Category: conferences

Higher ed, social media and the law

Interested in the legal ramifications of your school’s social media policy, or lack thereof? Join Mark Greenfield next Tuesday, June 8, as he facilitates an online session on Higher Ed, Social Media and the Law. The two-hour session begins at 1:15 p.m. EDT. It is part of a web conference hosted by Penn State and is free of charge to online participants.

True to form for a virtual session, Mark plans to make the most of social media to generate discussion. There will be a Twitter stream (hashtag: #hesmlaw), a video feed via UstreamTV, and an opportunity for online participants to submit questions using Harvard’s Live Question Tool.

“The format will be much different than a typical workshop,” Mark writes on his blog. “Following the principles of an unconference, we will leverage the wisdom of the crowd in an open environment where everyone’s participation is encouraged.”

Why the focus on legal aspects? Mark explains:

It is important for social media practitioners to fully understand the legal ramifications for both themselves and their institutions. Social media is a whole new paradigm and current federal law, state law and university policy is painfully outdated. This workshop will explore these issues and help participants develop social media policies that protect both employees and the institution without undue restrictions.

I’ll be there. Will you?

P.S. – On the same subject, here’s a worthwhile read about the need for PR and legal to collaborate when it comes to social media.

Social media: Policies or guidelines?

As my co-presenter Teresa V. Parrot and I continue working on the content for our upcoming Academic Impressions webcast, Starting A Social Media Policy, a recurring question arises:

Should universities have social media policies or social media guidelines?

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this subject. If your institution has a written social media document, is it a policy or a guidelines document? Which approach is preferable for your institution? Why? What are the advantages or drawbacks?

If you have strong opinions on this subject, please weigh in below. I’d love to steal your ideas.

Also, if you have a social media policy and would like to share the link, please also post it below. Thanks to those of you who shared your policies in the comments section of my earlier blog post on this subject.