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  10. I feel sorry for the Korean blogger too. I guess I could have made the same mistake as so many pictures, both private and non-private, can be found all over the web, and it can be quite hard to say when you cross the fine line of where you violate someone's privacy. I'm just glad that this blogger was a true fan and not just some evil person who doesn't care about the members of Libera's feelings.

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  11. Hi, Lee Briones! I got your message, but my mom doesn't want to give Norman any publicity by printing his full name on here. Thanks for visiting though! :D

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