Last month, Travel Channel personality Adam Richman made some very disturbing posts that led to his upcoming new show being postponed indefinitely. Talk show host Anthony Cumia of Sirius was fired from his radio show last week for a series of allegedly racists Tweets. Both of these incidents occurred "off the air" during personal time but they had negative employment consequences.
Social Media is not the panacea that some business consultants claim. Too many self styled "social media consultants" advise their clients to pump out content on multiple platforms 24/7. On a regular basis, clients ask me about the legal, business, and reputation related issues surrounding disturbing social media posts. Unfortunately, I am usually contacted after a "social media consultant" has already provided career killing advice or inadequate training.
If one feels the need to respond to Tweets (or other types of posts) or get into a Facebook discussion with others, the amount of information/content posted should be limited since it may be utilized against you forever. Yes, forever! Any postings may be submitted as evidence in a court of law or may be used in the court of public opinion to destroy your career so less is usually more. I have never had a client tell me he or she regretted not Tweeting more or posting a longer Facebook response.
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
Showing posts with label Social Media Sports Seminar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Media Sports Seminar. Show all posts
Monday, July 7, 2014
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Social Media Scam Entangles Miami Heat Star
Athletes and other high profile individuals are constant targets of scams offline and on social media. Earlier this year, Manti Te'o, then a student-athlete with Notre Dame was the target of an elaborate catfishing scheme that almost destroyed his NFL career before he was even drafted. Manti Te'o is not alone in being targeted by con artists who utilize electronic communications. The Miami Heat's Chris Andersen was also recently entangled in a digital scheme that almost destroyed his NBA career and personal life.
These incidents are the tip of the iceberg. I have counseled multiple high profile individuals who have been the target of these scams. Fortunately for most of my clients, they usually contact me before these issues become public knowledge. When I provide services to professional athletes, professional sports teams, college athletic departments, Fortune 500 executives, and other high profile clients, I discuss these type of issues and the importance of limiting one's digital footprint. Unless one is able to authenticate the person with whom they are texting with and/or sending emails/social media messages with I do not recommend communicating with them.
The bottom line is that some people are putting their guard because a growing number of self-styled social media consultants are advocating that high profile individuals should focus on increasing one's social media usage to build one's personal brand and/or their school and/or corporate brand. My philosophy is different. It is about protecting the individual, school, corporation, etc... first. Brand building is a long process that takes years of hard work and a handful of Tweets or Facebook posts won't do it despite what some self-styled social media consultants advocate.
Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.
These incidents are the tip of the iceberg. I have counseled multiple high profile individuals who have been the target of these scams. Fortunately for most of my clients, they usually contact me before these issues become public knowledge. When I provide services to professional athletes, professional sports teams, college athletic departments, Fortune 500 executives, and other high profile clients, I discuss these type of issues and the importance of limiting one's digital footprint. Unless one is able to authenticate the person with whom they are texting with and/or sending emails/social media messages with I do not recommend communicating with them.
The bottom line is that some people are putting their guard because a growing number of self-styled social media consultants are advocating that high profile individuals should focus on increasing one's social media usage to build one's personal brand and/or their school and/or corporate brand. My philosophy is different. It is about protecting the individual, school, corporation, etc... first. Brand building is a long process that takes years of hard work and a handful of Tweets or Facebook posts won't do it despite what some self-styled social media consultants advocate.
Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.
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