General Social Media Information Archives

Colleges & Social Media Threats: What Can Be Done?

With the horrific shooting in Oregon last week, there have been many threats to college campuses across the nation. Most have been unfounded, thankfully, but it raises an important question – how can law enforcement and colleges monitor for potential threats, and know when to take them seriously?

At this stage in the game, all perceived threats have to be taken seriously. While some will pose threats directly to the college itself, it is becoming more and more important for schools and law enforcement to monitor social media to look for potential threats on social sites.

Like finding a needle in a haystack, this is an undaunting task. Thanks to the evolution of social media monitoring, it can be easier than it has been. Using geography based monitoring programs, social content posted in the vicinity of an area can be monitored, with alerts sent for posts containing specific keywords, hashtags, or phrases that may warrant a closer look.

How can this help?

It can help identify those who are posting threats or content that may indicate potential trouble, both by user name and location. Geographic based monitoring can pinpoint coordinates for a specific location from which the user was posting content, which can be helpful in identifying those who are posting on anonymous sites, such as YikYak.

By using careful monitoring setup, schools and law enforcement can identify the potential for trouble by creating profiles of users who are posting content that may indicate they are struggling somehow, whether it be with mental health issues, school bullying, or depression/suicidal thoughts. Those users can then be more closely monitored, as can their connections with others, to possibly prevent tragedies such as the Oregon shooting.

Social monitoring can aid in investigation and arrest of those making threats. A recent article showed how a threat was made to the University of Central Arkansas. They were able to identify and prosecute the person who made the threat. While his first post on YikYak was more general and police could not make an arrest based on it (he simply posted “Just want to warn you guys now, don’t come to campus next Wednesday”), his second post was more specific and allowed police to move forward. In the second post, he said, “Fellow yaks, you seem like good people and I care for you, so if you read this, please stay in your dorms or off campus next Wednesday, I care too much for you all to fall victim of the event.” While it’s not clear from the article, it seems as though it is possible that police were watching the user’s activity more closely after the first, less specific, threat was made.

There are many times when clues are posted on social sites that are sadly found after the fact. With the public paying attention and reporting anything they see as potentially concerning, as well as the enhanced social media monitoring programs available, it is hopeful that more tragedies can be prevented in the future.

Do Lawyers Have a Responsibility To Mine Social Media Content?

Social media is a game changer in many ways, and litigation is no different. While social media has been the newest way to connect with friends and family, users are not always careful in what they post. At times, this may come back to haunt them. Add to that the fact that the amount of public information that is now readily available online, and you’ve got an entire new set of data to pull for litigation support.

I came across an interesting article that discusses, at length, the role of social media in litigation. Within this article, one lawyer poses the idea of responsibility as it relates to searching online information when preparing a case.

“Attorney George” is cited in the article sharing his thoughts on the importance of reviewing social media content as a part of trial preparation. He states, “We believe that running a social media search of clients, opponents, and witnesses is now part of the minimum level of due diligence expected of a competent litigator. Indeed, some courts have questioned whether lawyers who have not run Google searches on a defendant but are asserting that the person cannot be found have in fact made reasonable efforts to locate the defendant. In our view, it’s just a matter of time before malpractice claims begin to surface based on a failure to use information publicly available on the Internet.”

Since this is still new territory, so to speak, it raises a good point; can social media content be used for trial preparation, specifically when it comes to witness, defendant, or plaintiff research?

In one word: yes.

Social media monitoring has come a long way since we first entered the space back in 2007. It emerged as a way for brands to monitor what others were saying on social sites, but is much more extensive, thanks to users who like to share every moment of their lives with others. The technology behind it has evolved to a point where it goes beyond simple social sites to be all inclusive of online public content.

Google searches can provide preliminary, basic information about a person of interest; however, there is a lot of “touching” in that 1) one needs to confirm that they are correctly identifying a person, 2) that relevant data is found, with nothing missed, and 3) that the search goes beyond the first few pages of results.

Social media monitoring services have made this process easier and more streamlined. Many law firms and starting to outsource this practice, as service providers have the technology readily available to easily identify persons of interest and provide relevant results in a timely manner.

In addition to public facing content users post on social sites, a strong monitoring service can go well beyond a basic Google search and include:

Public data, including known addresses and phone numbers
Content posted on what is not considered “traditional” social sites, such as blog post comments, message boards, or commentary left on news articles
Content that was posted at the time of the social media research that may be deleted by the user by the time the trial hits. This is especially useful for content that may affect the case in some way.
Connections on social sites to other people, businesses, or entities that may be of interest and relate to the trial

I agree with the attorney cited in the article in that, at minimum, an online search should be done related to the case. Given that this information is so readily available, it will become more important for this to be done as time passes, and I anticipate that more law firms will turn toward professional social media monitoring service providers to assist with this task.

Social Media Helps Police With Drug Sales on Social Media

While social media has done some great things, there is one that isn’t so great: selling drugs just got easier.A simple hashtag such as #hmu (hook me up), #kush, or any variation including a drug name can get some attention. Surprisingly, simply posting these kinds of messages are legal; it becomes an illegal act once a sale is made.

How can social media monitoring help? There are tools now that have enhanced the way law enforcement can monitor social activity – through geographical monitoring using simple geographical fences coupled with hashtags or keywords, police can easily identify where this type of activity is happening, which can assist in identifying and stopping illegal activity.

Using our social media monitoring platform, we did a quick search for people posting images and content with the hashtag #kush – another name for marijuana. The heatmap below shows where people are posting content, and the frequency at which these posts are occurring across the country:

This can easily drill down to a specific state, city, or street block to see where content is coming from. This is extremely useful for law enforcement, and is another tool they are adding to their arsenal to help fight crime.

While this example highlights the ease in which drug seekers and/or sellers can be identified, it can also be used in many other ways, including:

Create a “fence” around a crime scene to identify possible witnesses that left the scene prior to police arriving.
Monitor content to be proactive in identifying potential school violence.
Identifying and monitoring gang activity, which can include location specific information

What once was seen as a tool for brands to connect with customers has morphed into an all encompassing tool. Law enforcement agencies are seeing the value of using social media monitoring, and specifically location based tools to assist in their efforts.

#Consent: Are You Sure You Have It?

Social media monitoring has made marketing a bit easier – with the birth of Instagram, Facebook, and the other myriad of image based social sites, customers have taken to documenting every move they make with pictures, whether it’s a nice dinner out, visiting an amusement park, or even running errands.

This is great for marketers, as often times customers’ pictures and commentary are better than any marketing content you’ve created. The additional win is the fact that you can engage with these customers, use their pictures & comments, and create a relationship.

But, is it that easy?

Yes and no. When you find a customer who has a great picture with a great caption, you think you’ve hit gold, since it completely mirrors your upcoming marketing campaign. Since you found it on social media, in a public space, you’re free to use it, right?

Not without consent. But, how do you define consent? Are customers giving consent by tagging your company in an image, or using a company generated hashtag? Possibly, but only if you’ve made it explicitly clear that by tagging or using a hashtag, customers are giving consent to use those pictures on the website, in marketing materials, etc. And it gets more murky if this disclaimer is not clearly visible on your site or social sites where this happens.

Below are some steps you can take to make sure you have consent before using those pictures. Some of the tips are even great for engagement purposes – after all, engagement IS part of the goal for social media marketing!

Create a consent based hashtag: despite being the subject of a recent news article on this subject, Crocs created a hashtag (#CrocsOK) that is used when a customer posts an image on a social site and Crocs comments on it. By replying with #CrocsOK” customers are giving their consent for the company to use the image and/or comments.
Comment publicly on the user’s image and ask for permission: this is a double whammy of positivity; first, it is out in the open that you are asking for consent to use a customer’s picture, and, when the customer replies, consent is easily proved. The added benefit? If other customers see that your company actively seeks out and uses customer images, they may be more inclined to post their own pictures and engage with the company’s social sites. Definitely a win-win situation!
Create a terms & conditions page and keep the URL handy: while many customers don’t tend to read the fine print, or even visit a company’s social site before posting their own pictures, it’s not a bad idea to create a page that lists your company’s social media usage terms & conditions. Include the URL on your social sites for added protection.
Be proactive: when you find customers who are talking and posting images around your brand, engage with them! Comment, like, and share posts, and encourage them to connect to your social sites. From there, create contests – in your post, be sure to state that the content shared may be used in marketing, and that by replying to the post, users are giving consent to this possibility. It’s no surprise that many customers talk about brands and are not connected to their social sites; this is where social monitoring and engagement come in handy to build relationships and follower bases.

Customers love attention from companies they support; in the majority of cases, customers will be thrilled for you to share their pictures in your marketing efforts. It’s when you use them without asking when it becomes a problem. Always take the side of caution and proceed carefully – the goal is to create relationships with customers, not damage them.

Heads Up To High School Seniors and Job Seekers

Times change, people change, and social media habits change. Regardless, when it comes to social media, our “past selves” live on indefinitely. While there’s been plenty out there that attempts to educate people on their “online persona” and serves constant reminders about being responsible and presenting your “best self” on social sites, people tend to get caught up in the activity without thinking much about it until it’s needed.

A good time to start looking at your online personality, so to speak, is when you are at a point where it matters. Two events come to mind – those who are entering their final year of high school and are already starting college applications, and those who are looking for a new job.

Why, you may ask?

It’s no surprise, if you’ve been paying attention, that college admissions offices and HR departments around the world are turning to social media research as another means to learn more about potential candidates. While applications, cover letters, and references tell part of the story, both industries are realizing that monitoring and researching a candidate’s social media activity gives even deeper insight and understanding of the people they’re looking at.

While you may think to yourself that you’ve got your social sites properly set with regard to privacy settings, and you’ve cleaned up your photos and even Googled yourself, it’s time to think a bit more about what recruiters, employers, and college officers may see and potentially use in their decision making process. Below are just a few examples:

1. Channel your “younger self” – this is especially true for the late teen/early 20’s set. Social media was new and “fun” back then. I’ve seen the transition in my own teenagers – they started years ago thinking Google chat was the be all end all, and then moved to Facebook, and finally Twitter and Instagram. It’s hard to keep up with all of the changes, and this set often has the “out with the old, in with the new mentality.”

In running a personal social scan for a young adult recently, data was pulled from a prior Twitter account they had since forgotten about. This was created in the person’s first year of high school, and they used it as a “secret” account – they had one that they knew their parents monitored, so, being a typical teenager, created a second account that the person used for conversations they didn’t want their parents to see. While there may not have been anything harmful on that account, it was good for the person to be reminded that it is still out there and delete it prior to graduating college and starting the search for a job.

Social media research can uncover these types of abandoned accounts that have long been forgotten, conversations on message boards when they were more popular, and other content that someone may have forgotten about. Using a third party service to conduct this type of research allows for efficiency in cleaning up one’s social profile before sending out applications.

2. Mistaken identity: while there is nothing you can do in a case like this, it’s good to be aware in case it’s brought up as a potential issue. Consider a young man who was applying for his first post college job. In conducting social media research, data was collected that showed someone with the same name in the next town over was arrested the year prior for a DUI. They were close in age and the similarities were enough that the young man was concerned. Going into the application and interview process, he was aware that this information existed. Should a potential employer discover this information, the young man was armed with the knowledge that it existed and would be able to easily speak to the fact that it was not him, and be able to provide further information to prove this point. Knowing ahead of time can make a difference in cases like this.

3. Ensure your privacy settings are correct: any social media content that is collected can only come from public content. That is, if your privacy settings are set correctly, your content cannot be picked up in social media research. If you’re congratulating yourself at this point because you recently went through your social sites and updated your settings, think back a bit. If you didn’t set up your privacy restrictions when you first set up the account, are you sure that content posted prior to updating your settings is really private? Sometimes it is, but sometimes it’s not. By utilizing a social media research program, you will be able to easily find out what information is readily available to college and/or hiring staff. With the constant changes to privacy settings and updates, it’s difficult to keep track of what is set up where. Before you start the application process, having a social scan conducted on your behalf will give you peace of mind that what is out there is what you want others to see, or, in some cases, give you the opportunity to clean things up.

Social media has given the world another glimpse into who you are, and, as we are learning, it can reveal much more than can be found on applications and cover letters. Because it is social, it’s more revealing, and colleges and companies are starting to realize this. Many are turning to social media monitoring programs to help with this process, an in turn, individuals are starting to see the value in running scans on themselves. Advanced preparation can go a long way to ensure that you land your dream job or are accepted into your first choice for college.