If you’ve been following the lead-up to the London Olympic Games, you’ve probably heard that Greek triple jumper Paraskevi Papahristou was banned from the events by the Hellenic Olympic Committee on Wednesday, because of a racist joke she made on Twitter. Papahristou responded to initial criticism defensively, but when she was dismissed from the games, she followed up with an apology on both Facebook and Twitter.
After banning Papahristou, the Hellenic Olympic Committee forbade all Greek athletes from sharing personal opinions unrelated to the Olympic Games on social media networks. “They can’t express personal opinions on other, third subjects, but only about themselves, their athletic condition, if they’re on form, or about the games, until the games are over,” a committee spokesperson said.
Unfortunately, that guidance is too late to help Papahristou. Her dismissal is irreversible, as is the smear she left on Greek Olympic team’s reputation.
Your organization’s social media policy shouldn’t be reactive. Don’t wait until an employee harms your organization’s reputation—as well as his or her own—to train your staff about proper, professional social media use. Explain exactly what you expect of them. Give examples of appropriate and inappropriate tweets and posts. Send them to Social Media Training Camp. There’s a session coming up in Las Vegas on Oct. 9-10. (Early bird registration rates expire on Sept. 9!)
How does your organization train employees to use social media effectively?
[Image Source: The Sports Bar]
