August 5, 2009
Back when I was in college and Facebook was in its infancy, I clearly remember dismissing the entire premise of social media as pointless fluff. Those of us who had actual, real-life friends didn’t need to spend countless hours compiling virtual ones. Plus I was rebellious at that age, and if you had something I didn’t, it was dumb anyway.
Fast forward about five years, and in one way or another, I can quite literally trace my entire career back to a beginning in social media.
We’re talking blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, LinkedIn-ing, IM-ing. Without these things today, I’m still struggling unsuccessfully to write an above-average novel (I always had high aspirations). But with them, I’m talking about sports for money.
And what I’ve learned along the way is that social media works because of its capacity to help its users build relationships with one another. Tools like Facebook are not soapboxes from which to vomit your corporate message. They are vehicles through which you can win friends and influence people (remember that book? He was talking about Twitter). Only through doing that can you grow your business.
The theme here is personality. And it is as necessary to your success in social media as is a computer.
Literally.
ESPN also talks about sports for money (albeit for much, much more money). ESPN also leverages social media to reach their audience and grow their business. But with their latest move, as tweeted first by anchor Ric Bucher, they may be doing more harm than good.
Yes there are liability issues with using social media, particularly for an entity as large as ESPN. But every one of them ultimately stems from poor judgment on the part of the user.
You can no more mandate good judgment on MySpace than you can in real life. Doing either requires blanket policies that do more harm than good. So if you want to avoid social media “issues,” don’t create a new policy – hire quality employees in the first place. Either way, telling your employees — who in ESPN’s case are paid for their opinions — what they can and can’t talk about in the blogosphere is removing any chance they have of success in that venue.
The name of the game is personality. In both sports and social media.
ESPN had better remember that.
REBUTTAL
ESPN released the corporate memo that prompted Bucher to tweet the tweet that caused all this hubbub. Read it and decide for yourself what to believe. Let me know what you think in the comments.
ESPN’S ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING
ESPN regards social networks such as message boards, conversation pages and other forms of social networking such as Facebook and Twitter as important new forms of content. As such, we expect to hold all talent who participate in social networking to the same standards we hold for interaction with our audiences across TV, radio and our digital platforms. This applies to all ESPN Talent, anchors, play by play, hosts, analysts, commentators, reporters and writers who participate in any form of personal social networking that contain sports related content.ESPN Digital Media is currently building and testing modules designed to publish Twitter and Facebook entries simultaneously on ESPN.com, SportsCenter.com, Page 2, ESPN Profile pages and other similar pages across our web site and mobile platforms. The plan is to fully deploy these modules this fall.
Specific Guidelines
* Personal websites and blogs that contain sports content are not permitted
* Prior to engaging in any form of social networking dealing with sports, you must receive permission from the supervisor as appointed by your department head
* ESPN.COM may choose to post sports related social media content
* 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
* The first and only priority is to serve ESPN sanctioned efforts, including sports news, information and content
* Assume at all times you are representing ESPN
* If you wouldn’t say it on the air or write it in your column, don’t tweet it
* Exercise discretion, thoughtfulness and respect for your colleagues, business associates and our fans
* Avoid discussing internal policies or detailing how a story or feature was reported, written, edited or produced and discussing stories or features in progress, those that haven’t been posted or produced, interviews you’ve conducted, or any future coverage plans.
* Steer clear of engaging in dialogue that defends your work against those who challenge it and do not engage in media criticism or disparage colleagues or competitors
* Be mindful that all posted content is subject to review in accordance with ESPN’s employee policies and editorial guidelines
* Confidential or proprietary company information or similar information of third parties who have shared such information with ESPN, should not be shared
Any violation of these guidelines could result in a range of consequences, including but not limited to suspension or dismissal.
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