The good, the bad and the ugly truth about social media

Social media is a great way to keep in touch with old college buddies. Or to lose your job. Or to get yourself hauled before a judge.

The power of social media, and the pitfalls, has been particularly evident in the past couple of weeks, as a Chamber of Commerce executive stepped down from her job after questions about her use of Twitter, and a juror faced contempt of court because of something she posted on her Facebook page during a trial.

Both are wiser now, and hopefully others have learned something from these situations as well. Social media is not to be used carelessly.

In Dexter, the chamber executive director resigned in late August after a column in the Dexter Leader questioned how she was using Twitter to promote a campaign aimed at getting people to shop and dine locally. She told AnnArbor.com that the campaign was sound, but acknowledged that she was a novice to Twitter and her efforts to use it were amateurish. “Quite frankly,’’ she said, “I wasn’t that good at it.’’

At least she didn’t run afoul of the law. In Mount Clements, a 20-year-old woman was removed from a jury after she wrote on Facebook that it was “gonna be fun to tell the defendant they’re guilty.’’ At the time, the trial was still proceeding. Her remarks were discovered by the son of the defense attorney, who had been looking up the jurors on Facebook.

To Continue Reading: Click Here
------------------------------------------
Source: annarbor.com
By: Tony Dearing