The SEC & social media

It has been a whirlwind couple of days for the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference, the SEC.

On Sunday, St. Petersburg Times reporter Michael Kruse wrote an article detailing the SEC’s new social media policy. Kruse wrote that this new policy placed “increasingly stringent limits” on how conference schools could use social media. The real outrage, Kruse wrote, was that the policy seemingly governed fan behavior at SEC stadiums as well.

Kruse wrote that fans were prohibited from “updating Twitter feeds…posting [photos] on Facebook and Flickr…and taking videos and putting them on YouTube.” In short, the policy prohibited fans from using social media while watching SEC games.

Word spread quickly through Twitter and other sites after the popular social networking blog Mashable picked up the story on Monday. Fans were outraged.

This afternoon the SEC released a revised policy. The policy states:

No Bearer may produce or disseminate in any form a “real-time” description or transmission of
the Event (i) for commercial or business use, or (ii) in any manner that constitutes, or is intended
to provide or is promoted or marketed as, a substitute for radio, television or video coverage of
such Event. 

Personal messages and updates of scores or other brief descriptions of the
competition throughout the Event are acceptable. If the SEC deems that a Bearer is producing a
commercial or real-time description of the Event, the SEC reserves the right to pursue all
available remedies against the Bearer.

This means that fans are indeed allowed to post photos online and tweet during games. The policy does prohibit fans from posting or streaming videos of game action during the game but most fans will be happy they can continue to use their favorite social media sites during games.

SEC Associate Commissioner of Media Relations Charles Bloom clarified the revised statement in an interview with Kathleen Hessert of Charlotte based Sports Media Challenge this afternoon. He said:

“The intent of the revised policy is not to inhibit social media inside our stadiums with the exception of trying to protect our video rights as they pertain to our television and media partners. Someone in the stadium can enter Twitter feeds or Facebook entries and photographs, but the game footage video is something we will try to protect.”

Bloom answered questions about the intent of the original policy and how fan reaction shaped the revised policy. Check out the Sports Media Challenge blog for the full interview.

This incident raises several interesting questions about sports and social media. A few questions to ponder:

• What can we learn from the story of the SEC and social media?
• How much of a role did fan reaction play in the revised policy?
• Do you think this will continue to be an issue for sports organizations? Why or why not?
• How do you think teams and organizations will enact social media policies in the future?

What do you think of the situation? Have your say in the comments!