Doing social media for an alcohol company poses risks that you don’t have with other organizations. This summer I interned for a winery where I created and managed different social media platforms, as well as poured in the tasting room. I loved my job and sometimes got a little carried away online.

 The mistake I made: Not implementing a social media policy.

It was a slow day in the tasting room. Ipad in hand, I decided to do a give-a-away. The first person to mention this post would receive a FREE bottle. I was hesitant to hit enter. As Kelli would say, “When it gives you pause…pause”. I pushed enter anyway. Five minutes later, I got a phone call from my boss telling me to delete the post. Apparently giving away alcohol is illegal.  I knew I couldn’t delete it without explanation. This is where I wish I would have had a policy to reference. I wrote a post saying, I could not give away a free bottle, but one for 50% off. How would you have handled my situation?

To help the groundswell support itself it is extremely important for your company to adapt a social media policy. A social media policy is there to help guide your employees through using social media, especially during ethical situations. The first step in developing this policy is to ask:

 What kind of organization do we want to be? Start at looking at examples of companies that you think do a great job of managing their social media. For example, Yellow Tail does a great job of responding to their customers. Common concerns when using social media for your business is the time commitment you have to put into it, the loss of control and information overload. A social media policy can help address these issues. Thanks to Kelli, we have some best practices for your social media policy. It should be:

Built on trust, practical, designed to educate, without absolutes, in plain language, friendly, consistent, prepared for mistakes, clear about due process and it should include more Do’s than Don’ts. You always need to be responsible for what you write and a good social media manager should be thoughtful while also thinking strategically. On top of these guidelines, when working for an alcohol company you need to think about certain legal issues that could arise and address them in your policy.

By: Michael Lilly Twitter: @MikeLilly1

After examining multiple companies, looking at their core values, and seeing how hard they train their employees to respect these values in a professional manner, I can’t help but notice how much disrespect and distaste plagues the average social media user.

One of the most important aspects of a social media policy that companies strive to perfect is their professional policies.  According to Kelli Matthew’s lecture, this is what you should do:  “Be authentic.  Be transparent.  Be responsible. Be careful.  Act ethically.”   These are some of the many things that companies drum into their employees to avoid major catastrophe.  What you typically see is that their professional policy aligns with the values of their company and helps promote brand image.

However, what happens when you take away the company and the employee?  Should these values still apply to the individual social media observer or creator? YES!

Let’s analyze the professional values from an individual perspective. First, I am going to lump, “Be Smart. Be respectful.  Be Human.  Be authentic” into one category.  You don’t have to look very hard to find people violating this professional criteria.  For instance, here is Youtube’s most populous video Justin Bieber’s Baby ft. Ludacris.  If you ignore the video and scroll down through the first few pages of comments, you can find people posting disrespectful, unauthentic, and unintelligent posts.

The next two criteria, “Be Transparent.  Be careful [of what you post]” are two things that the individual often ignores.  For instance, maybe you do not work on the development of a social media policy for a Fortune 500 company, but are a school teacher that poorly represents themselves on social networks.  Where as a company is concerned with how people view their values, a student is concerned with how a teacher prepares them for life; and they arguably should be the most professional individuals out of all of us.  That’s why the individual still has to be professional and if you are not, you will get caught.

Major companies today have large teams devoted to the professional, and the ethically correct assembly of social media policies that allow you and I to connect with these companies on an individual level.  Companies assume a huge risk by creating these social media policies that can be damaged by individuals like us who have the ability to act unprofessional.  Do the right thing.  Emulate the level of professionalism that major companies try so hard to create.  In the end, you better serve the company, but you also represent yourself in a positive light.

We’re off to the right start by educating children in school about the professional and responsible use of social media:

Twitter and Lecture Assessment

On Wednesday’s lecture (February 1) we continued our discussion of social media policies that are utilized by large corporations. This includes how organizations should train employees on proper uses of social media when representing the company. Criteria were given for a successful corporate media social policy. Specific cases of corporate policy error were also highlighted.

Tips for writing an effective social media policy:

• A policy should be aspirational. How does your company want to grow in the future?
• Key values of an organization should be included.
• Policies should provide a way to educate employees about social media, and then management should trust their company to use the tools without direct supervision.
• What is the purpose of the policy? This should be defined.
• Make it about the do, not the don’t. Frame the policy guidelines in the positive.
• Encourage employees to be authentic, exercise good judgement and understand their audience.

Examples of strong social media policy:

• Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s Code of Ethics: http://womma.org/ethics/code/
• American Marketing Association’s Statement of Ethics: http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/Statement%20of%20Ethics.aspx
• Google’s Core Values: http://www.google.com/about/company/tenthings.html

Examples of social media policy error:

• Wall Street Journal’s Social Media Policy: http://mashable.com/2009/05/14/wsj-social-media-policy/
• Common Wealth Bank’s Social Media Policy: http://thefinancialbrand.com/16718/commonwealth-bank-social-media-policy/
• SEC Media Policy: http://mashable.com/2009/08/17/sec-new-media-policy/

This class there was a noticeable increase in active Twitter conversations happening between students. Interestingly enough, the big news about Facebook filing its IPO broke during class. This created a side conversation during the lecture about the price and Mark Zuckerberg’s comments about the company going public. Here are some highlights from the many #J412ssm tweets:

@plandsem Sounds like a no-brainer, but a good reminder for corporate & personal SoMe use: What value are you adding to the conversation? #J412ssm

@isabellebee “If it gives you pause…pause rather than publish.” – Intel Social Media Guidelines intel.com/content/www/us… #J412ssm

@MaxSeely Does anybody want to buy Facebook? It’ll only cost you $5 Billion…Facebook files for highly anticipated IPO dthin.gs/AEWoJR #j412ssm

@jesse_manzo My basic life motto: “Exercise Good Judgement” I should be a CEO #J412ssm

@MitchEarnshaw Make social media policies about the Do’s and not the Don’ts #J412ssm

@AshleyPeabody2 Google’s primary value: “Don’t be evil.” Why don’t more corporations include this in their online policies? #J412ssm

Here’s a link to the transcript of the full conversation: http://searchhash.com/index.php?q=%23j412ssm&start=2%2F1%2F2012&end=2%2F1%2F2012

@AshleyPeabody2

In this week’s lectures, we discussed the ethical standards that corporations should establish and maintain when using Social Media. It’s important for corporations to have a clear, well-thought out social media policy that is easily understood both by its customers and its employees. So it comes as no surprise that when Google changed its Privacy Policies late last week, it started a wave of concern for users.

To be fair, Google could have easily kept silent on the changes it made to its policies but it wanted to remain true to one of its core values: “Don’t be evil.” The company released a statement informing users that Google policy changes were now going to release users’ personal information across 60 of its Web services such as Gmail, Google Books, and Google Chrome. Any user with a Google account which is necessary when signing in to other websites like YouTube, must agree to these policies or simply delete all personal Google accounts.

These drastic changes prompted most to applaud Google’s decision to release its policy changes to the public rather than keep them hidden but also left many questioning just how much personal information would be released in to the infinite vastness of the web. On the one hand, I feel we must applaud Google for its use of transparency and staying at least partially true to its ethics and values. By informing its users of the changes, it honored its relationship with users as well as giving them the opportunity to cease and desist all Google accounts that fell under the new policies.

The big questions are: Is Google well within the ethical boundaries of organizations’ use of Social Media and the way they handle users’ private information? Or does the fact that Google has given users an ultimatum to either accept the new policies or leave services provided by one of the biggest search engines seal Google’s fate as an unethical organization? Your thoughts?

Check out this video presented by Ron Charles which highlights Google’s policy changes and how certain users feel about the changes.

Google’s Policy Changes

By: Jesse T. Manzo

When it comes to managing a Twitter page for an iconic athlete, use LaMichael James for example, it is imperative to make sure what is being said is factual and not an assumption or rumor. It is part of the person in charge of the account who is responsible to make sure to manage the risks and responsibilities associated with that athlete and avoid any negative press or association.

Is it always easy to spot which Twitter accounts are real and which are fake? Not always. Viewers can be fooled by false accounts because there are so many of them on accessible to the public, that it is at times hard to tell which is real and which is an artificial account judging by first glance.  It is then, either the athlete’s or their publicist’s responsibility to make sure to manage the risks and responsibilities effectively. When looking at a fake twitter for LaMichael you can tell that this one is a fan-made page.

Dealing with these kinds of risks associated with artificial accounts, it is important in today’s society to create a positive reputation for yourself and to ensure that people who make false pages, like these, are not posting controversial  or negative material.  It is also important for the athlete to  acknowledge whether their Tweets come authentically from them or through another party, as in their publicist.  To prevent Twitter users from interpreting false accounts to be linked to the authentic celebrity or athlete in question, Twitter created a system which is intended to verify which accounts are owned and managed by the celebrity.

Although, not all official accounts are made valid with the “blue check mark” next to the name using the “Verified” system, these pages are still valid and managed by those who own the account. In terms of public relations, you have to make sure you are publicizing accurate and factual information to diminish any negative press or association to the player.

LaMichael James Highlight Video

Risks and Responsibilities: Don’t Jump in Without a Life Raft

by Hannah Longo, Laura Thompson and Anthony Buckles

Monday, January 30, was all about the risks and responsibilities of social media that must be considered within an organization. As we know, social media is inescapable in this day and age, making it imperative for companies to fully submerse themselves in.

Although companies understand the need to have an online presence, many are still skeptical and hesitant to dive in. Common concerns and questions include:

• Time commitment
  • What kind of resources do we need?
• Information overload
  • How can we manage all that information?
• Unofficial accounts
• Loss of Control
  • What if people don’t like us?
  • Can I trust my employees to be appropriate?
• Policies
• Code of Ethics
• Terms & Conditions

There isn’t one specific way to answer these questions and concerns, but having a social media policy that best fits your company is a sure way to manage the risks and responsibilities that come with being an active participant in social media.

Even though policies are great management tools, issues can still arise when a company is using social media. It’s important to have a plan and know how or if your organization is going to respond when things like unofficial accounts pop up. Examples of such instances include: the unofficial accounts of BP Oil Global PR and the Bronx Zoo’s Cobra.

The best kind of policy to have is a light, flexible approval process—this creates opportunities for engagement. Educate, conversate and then trust the people within your company to ensure social media is being used professionally and wisely. As a company, rate your company on these three questions on a scale from 1-5 (5 being the highest of importance, and 1 being the lowest of importance):

1. How important is autonomy among your firm’s values?
2. How important is innovation among you firm’s values?
3. To what degree does your culture demonstrate trust in, and respect of, employee judgment?

If a company finds that they rank themselves highly the company should implement a lightweight policy; if the company has a medium rank, a medium weight policy should be implemented—this is a little more restrictive than a lightweight policy but still has a lot of room for change); and lastly, if a company ranks low, a restrictive policy is implemented. Restrictive policies are not encouraged and most of the participants of the twitter conversation agree that there should be more DOs than DON’Ts.

Check out the full twitter conversation here: http://chirpstory.com/li/4057

Melodie Seble

Twitter: @Melodie_

Let’s consider a situation where a company bans its employees from expressing opinions or sharing information online about their work. This could be a decision based on sensitive information, as previously seen in the U.S. Marine Corps, or simply due to concerns about employees posting unflattering or critical statements online.

It is true that a single tweet, blog post or status update about the employer or brand could potentially derail the goodwill the public feels toward an organization, but is it necessary to ban workers from talking about their organization?

I would argue that, in many situations, a worker participating in an online conversation about their employer would be an opportunity for the brand to grow and become more influential in an online setting.

Everyone has an equal chance to be influential in social media. This means an average employee, when interacting with peers online, could be seen as a trusted brand ambassador. This could be a great benefit, because it gives the public many more chances to interact with the company and gain information.

In fact, the “average” workers in the company may be even more influential than a CEO or communications director, because they are normal people and their opinions may be more trusted by the public.

However, it also means that more people are sharing their opinions, which are not always complimentary.

This is when the company needs to make a decision about its employees’ social media use and company-wide policies regarding that use. The following steps provide a general guide for the decision-making process and implementation of a social media policy:

1. Determine whether it is necessary to limit employee use of social media to talk about the organization. Is the industry sensitive in terms of privacy? Does employee freedom outweigh privacy concerns? Would it be beneficial to have employees interacting with potential customers in an online setting?

2. Make a set of guidelines regarding employee social media use. These should involve ethical considerations such as transparency, authenticity of information and honesty of opinion.

3. Ensure that employees know the rules. An excellent example of this step is the Victoria, Australia Department of Justice social media policy video. Check it out here!

4. Have a strategy in place to handle a difficult situation, in case a disgruntled employee defies the rules.

With the increased prevalence of social media, it is almost inevitable that organizations will have to deal with employees posting work-related information online. Where is the line between freedom and security? Is social media use by employees a threat or an opportunity? What do you think about these issues?

In a world driven by technology, business and corporations alike are finding each and every way possible to stay connected with the consumer world. With the likes of Twitter and Facebook being adopted by business worldwide, companies are able to connect with the every day customer on a much more personal level than in years past. Receiving positive or negative feedback has never been easier, making the voices of consumers more prevalent to a business’s success day in and day out. Although the benefits of embracing social media has its many upsides, it can also be the death of a business’s image in a matter of minutes. Just ask Papa John’s pizza corporation and their recent social media blowup.

There will always be some inherent risks of engaging in social media even on a personal level. You are allowing your image and reputation to be at the mercy of any individual who might find your web page. This is what a major corporation faces on a much larger scale on a day to day basis. The risks of having a social media account are numerous and never ending. By engaging in social media, corporations are playing with fire and although the benefits  are great from a PR standpoint they can also be someone’s worse nightmare. For instance, the perpetuation of business scandals and corporate greed that was unveiled thanks to social media juggernaut Wikileaks.

In early January of last year, Julian Assange, the founder of the Wikileaks organization, vowed to take down a major American bank, which was later revealed as Bank of America. He would do this through the use of social media and creating an internet firestorm. The ramifications of his actions, if completed, would not only have any effect on America’s economic system alone, but on a world wide scale. Assange’s main motor for relaying his information; social media.

The weight that social media carries within our society has reached unfathomable heights sense its creation back in the early 2000s. The power that goes hand in hand with embracing social media could possibly be the next best thing for small business perpetuating themselves to the next level of success. However,  with great power comes great responsibility and if a business plans to embark down that road, a picture perfect social media policy is essential to keeping a scot free image.

Written By : Anthony Buckles

@mika2512

January 28, 2012

Ethic is a controversial topic that people have been dealing with in everyday life. The world of social media is not an exceptional.

According to the class lecture, Ethics are defined as followed:

• Value system by which a person determines what is right or wrong, fair or unfair, just of unjust.
• A system of moral principles or values; the rules or standards governing the conduct of the members of a profession.
• Beliefs about right and wrong that guide the way we think and act.
• The study of how people act or should act in regard to one another and to other subjects of moral worth.

Also, according to WOMMA, word of mouth marketing association, the three honesties that they believe are:

1. Honesty of Relationship: You say who you are speaking for
2. Honesty of Opinion: You say what you believe
3. Honesty of Identity: You will never lie about who you are

Ghost blogging and astroturfing are two of the major unethical activities in the world of social media. Ghost blogging is an action of writing a blog under a fake name. Astroturfing is an action of writing a fake reviews online. Both of them are against those honesties above; Ghost bloggers are lying about who they are, and astroturfers do not say what they believe.

Such unethical actions are happening not only in the U.S. but also in every part of the world where social media is becoming more and more influential. For example, in Japan, astroturfing is becoming a business. According to the article from the Mainichi Daily News, certain companies are calling themselves “information technology firms” or “investment advisory businesses” and are giving an offer to restaurants to manipulate the rankings on the famous food review website “Tabelog.” Those companies change the rating and add comments in favor of those restaurants that paid a reward. Since over 32 million visitors rely on and believe in the rankings on the website every month, it is easy to estimate how great the influences are.

What do you think about the ethical responsibility that those companies have? How about the responsibility that Kakaku.com Inc., which manages Tabelog, has? Do you think simply putting a warning on the website is doing enough duty against the customers?

January 27, 2012

EUGENE, Ore. – Social media is infamous for spreading false information. These rumors spread instantaneously from a single false report, thanks to a widely used tool in social media, Twitter.

Last weekend, Oregon Duck fans received some unsettling news on their Twitter feeds. Reportedly, Chip Kelly left the Oregon Ducks to coach for the Buccaneers, an NFL team. This rumor began from a single source. Adam Jude, of the Register-Guard posted an article stating the done deal. This article ran around Eugene and out into the world like wild fire. When a local media source makes firm assumptions, (that sound like statements), rumors begin to spread.

As Journalism students, we are lectured to find stories first and report them quickly.  When hard hitting news enters the realm of social media, it tends to explode without a question.

However, when rumors are proven wrong, who is held accountable for the faulty information? Are journalists who spread the story, from whom they think is a reliable source at fault? Or must we blame the root of the rumor for jumping to conclusions?

Carole Wurzelbacher of the Editors Web Blog, questions Twitter’s threat towards journalism ethics, “Clearly, with Twitter journalists skip the step of going through an editor, meaning one mistake in a tweet could lead to widespread miscommunication of the news.”

The Chip Kelly rumor spread from a reliable source onto the Twitter platform. After the rumor leaves its original source, it spreads to their followers, and from there, the rumor explodes. All the retweeting, replying and rephrasing allows a rumor to live. Reporting false information because of a lack of research triggers a rippling effect throughout all news platforms.

“While the news source could be a valuable tool to correct the long standing problems of journalism, it could also compromise the ethics of journalism and be the medium in which false news stories become viral information,” says Wurzelbacher.

It is a righteous argument to say, it is only human nature to not question every statement a source reports. If a reliable colleague or outlet shares information, it is natural for one to believe them. If each journalist were to investigate every piece of information they pass along, it would be impossible for a story to spread quickly. On the other hand, accuracy is sometimes more important than time.

As a journalist, which would you sacrifice, time or accuracy?

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