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Who's afraid of social media?
The NFL, the Southeastern football conference, ESPN, the Marines, J. Crew. The list of companies and organizations that are banning or trying to restrict the use of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. is growing.
The latest hullabaloo involves SEC football. The SEC said it was banning ticket-bearing fans from sharing information about live games. The policy's language says a lot about the difficulty of the goal here:
"No Bearer may produce or disseminate (or aid in producing or disseminating) any material or information about the Event, including, but not limited to, any account, description, picture, video, audio, reproduction or other information concerning the Event, other than in speech that cannot be restricted under the First Amendment, in any form."
I have no idea what that means, but I'm fairly confident the Supreme Court will uphold my right to tweet "He's at the 10. He's at the 5. Touchdown!" if I so chose.
The SEC is mainly worried about fans uploading videos, but the policy went way beyond that, and it sparked a lot of anger. The SEC got the message and is said to be tweeting (I mean tweaking) the language. From today's Charlotte Observer:
"I know what's being written," said conference spokesman Charles Bloom. "The thought process is to get it loosened up a bit." Bloom expects a revision to be finished in a day or two.
The SEC is trying to protect its $3billion, 15-year contract with CBS and ESPN, which have video rights to its sporting events. A restriction on fans posting videos is "tougher to move," Bloom said. "The main concern is videos."
So, can fans post photos to Twitter and Facebook from the games? That remains to be seen, Bloom said. He indicated that fans would probably be able to tweet from the stands. But he confirmed that, under the current policy, that is forbidden.
On the pro level, the NFL doesn't have a social media policy, but it's working on one. At least two teams, the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins, have banned Twitter. From the New York Times:
Football coaches are a password-protected lot, preferring to dispense so little information that most days, they would struggle to fill 140 characters. They worry that the casual nature of Twitter could inspire the budding bloggers in their locker rooms to inadvertently disclose more than they should about injuries, game plans and what is said behind closed doors.
ESPN has a new policy too, and it's designed to control the message. From CNET:
In the memo, ESPN tells employees that it is "currently building and testing modules designed to publish Twitter and Facebook entries simultaneously" on ESPN Web sites and mobile platforms, and it plans to roll out the modules this fall.
"Personal websites and blogs that contain sports content are not permitted," according to the memo. But, it says, "If ESPN.com opts not to post sports related social media content created by ESPN talent, you are not permitted to report, speculate, discuss or give any opinions on sports related topics or personalities on your personal platforms(.)"
Of course, this issue goes beyond sports. Here's J. Crew's policy on social media:
Do not engage in blogging using any company resources.
Refrain from referencing J.Crew in any personal blogging.
Do not represent yourself as a spokesperson for the company, intentionally or unintentionally. Identifying yourself as an associate has the ability to confer "insider" status to your thoughts and opinions.
Information gained from work activities or company communications is confidential, and should be treated accordingly.
Do not defame or otherwise discredit the company, its products, services, associates, customers, and vendors.
Do not use the company's logos, trademarks, proprietary graphics or photographs.
Guess how I got a hold of this? It was leaked by an employee to a blogger.
What do you think about these policies?
Uh, unless telling me might get you fired.
Everything has the potential for use and abuse. The internet, much like sexual choices and drugs, will be used by people in whatever manner they choose. The only thing left to be seen is in what ways those with power decide to punish people when they make the choices in which the "rulers" disapprove.
You've been warned, don't be surprised when you start seeing more people arrested and imprisoned for making their opinions known via the web.
I think big business is afraid of social networks because it makes them harder to hide their "issues" when people can spread them around.
Politicians are also afraid of social networks after seeing how much money Obama raised on-line from individual doaners.
Fact is that online networking amplifies the power of many individuals over a few powerful entities. Of course they don't like it.
Yes, there's to be no blogging in corporate America, and soon no talking and no breathing.
Clearly all of these firms should follow the lead of the music publishing industry and continue to furiously direct all of their resources towards prevention and punishment. That's worked well for the studios.
I'm reminded of a quote, the source of which I can't recall: "Trying to take something off the internet is like trying to take pee out of a pool."
I think a balance must be reached between free speech and protecting proprietary information and lives.
Generations before the invention of the Internet there was a phrase that carried great meaning and a warning, "Loose lips sink ships." It is still very true today. Perhaps more so when considering the speed, reach and breadth the Internet allows information to travel.
My brother is serving in Iraq. If the enemy gained information through social networking as to where his group was, what they are doing and when, my brother's life would be put in even greater danger than it already is. Police officers, CIA, FBI, anyone who put's their lives on the line to protect us need us to protect them.
Competition improves business products and services. Many times the competitive edge is a secret. Once that secret has been tweeted the competitive edge is forever lost. This holds true for sports plays, training programs, player injuries, etc.
Discretion and good judgment are ever more important in these days of instant communication.
I think Thomas Jefferson said something to the effect "Evil prevails when good people remain silent."
You see Micheal Vick at a dog fight? Upload the video from you phone!
You witness a company illegally dumping? Tweet it!
You believe the politicians, bankers and insurance companies are running this country into the ground? Blog it!
What ever you do, try to think beyond yourself and act responsibly.
The government does not like too much free speech...
The Cops "A Virginia woman is being held in custody by police who allege that information she posted on her blog puts members of the Jefferson area drug enforcement task force at risk... All this information was publicly available, including the photograph, which Ms. Strom gleaned from municipal records."
http://tinyurl.com/kuvf3x
She is a criminal because she publishes the information about cops in an open and honest fashion. I suppose that only criminals should know where the police are and what they are doing.
"Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed into law a bill that bans all registered sex offenders from using social networks." http://tinyurl.com/mohb3m
If Marketplace has allows comments, then doesn't that make it a social network? Email and bulletin boards allow for social networks to be created. So, if this law stands, people who served their time in prison and were released since they are no longer a risk to society - otherwise they'd still be in jail right? - are cut off from the nervous system of the modern age, forever? For that matter, how would this be enforced? Sounds expensive to monitor the whole internet for culprits...
