GEEKALEGAL:
Social Media, heard enough yet?
I am
seeing all sorts of articles and webinars in the legal stream about
Social Media. Much of it focuses on what employers and employees
need to know about it. Which essentially is a lot like what happened
when fax machines got so popular for photos of posteriors and really
bad jokes.
If you
are an employee, you need to realize that when you are at work,
everything you use belongs to the employer. If they have a social
media policy (i.e. they've been paying attention to the legal advice
abounding for a few years now) then you also know that some things
are accepted, some not. Don't use your work email for personal
missives. Just don't. And if you use the office computer for social
media, well be sure to check that employee manual. Most problems
come from either using the company computer to say nasty things about
the job, employer, or customers. Or from using company time past any
policy allowance to do things like blog.
Now some
employers may not care, yet when there is some nebulous reason they
want to exit employee, they may use infractions in social media to
support that decision. I've had a case where someone took a photo
of a boss, and posted on FaceBook about it. I suppose he thought it
was ok since it was just to his 500 Plus “friends”.
Unfortunately many of those friends were other employees, and they
reported him. He got time off to think about why that was not a good
idea.
Many
employers give out smart phones & iPads to their employees. It
is still their equipment, so be careful what you use it for, and how
you use it. The cases are mixed. One recent decision however said
that an employee who used her work computer and email to send a
message to her attorney did NOT have any right to attorney client
privilege. So if you have a work email, keep it to work issues. If
you can use another email on the work computer and it is allowed by
policy, then keep it to a minimum time wise. If you have a
smartphone, don't be using it so much that the employer can come back
and accuse you of not working enough. They can track you, and some
places even have ways to see what is sent out via personal phones.
Balance, it is all about balance.
We get
so accustomed to using the web to vent, to say things out loud that
perhaps are best left mum. So where does that leave us authors? I
say this by and by, as someone who had to learn the lessons of what
is written can be badly misinterpreted- by me, those who read my
responses, and thank goodness this was before social media took
place.
I read
an article that talked about the publishing wars (let me know if you
want the link). It was along this line that got me thinking of the
topic of this blog a few days ago. The author of the blog said that
perhaps we spend too much time on social media and not on the work to
be done. He also mentioned how things said on social media can come
back to bite someone later. I saw another post observing how an
author was killing herself on a book review site, with comments she
was making about an unflattering review of her work. Not the first or
last time we'll see that one.
It
brings to mind an old saying: “When in doubt, don't”. Take a big
breath, and if you are reacting to something and it isn't a warm
fuzzy reaction, stop and take another breath. Or five. Write what
you want in your word processor. Edit it. Then sit on it. Let
someone read it before we hit send. Often we say things in reaction
to something that was not meant the way we took it, or even if it
was, is just that other person's opinion. Hard to do with
unflattering reviews, but lashing out is not a good thing.
Who's
going to notice? The publishing world, like most other professions,
is very small when it is said and done. If you snob someone, ignore
or say something catty, they will remember it, along with those who
heard and their friends and.... It is true in the legal profession
as well, those you step on the way up, remember it when you are
coming down off those highs. If you are rude to a judge, it gets to
the other judges so fast it can make your head swim.
Does
it matter? As someone who has counseled authors, I've found that
their employers (publishers, and this includes agents) often scan the
social media of that author to see what they've said, not just to
groups, but to their pals, their attitude towards life and work
ethic. Employers are doing that all the time now, and if you post
something that depicts you as someone who may potentially be a high
risk or not likable to readers (and let's face it, authors are part
of the package in marketing their books) then they may not want to
deal with you as much as one of the many other authors out there. I
did a search for YA authors the other day, and whew there are a lot
of writers in the YA field now. Yeah for us readers, but it makes
competition tougher for every new author in the sidelines.
Guess
what this boils down to is that when you are seeking publication, or
to extend a contract, your employer (publisher) might do what they
are advised in social media classes: check out the track record of Facebook and Twitter. What's up on Pinterest? Does your contract
talk about what is expected of you as a public persona? Are you an
author that can make them money or turn fans away? Are you
dependable? I'm sort of surprised at what authors say on social
media, or even what they don't say. Ever retweet or reply to an
author and get nothing back? The authors I remember are the ones
that said a simple thank you. Or replied to something, even if not
to my comment but to someone else's. Social media requires balance,
and remembering that what we say should always be able to be blasted
across the roads in mega billboard style, without having legal
issues.
So when
you are geeking on the social media train, remember that as an author
you are a public person now, or you will be soon. You should be
yourself, but never at the expense of someone else, and with tact as
a forethought. When angry or upset, take those breaths, take a walk,
and talk to someone before responding. With more and more companies
taking social media policy positions, it is not far off that this
could enter contract negotiations, or possibly chill a deal. Of
course if you are writing edgy type material, you adjust, but being
polite is vital in any sort of public arena, and the internet is
about as public as it gets.
Hope
this helps you as you try to do all you can as authors, and soon to
be authors. I want you all to succeed. Doing damage control is
always possible, but how much easier to remember that everything you
say on the internet is part of your public resume. Employers are
using these as ways to find out what they are really getting, not
just what is in your pitch. Anyone can be great for 15 minutes, but
with so many authors competing for very few slots, why ruin the
chance by showing your dark side? Darth Vader can be dastardly but
when we write for young adults, it is a much higher bar.
