Why Does the NFL Hate Social Media?

By Mark Evans in Software 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

Social media is having a dramatic and exciting impact on how we communicate and share information, as well as how we market and sell products and services. So why does the National Football League so anti-social media? It recently issued an edict on how and when its players can use Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools.

While a strange approach, you could argue the NFL wants to protect the integrity of the game by making sure players are focused on playing as opposed to updating their social media statuses. A ban on using social media tools until after post-game interviews are completed could, I guess, be justified given the media plays a key role in marketing and selling the game.

But where the NFL has gone completely off the rails is a declaration that people who attend games can’t use Twitter to provide play-by-play coverage. The NFL said that if it identifies people who are live Tweeting, it will ask them to stop. If they refuse, the NFL could sue them.

This policy is really dumb for a couple of reasons. First, the last thing you want to do is threaten your paying customers about an activity that in no way undermines or damages your business. I mean, how could live Tweeting seriously impact the NFL’s lucrative broadcasting contracts?

Second, Americans seem to have this thing about freedom of speech so if the NFL ever does file a lawsuit against someone, someone will go after it for violating the First Amendment.

Over the past 30 years, the NFL has established itself one of the premier pro sports business by controlling the product, including strict rules on how players conduct themselves on and off the field. But trying to control how its fans use social media is something else entirely. It’s misplaced and downright evil.


Community Managers: The Workhorses of Social Media

By Mark Evans in Social Media 3 Comments Tags: , ,

As social media becomes an increasingly important part of how companies do communications, marketing and sales, one of the key positions is community and social media managers – people who monitor the social media landscape, and engage in conversations with customers, partners, investors, suppliers and employees.

From the outside looking in, being a community manager looks like a glamorous position because you’re in the middle of the action – and getting paid to use social media tools all day long.

But the reality is that being a community manager is a lot of work that involves a lot of unglamorous blocking and tackling. Many community managers spend all day in front of their computers, trolling the social media landscape for mentions about their company, products and markets.

And the expectation is you’ve got to respond right away – waiting a few hours to respond and engage is seen as bad form.

So rather than being glamorous and exciting, being a community manager can be intense and a grind. It’s a position that plays to someone whose digital engaged with a willingness to do what it takes to meet internal and external expectations – even if it means long hours.

“My day starts on Twitter and it doesn’t really end,” said Alicia Dantico, who handles Twitter for Garrett Popcorn. She told Associated Press that she keeps her BlackBerry all the time so can be on call for her followers in different time zones. “It’s driving my family crazy, but that’s OK.”

The time commitment made by Dantico is pretty typical of community and social media managers for large and small companies. Given social media is such a new activity, the people who are being paid to do it still need to justify their jobs so working long hours is part of the gig.

What I wonder about is the life span for community and social media managers. How long can someone be that digitally engaged before you come down with a bad case of digital burnout?

For now, it’s still the honeymoon period for community and social media jobs but there may come a time pretty soon when the novelty wears off. Then, what?

Note: It’s also my belief that community and social media managers play an important part in a company’s marketing and communications because they work in multiple areas: communications, marketing, business development, customer service and sales.


You Can Reach Me Here, Here, Here….

By Mark Evans in Social Media 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

It used to be that when someone wanted to contact you, they called or just dropped by.

When the Internet entered into the mainstream, e-mail was added as a way to quickly reach out to people.

And then online services and social media started to be embraced, which now means there are even more ways to touch base, including:

- Twitter
- Facebook
- LinkedIn
- Skype
- SMS
- GTalk

All of which means you need to log into all of these services to see if anyone is trying to reach you, or use some kind of ultra-messaging tool.

In some ways, it all makes you long for the days of yore when “contact me” meant less choices.

Skype’s Set Free (Almost)

By Mark Evans in M&A, Telecom Acquisitions, Financing 2 Comments Tags: , ,

When eBay purchased Skype in 2005, it was a $4.1-billion strategic head-scratcher.

Why eBay, the world’s leading online auction service, needed to buy a disruptive VOIP service provider – even one as popular as Skype – made little sense despite assertions there were many synergies, including how Skype would allow eBay to roll out click-to-call to enhance its core online business.

The deal was a mistake that distracted eBay and, arguably, retarded Skype’s progress.

The bottom line, however, is it wasn’t a complete disaster for eBay as they were able to get $2.75-billion for a 65% stake in Skype from a group of investors led by Index Ventures and Silver Lake Partners.

It’s a good deal for eBay because it gets the business refocused strategically, while providing eBay with some more financial stability and flexibility. eBay also gets to keep 35% as a way to ensure it shares in the wealthy if Skype becomes more successful and valuable.

More important is how it will, hopefully, provide Skype with more strategic flexibility and freedom to pursue ideas, new markets and new services that it couldn’t do while part of the eBay empire.

What’s impressive is that Skype has thrived financially while owned by eBay, so it will be interesting to see if Skype’s growth as a standalone entity will be even more impressive.

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