Don’t Nod If You Can Wink

By Steve Poftak
March 10th, 2008

Martin Lomasney, an old West End political boss from Boston, is best remembered for his warning to young politicians everywhere — “Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink”. The saying is updated on his wikipedia page by none other than Eliot Spitzer — “never put it in email”.

And it bears repeating in the modern era — any communication (by law, for a public official ,and, in fact, for most of us) is potentially public, a cautionary tale for emailers and texters of all ages.

Three current news stories make these point in devastating fashion —

- Microsoft executives had their own emails (lodging personal complaints about the shortcomings of the Vista operating system) discovered and released publicly as a part of a class action suit.

- Detroit Mayor was caught perjuring himself based on a series of raunchy text messages between himself and someone who was not his wife.

- And lastly, ironically, Mr. Spitzer appears to have left an extensive trail implicating himself in a prostitution ring.