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Perhaps you have heard by now, but ESPN is cracking down on employees' behavior on social media sites. Ironically, the story was broken by ESPN NBA columnist Ric Bucher (and later on NPR) via his Twitter account.
NFL site ProFootballTalk later received ESPN's new social media policy memo and posted it in its entirety on their site. The most jarring portion of the memo?
The first and only priority is to serve ESPN sanctioned efforts, including sports news, information and content.
Not engagement. Not interaction. Not empowerment. Not goodwill.
Instead of giving their talented and smart employees the ability to discern what is best for the company and themselves, ESPN went all USSR on everyone from Bill Simmons to the intern in sector B.
What hasn't been written is that the catalyst for this policy was probably yesterday's Twitter spat between ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth and Cincinnati Bengal WR Chad Ochocinco. Certainly, other factors may have been at play, but I can't imagine that ESPN was too thrilled with Schlereth's actions, nor do they want it repeated.
ESPN's overreaction is typical of mega-companies that fear social media will destroy their delicate brand or corporate message. In reality, companies that are worried about losing control of their message or brand via social media, probably didn't have much control to begin with. Additionally, companies that don't trust their employees enough to make these decisions on their own, probably don't trust their employees as far as they can throw them.
In fairness, as an international company with thousands of employees across TV, radio and the Web, ESPN must have a clear policy, along with any possible consequences, in order to breach the subject. They also haven't commented publicly about the memo, so any clarification will be posted here. I actually don't disagree with all of their points in the memo, however, forcing employees to either agree or be mute on Twitter, Facebook or their personal blog seems a tad harsh.
ESPN has been the undisputed gatekeeper of sports news in the 21st Century. Unfortunately, it seems as though social media may be chipping away at their dominance and ESPN knows it. For instance, why would I go to ESPN and read about the latest Mark Shapiro trade when I can get updates from five or six writers who are ready to break the news via Twitter? Unfortunately, this policy is a step back for all media.
If you can't empower employees to make good decisions on social media, why did you hire them in the first place?
What Do The Marines and ESPN Have in Common? (NPR)
ESPN's guidelines for social networking (ProfootballTalk)
ESPN’s Mark Schlereth Makes a Stink About Chad Ocho Cinco on Twitter (The Big Lead)
ESPN Tells Employees They Can Only Talk About ESPN (Mashable)
About the Author: Comments
1 Comment so farOne Response to “ESPN’s Social Media Fears: Losing Control”
I would not be suprised to see more companies follow suit. The medium is so new that rules for professional decorum are still developing. It does make for controversy on Sportstalk radio shows.