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Schools Monitoring Social Media: Good Move or Creepy?

Social media has become a new form of communication for teens. While mostly good, it has unfortunately comes with its down side too. While there is plenty of education aimed at teens about social media use and responsibility, they are still teens, not fully thinking though their actions, and at times posting content that they don’t realize the potential consequences of.

The two most common aspects talked about are cyber bullying and content indicating trouble for teens. Prior to social media, bullying was an issue of course, but the internet has made this easier. Several years ago, kids relied on what they perceived as the “anonymity” of online activities. I recall a student in one of my children’s classes who took to email around that time, before social media became so popular. She created a gmail account and sent an awful email to a classmate, likely thinking that it could never be traced to her. Parents and the school got involved, and this was quickly addressed, and it launched a discussion of internet responsibility and safety.

Then came social media, and things changed again.

This is why schools are turning to social media monitoring services to assist. With these programs, schools can continually monitor online conversations to try to pinpoint potential safety issues, like students threatening other students or teachers, or making threats toward the school. It can also be helpful to monitor content for indications of a student’s emotional health – that is, if ominous posts are made about self-harm, for example, these can be collected and identified to hopefully circumvent the issue and get the student the help that is needed.

Social media monitoring is not new; our firm launched the first social media monitoring program back in 2007. It was first used for brand reputation and monitoring, but as the wealth of information that can be collected has grown, it has gained popularity. Most recently, location based social monitoring has been incorporated – simply put, a school can put a “fence” around a school to monitor what conversations are happening within the school. This has been a game changer for education and has given schools even more tools for monitoring students’ online activities.

This has become a heated debate across the country, with parents divided. While some feel that it is “big brother” and the schools are trampling on a family’s privacy, others welcome it and encourage schools to monitor social media.

Personally, as a mother of three teenagers, I have no problems with this should the schools decide to implement social media monitoring. There are a few reasons why I think it’s important and vital in this social media age:

1. It takes a village: social media sites are popping up all the time. Whereas Facebook was the popular choice for teens in the past, that has now been taken over by Instagram and other sites. And then there was Snapchat – the amazing disappearing act of social media. Even if you think you know all of the sites your child is on, you may not. And even if your child isn’t on a particular social site, there may be another student that is, posting harmful content or images of your child. As parents, we can monitor and Google search until the cows come home, but we are limited by either knowledge and/or depth of our search. This extra layer of protection can be helpful – if a cyber bullying or similar situation should come up and be related to your child, and your child isn’t quite aware and/or isn’t sharing it with you, it may be uncovered through the school. It’s another layer of protection I am comfortable with.

2. It can keep students safe: how many times have we heard of a tragic school incident where we later find out that the people involved posted warnings, whether direct or indirect, on social sites prior to the event? While not every situation will come with a warning through social media, it seems that having the monitoring in place to alert to postings that could mean trouble do pop up more frequently than we’d think they would. Being able to capture this proactively is much better than finding it after the fact of course, and real time monitoring programs can give schools a head start on predicting and preventing potential issues.

3. It can help identify students who are hurting: those with mental health issues or those just going through a tough time may make cries for help online, either purposely or not. Classmates may or may not see this content, and may not tell their parents or a trusted adult, which is a shame, but unfortunately it happens. Utilizing a monitoring program to potentially identify students who are really struggling emotionally can be a turning point for them and their family. Monitoring can pick up content that may indicate an intent to harm ones self or others and the schools can be proactive in identifying this and getting the proper help for a student.

It may seem a bit “Big Brother” but unfortunately it is our new normal. I am all for continued education on social media, and helping students in this regard. Social media monitoring is one piece of the puzzle, and if schools can utilize it properly, I’m all for it.

Where do you stand on the issue? Good move, or a bit creepy? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

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.

Best Practices For New Hires, Employees, & Former Employees

Social media adds a whole new layer to the employment process, particularly from a Human Resources and Corporate standpoint. It’s no longer “just” social media – the online conversations provide a wealth of information that is easily collected and used to make many decisions, and employment issues are no different.

From the hiring process to dealing with former employees, there are many key points related to social media that companies need to consider.

1. Pre-employment/hiring process: it’s no secret (or surprise) that Human Resources departments are turning to social media to learn more about candidates. This information is another layer that helps them make good decisions during the hiring process. More than a Google search, social media research can dig deep to find out more about a candidate through what he/she posts online. Here are some tips to make sure this is an effective process that keeps you safe legally:

Develop a written policy that explains how social media content is used in the hiring process. State what can and cannot be collected to be used to make a hiring decision. Aspects like religious beliefs and marital status, for example, cannot be used in the decision making process. Make sure the policy is clear and detailed so there is little room for potential candidates being able to sue on the basis of discrimination.

Use a third party to conduct the search: the hiring manager ideally should not be the one conducting the social media scan; this alleviates any potential or perceived bias. Using another individual to conduct the searches will provide a layer of protection, as they only provide relevant information that can be used in the decision making process to the hiring manager. This protects the hiring manager in that if he/she doesn’t ever see the other social content, they could not have used it. For this reason, many companies chooses to outsource the social media monitoring process, as these firms use sophisticated programs and are aware of HR laws, so you will only be provided with the most relevant, legally allowed information.

2. Current employees: your employees are a representation of your company. This is another area where monitoring social conversations can be important – do you have employees bad mouthing the company, or sharing proprietary information? It’s relatively easy to find out, and continual monitoring programs will help with this process. Here are some tips to make this an efficient, effective process:

Have a solid social media policy in place: employee handbooks should reference the company’s social media policies and expectations. Similar to signing consent for release of information and the ability for phone conversations to be recorded for quality assurance, employees should be required to sign a similar document stating that they reviewed the social media policy, understand it, and will adhere to it as outlined in the employee handbook.

Make clear the policy on different social aspects, such as employees connecting socially online with their supervisors, for example. This is the new workplace dating, and while social connections are simply connections and do not signal a deeper relationship in most cases, this is something that needs to be considered. In a similar vein, accounts like LinkedIn need special consideration – if an employee builds contacts during employment, what specifications are in place for post employment? Are those contacts “fair game” for former employees to contact at their new job? Does it depend on the contact? Make sure it is spelled out in your policy.

For further protection, some companies will require employees to post a disclaimer on their personal social content. Something along the lines of: “the content posted is my personal opinion and does not represent the opinion of XYZ Corporation.” Of course, this is something that would be more relevant for larger corporations and/or senior members of the company, but something to consider.

3. Post- employment: while former employees are on their own and no longer represent your company, social media monitoring can be useful to ensure in this area as well. Here are some tips on using social media monitoring for former employers:

Continue to monitor a former employee when non-compete/non-disclosure/non-solicitation factors come into play: this is one area where social media is extremely useful. Similar to insurance companies finding content posted by those fighting for workman’s comp that negates their claim, social media monitoring can help identify breaches.

Monitoring adherence to social media policy: hopefully your company’s social media policy outlines what happens when an employee leaves with regard to online content, connections, etc. Ensuring that what is considered “company property” is not being used by former employees can be tough, but again social media monitoring can help with this.

Social media has really impacted the employer/employee relationship, and, while the above sounds daunting and too much to monitor, the good news is that there are social media companies who can handle this for you. They have the time, expertise, and software platforms available to make this a painless process. Our company has worked in the social media landscape since 2007, and it’s been riveting to see the evolution of how social content is used, particularly from an employment standpoint.

Bankruptcy Courts See Social Media Accounts as Property

Small to mid-size business owners put their heart and soul into their companies, often times using social media to promote and talk about their business. What happens when an owner sells the business, or worse, goes bankrupt? What happens to the social media accounts?

Very recently, a gentleman found out. He owned a gun shop and recently filed bankruptcy. He was ordered to hand over the passwords to his social media accounts to the new owners, which he refused to do and spent some time in jail while this played out in court. In the end, he was forced to hand over the information, as the court determined that social media accounts are considered company property.

While this is a ground breaking decision, it is especially relevant for small to mid-size business owners, as their life is their business, and sometimes personal accounts become business accounts unintentionally. What did it in this particular case was the fact that the gentleman’s Facebook account not only shared his personal views, but promote the business. From a recent article on the subject:

“But Bohm ruled in April that the gun store’s social media accounts were not personal but used to boost sales, citing a tweet in which Alcede told his followers he was at a gun trade show as an example of something that would attract customers because it showed him as a “connected insider in the gun-buying community.”

What is the lesson to be learned? If you’re a business owner, it’s wise to create separate social accounts that are strictly for business purposes – promoting the business, engaging with customers, etc. – while keeping your personal accounts free of similar content to make sure there is a clear differentiation between the two types of accounts. Now is a good time to review your social accounts to make sure they fall in line with what constitutes a business page vs a personal account, and if needed, create separate accounts for your business. This is time well spent and can save you in the long run.

An Instagram Post Was the Last Straw…

True story of a high school athletic coach and how she sealed her already shaky fate with the organization she worked for…

A coach was hired for a high school athletic team. While young and inexperienced, the season started off okay. However, as the season progressed, it became clear that perhaps this coach was not the best choice for the organization, as there were conversations with the owner sporadically throughout the season. While addressed with the coach in question, things would improve for a short time, but then fall back into old patterns.

More supervision was given, but as the season was coming to a close it was clear that this coach should not return next year. The coach herself sealed the deal with one wrong Instagram post.

Imagine being at a regional, year end tournament. It’s the last day, which is often referred to as elimination day – teams play until they lose, hoping to reach the semi-finals or even the championship game in their division. The athletes anticipate this day and come ready to leave it all on the court.

Sadly, the coach didn’t feel the same way.

That morning, as girls arrived at the venue, they received a mass text from the coach stating she was “sick” and would not be there that day. She also claimed that attempts to call the owner and other coaches within the organization failed – it’s amazing that the text to the athletics got through. The athletes, not wanting to forfeit, took action and got the assistance of officials to reach out to coaches of sister teams and the owner, who rushed to get to the venue in time for their first game.

The owner huddled with the girls, and all parents could see was team conversation followed by more than one get their cell phone to show something to the owner. The owner did get in touch with the coach en route and she explained how sick she was the night before and that morning. Upon sharing this with the team, at least one mentioned that they saw her post on Instagram at 2am the night prior from a bar. That right there was the icing on the cake, and her fate was sealed.

This was wrong on a few levels:

1. Those in a position of authority, namely coaches, teachers, and other similar roles, should not “friend” or connect with athletes and students on social media. It crosses lines, and should not happen.

2. The coach clearly wasn’t thinking ahead. Perhaps it was a last minute decision to not show the last day, or maybe she realized the writing was on the wall, planned not to show the last day. At any rate, if you are going to call in sick, it’s probably a good idea to keep quiet on social media, ESPECIALLY if those you coach are your social media friends.

This is a great example of how social media can help or hurt employees. Monitoring social conversations of staff can uncover some of these issues proactively; the newest technology also allows for connection scans of employees. While this process is most often used for scans revolving around jury selection and/or trial preparation, industries such as coaching and teaching have seen great benefit in using this deeper, connection scan to ensure that there are not inappropriate social connections or relationships within the organization.

I’m sure this coach learned a big lesson, and will hopefully not repeat these mistakes in her next job.