( CNN ) -- This week , veteran Cleveland marketer Kelly Blazek learned the hard way that you should watch your words -- especially when you put them in writing -- after a nasty digital lecture she delivered to a young job seeker went viral . In her sarcasm-laden message to recent graduate Diana Mekota , who 'd asked to connect with Blazek via LinkedIn , Blazek wrote : `` Your invitation to connect is inappropriate , beneficial only to you , and tacky . Wow , I can not wait to let every 26-year-old jobseeker mine my top-tier marketing connections to help them land a job . ... You 're welcome for your humility lesson for the year . '' It was hardly a lesson learned . Mekota countered by posting Blazek 's response online asking people on Facebook , Reddit , and Imgur to `` please call this lady out . '' She then forwarded Blazek 's message to a local radio station and appeared on air to discuss . Blazek 's words were , of course , undeniably , and likely unnecessarily , harsh , especially considering Blazek has made her name as an advocate for Cleveland jobseekers , creating and updating a popular local jobs bank with some 7,300 subscribers . Last year , in fact , she was named the city 's `` Communicator of the Year . '' It 's a time when many women struggle to find mentors . In a 2011 survey of more than 1,000 working women , one out of five said they 've never had a mentor at work . And the `` queen bee syndrome '' is alive and well . Blazek might have aimed to correct what she considered Mekota 's breach of protocol with kindness rather than condescension and cruelty . Instead , she seemed to take glee in putting Mekota in her place . `` I love the sense of entitlement in your generation , '' she wrote . `` And I therefore enjoy denying your invite . '' She ended the note with `` Do n't ever write me again . '' Certainly , it 's hard not to wonder why Blazek -- a professional in a field where image matters , a lot , and an avid social marketer besides -- did n't anticipate the possibility that Mekota might share the note with others , although it turns out this was not the first time Blazek had delivered such an admonishment . But she 's hardly the only one at fault here . By herself choosing not to ignore Blazek 's words , and instead shame her for them in a most public manner , Mekota acted with malice , and caused the older woman significant damage . Blazek has since been the subject of national outrage ; many have suggested that her career is dead . In the wake of the exchange , she issued a public apology and has deleted most of the contents of her blog and shut down her social media accounts , including the Job Bank twitter that served to help thousands of people find work . No question , Blazek lashed out first , with unprofessional behavior that can only be described as bullying . An undoubtedly kinder , and wiser , alternative , of course , might have been to simply ignore Mekota 's request . But Mekota responding in kind makes her no less a bully . Perhaps it 's not surprising : Bullying is wont to breed more bullying . And social media provides the opportunity to make anything public with ease and efficacy -- a ready and willing vehicle for public shaming . But just because you can does n't mean you should . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peggy Drexler .
Job ##s receives sarcastic , mean comments from marketer and it goes viral . Peggy Drexler : Marketer was wrong but young jobseeker was wrong to post it . Drexler : Young women need help , and marketer failed to help her . Facebook : Post on social media to humiliate someone is a form of bullying .