Social media brings with it several benefits, chief among which is “increasing our ability to build relationships with our stakeholders” (Waters, 2010). On the flip side, the use of social media can create problems for organizations and its stakeholders. Organizations may fall victim to inaccurate postings from disgruntled customers, competitors hoping to get an edge over their opponents, or from netizens who are simply looking to pass time.
How does one verify if the information one is reading online is true? When CNN’s ireport wrongly cited that Steve Jobs had died from a heart attack, Apple’s stock price dropped 10 percent immediately. Similarly Emulex’s stock prices plunged from $103 per share to $43 per share within 16 minutes after (incorrect) news that its chief executive was resigning, that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the company and that its quarterly earnings report showed a loss.
The issue at hand is one of regulation - what rules and laws govern the posting of inaccurate and false information online? As PR practitioners, it is not possible for us to constantly monitor everything that is being said about our organization online. While we can only hope to act quickly to minimize damage to corporate reputation and reduce financial losses to our stockholders, the issue of information verification seems to be prevalent. The influx of citizen journalism sites only seem to add to this problem. Thoughts anyone?
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ReplyDeleteI agree to your point. The ethics standards of traditional media should apply to social media as well. The balance between regulation and freedom of speech is a touch one.
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Hi Jing, yes, it is tricky trying to achieve a balance between freedom of speech and regulation. Ultimately, it is up to consumers and netizens to adopt ethically sound and fair practices online. Keep your comments coming and stay tuned for more next week. : )
ReplyDeleteNeha, you raise some great points! The ethics and regulations guiding online media are constantly evolving. Citizen journalism certainly opens a whole new set of concerns for orgs. and individuals.
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel, absolutely right...the online media environment is so dynamic and naturally so are regulations. I hope to address this issue more in a later blog. Stay tuned. And do take the online poll. : )
ReplyDeleteSocial media has really been powerful. There are many people who have been using it, might be a celebrity, a businessman a politician or even an ordinary person. It has already made a mark on every individual.
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