Last Friday I watched a webcast from the University of Florida sponsored by The Levin College of Law and University of Florida Strategic Communications Planning Committee called Social Media: Promises, Pitfalls & Perils. In addition to watching the webcast, I participated on an impromptu backchannel. (here is a copy of the transcript from the backchannel.)
It was very interesting to listen to a panel of university legal experts weigh in on the legal ramifications of both personal and professional use of social media in higher education. Overall, I felt there was too much emphasis on the risk and not enough said about the reward. While it was billed as a seminar on the safe and effective use of social media, one could have easily drawn the conclusion that safe and effective are mutually exclusive. I was frustrated with many things that were said. Most of this frustration was not with the panel, but with current law. Too often common sense and the law are not on the same page.
Here are some additional thoughts I had while watching the webcast:
- Understand your institution’s position on social media usage. (I’m curious if anyone in higher ed has been dooced)
- If you don’t have a social media policy to protect both employees and the institution, start working on one NOW.
- Involve university counsel with social media policies.
- Current federal law, state law, and university policies are painfully outdated. Social media will require a whole new paradigm.
- When you combine how fast the web changes with how slow the legal system moves, this will get worse before it gets better.
I recommend that everyone watch the recording of the webcast. Be forewarned that it is 2 hours long, but in the long run it will be time well spent. I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts.
This is an important topic and the conversation must continue. I will have a big announcement in this regard coming shortly. Stay tuned.
No surprise that the attorneys would focus more on the risks of social media than the rewards. Did the panel of legal experts provide any examples of social media policies? On our campus, we’re circulating a draft “guidelines” document but haven’t created a policy per se. One reason is because our campus is part of a multi-campus system, and our legal counsel is not located on campus, so there are some logistical issues. But it’s something I plan to take up with our system communications folks.
Not sure whether I can bear investing 2 hours to watch the video, but appreciate the link and the opportunity to do so.
In one of my classes, my professor was giving a power point lecture and he was introducing himself and the TA. He showed a photo of her from her Facebook page much to her embarrassment. He said something to the effect of “be forewarned, if you have a facebook page, I will be able to access it.”
It was all in good fun in that case, but I can see how there definitely needs to be some privacy laws and measures taken.
This Monday in our Chancellor’s Cabinet we talked about background checks in HR. As part of that discussion, the notion of checking social media activity came up. I don’t remember that being discussed much (if at all) in the seminar, and it’s another big question in this arena.
For us as a public institution this is an important policy question. Should you be checking it, just like a reference check? Any more it’s pretty standard to jump on Google to look up your finalists, and social media activities are now in those results, so you’re checking it whether you mean to or not.
But should you go another level and go into those spaces directly to see what they post? Then what do you do with that information? How do you weigh it? It’s a demonstration of judgment, but is it personal or professional? Is looking at their social media any more invasive than a credit check, which is standard for some types of positions?
For anyone as a job hunter, you have to recognize that you can’t hide and it’s all on Google.
Note for future job applicants: In my field of communications, I *want* to hire people who are active on social media. But I want them to be good representatives of the institution in those spaces.
Yes, Andrew, you have to watch the whole two hours :D.
@BarbChamberlain
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
Washington State University Spokane
@WSUSpokane
http://www.spokane.wsu.edu
Thank you for introducing me to the term dooced. I don