Fieldhouse Media is a firm dedicated to educating student-athletes and coaches on how to use social media in a positive, appropriate way. To find out more about us or to join the growing list of schools utilizing our services for their athletic department, contact us today.

Several states have introduced similar bills, but this is the first at the federal level.

Congressman Engel’s Social Networking Online Privacy Act (SNOPA) would:

• Prohibit colleges, universities, and K-12 schools, from requiring a username, password or other access to online content.

Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a co-sponsor of the bill, stated:

The American people deserve the right to keep their personal accounts private.  No one should have to worry that their personal account information, including passwords, can be required by an educational institution, and if this legislation is signed into law, no one will face that possibility.

Congressman Engel adds:

As you know, social media and networking has become such a widespread part of communications in our country, and around the globe. However, a person’s digital footprint is largely unprotected.

Some universities, and even secondary schools, have required the student either divulge their personal information, or grant the institution access to the personal account by ‘friending’ the student. These coercive practices are unacceptable, and should be halted.

We must draw the line somewhere and define what is private….This is a matter of personal privacy and makes sense in our digital world.

This is an issue that has clearly become a hot topic and must be addressed. It should be noted that Fieldhouse Media is in full support of SNOPA.

SNOPA will have absolutely no impact on the way Fieldhouse Media operates.

It is more than requiring usernames and passwords. Very few athletic programs, if any, require that. Instead, they require that a student-athlete ‘friend’ a coach/administrator on Facebook, or they require them to install a monitoring app from a 3rd party monitoring firm that forces them to give up access to their password-protected content.

We discussed the issue with Pete Thamel in The New York Times a few weeks ago, setting apart Fieldhouse Media and FieldTrack, our monitoring service, as the only firm that is not invading the privacy of student-athletes. We only monitor publicly available information.

This is something the NCAA addressed when handing down sanctions to UNC, in part due to a “failure to monitor publicly available information on social media.”

Other firms offer schools the option to monitor public and/or private content. This is unacceptable. It is our responsibility to educate schools on the best practices when it comes to monitoring, and not open them up to potential litigation by offering up invasive services.

Privacy should not be optional.  

Facebook has come out against these practices, stating they they violate Facebook’s Terms of Service.

Steps taken today be Congressman Eliot should be applauded. Student-athletes are adults. They have rights just like the rest of American adults. Monitoring social media activity of student-athletes is necessary. For their protection and education, and for that of the institution. It can be done effectively, without invading their privacy.

Have questions on how we can help? Contact us.

Fieldhouse Media is a firm dedicated to educating student-athletes and coaches on how to use social media in a positive, appropriate way. To find out more about us or to join the growing list of schools utilizing our services for their athletic department, contact us today.

h/t: @Derrick Docket

“I don’t need Tweeter. Nobody needs to know what I’m doing all day or what I’m eating.”

“Kids these days spend too much time on Facebook.”

“It’s a waste of time.”

We hear that all the time, right? What’s interesting is that while “kids” make up only 20% of social media users, the negative comments are always directed at that age group. Student-athletes might be among the most criticized.

The reality is that social media is not a waste of time. It’s helped fund movies, build businesses and change lives. It connects us to those we love and to those with similar interests and passions. It gives us a direct avenue to leaders from every industry.

It is anything but a waste of time.

Fieldhouse Media is a firm dedicated to educating student-athletes and coaches on how to use social media in a positive, appropriate way. To find out more about us or to join the growing list of schools utilizing our services for their athletic department, contact us today.

Also serving on this panel are Patrick Powers, the Director of Digital Marketing & Communications at Webster University. Joe Browning, Senior Associate AD of Communications at UNC Wilmington, will serve as the Moderator.

I’m extremely grateful to Barb and the great people at CoSIDA for the opportunity and look forward to a terrific convention. I do have to mention that, as a Cards fan, I’m bummed that they won’t be in town during the convention.

My presentation (before the Q&A), will consist of:

• strategies for educating your student-athletes on how to use social media well
• how to help them build a strong, positive online reputation (and what that does for your program/university)
• social media monitoring of student-athletes

What questions do you have, what information would like to be addressed regarding these topics? I want to be sure to hit information that you are most concerned about. Let me know in the comment section (or via email) and I’ll be sure to include it.

We know student-athletes are using social media. But are they using it well? Not just avoiding trouble, but really using it well. How they use it can impact whether or not they get a job. I touched on this in a post in October, and the stats have already changed.

Ciphr put together this video with some interesting facts about employers and the role social media plays in job recruitment. Of note:

61% of employers have turned down a candidate over social media postings
68% of employers have hired somebody partially due to their social media profile

You can come across as inappropriate, irresponsible or a flat out liar. Or, if educated and understanding the power of social media, you can portray yourself as well-respected, professional, trustworthy. Somebody a company wants to hire.

One thing we always say to student-athletes about their online image is that you want to be “marriage material.”  What I mean by that is, if my child is bringing home somebody that he/she wants to date, I’m going to Google the kid. Will I find somebody that I don’t want within 500 yards of my child, or will I find somebody that is marriage material?

Let’s focus on the positives of social media. Let’s educate our student-athletes on how to use it in a positive, appropriate way. Let’s set them up for long-term success.

Fieldhouse Media is a firm dedicated to educating student-athletes and coaches on how to use social media in a positive, appropriate way. To find out more about us or to join the growing list of schools utilizing our services for their athletic department, contact us today.

For the purpose of Fieldhouse Media I want to focus on social media users under age 24 – also known as high school and college students.

Facebook: 15% of users are under the age of 24. Approximately 120m users.
Twitter: 19% of users are under the age of 24. Approximately 24m active users.
Google+: 50% of users are under the age of 24. Approximately 45m users.

The Google+ number is pretty fascinating. Most users are inactive, but it’s still a network that we’re watching (I’m personally a fan of it).

I did a quick search on Facebook this morning, and 37m users in the United States are age 16-22. 37 million. That’s a number we can’t ignore.

What the infographic also shows is that 80% of Twitter & Facebook users are over the age of 24.  Over 50% are making greater than $50,000 per year. Leaders, Managers, Entrepreneurs and other business professionals.

Social Media is a tool that student-athletes are using daily, but must learn how to use well. Their peers are using it, the people that are going to hire them are using it, and the people they will be competing against in the business world are using it.

The responsibility to educate them is on us.

Fieldhouse Media is a firm dedicated to educating student-athletes and coaches on how to use social media in a positive, appropriate way. To find out more about us or to join the growing list of schools utilizing our services for their athletic department, contact us today.

Facebook itself has even come out condemning people/firms from gaining “inappropriate access to people’s Facebook profiles or private information.”

As I’ve said multiple times, social media monitoring is necessary but it has to be respectful of privacy. It’s important for schools to do whatever they can in educating student-athletes about online responsibility, and help to protect their online image as they move into the real world.

The NCAA, in handing North Carolina it’s punishment, hinted that instituions should be monitoring publicly available content. Other monitoring firms clearly don’t feel that way.

Parents, from day one, tell their kids not to ‘friend’ people on Facebook they don’t know. During education sessions with student-athletes, I give the same advice. How could I then turn around and tell them to ‘friend’ me or install my firm’s app, demanding access to their password protected content? That’s not ok. Were it my kid, I certainly would not be comfortable with that scenario.

Privacy should not be optional.

When it comes to monitoring student-athletes online in a way that honors their privacy and educates them not only on how to use social media well but on how to understand and implement privacy settings on each network, there is only one choice.

Pete did a great job of addressing the issues, and set apart Fieldhouse from competitors when it comes to respecting the online privacy of student-athletes.

Read the article here.

Questions/concerns? Don’t hesitate to contact us.

…we’ve seen a distressing increase in reports of employers or others seeking to gain inappropriate access to people’s Facebook profiles or private information.

If you are a Facebook user, you should never have to share your password, let anyone access your account, or do anything that might jeopardize the security of your account or violate the privacy of your friends.

As a user, you shouldn’t be forced to share your private information and communications…

image via Mashable.com

Having access to private information could also open up employers and universities to litigation.

…may assume liability for the protection of the information they have seen or for knowing what responsibilities may arise based on different types of information (e.g. if the information suggests the commission of a crime).

Between Facebook’s statement, the UNC ruling discussing the monitoring of “publicly available” information, and the Maryland bill addressing social media privacy for student athletes (which passed the Senate unanimously), it’s clear what road schools should take.

I tweeted out this story and Chris Yandle, Baylor’s Associate Director of Athletic Communications, replied with, “you can monitor social media usage without invading privacy.”  He’s absolutely right. And you should monitor it. There’s no reason not to monitor public information. It serves as a necessary complement to education, and helps the student-athlete and the program to maintain a positive online image.

It starts with education.

But to force a student-athlete to give up their privacy, whether by the university itself or an outside monitoring firm, is unacceptable.

Firms/programs that operate this way are invading privacy and violating Facebook’s Terms of Service.  Fieldhouse Media is the only social media monitoring firm that does not access private information of student-athletes.

From their statement, it’s clear that Facebook will no longer tolerate such invasive practices.

We’ll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges.

Social Media law attorney Bradley Shear shared his thoughts on today’s announcement. You’ll notice in his post that he lists off firms with invasive practices – Fieldhouse Media is not listed.

If you are monitoring your student-athletes it’s time to ask the question:

Are you, or the monitoring firm you use, invading the privacy of your student-athletes and, as a result, opening the university up to possible litigation?

Fieldhouse Media is a firm dedicated to educating student-athletes and coaches on how to use social media in a positive, appropriate way. To find out more about us or to join the growing list of schools utilizing our services for their athletic department, contact us today.

The tide in college sports may have started to swing in favor of social media.

Check out the full column by clicking here.

Fieldhouse Media is a firm dedicated to educating student-athletes and coaches on how to use social media in a positive, appropriate way. To find out more about us or to join the growing list of schools utilizing our services for their athletic department, contact us today.