Facebook, College Sports, and Recruiting: Be Careful What You Post (link to article)
At the start of 2011, social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter have become the center of online communication. Facebook, with over 500 million active users, is the fastest way to communicate with and learn about a person. There are countless users of social networking in college sports, from recruits to college athletes to college coaches. Recruits can use the site to meet and communicate with coaches, and coaches doing the same with their recruits. College athlete’s pages are often times very similar to a celebrity’s, viewed by all kinds of fans and supporters. With all of the scrutiny going into the social networking profiles set up by these individuals, many still do not seem to realize the importance of keeping all of the content appropriate.
“What kids don’t realize is that once something is posted on the web, it’s permanent,” says Kevin Long, CEO and Founder of UDiligence. What Long is referring to is the inability of any social website user who posts inappropriate content to correct their mistake. “That information is out there, and it will still be out there when athletes are out of college looking for a job.” UDiligence is a hosted solution contracted by various college athletic programs to automatically watch for certain content on the Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace accounts of that college’s athletes and coaches. Long says that the biggest every day problem UDiligence sees is with profanity use in communication on these sites. Whether it is a Facebook wall post, a Tweet, or a quote on a Myspace profile, so many profiles seem to be loaded with inappropriate language. College programs contract UDiligence both to ensure the preserved reputation of their program and university, as well as to protect the future of every student-athlete after he or she is through with college. “We see pictures every day of college athletes with guns, flaunting stacks of cash, and inappropriate revealing of bodies,” says Long. All of this content can be ridiculed by fans, other students, and the online community as a whole.
As both Long and UDiligence clients both agree, protecting the student athlete’s future is the primary purpose of the service. When a student athlete is out of college and looking for a job, the same web content will still be available to find by their prospective employer. Any inappropriate Tweet or Facebook picture that is posted now will still affect the athlete beyond the college years.
As for recruits, the future they are looking to protect is happening now. A college coach could friend request a recruit on Facebook, and if the coach sees this recruit has a bunch of inappropriate content, swears all the time, or anything of the like, the recruit might be crossed off the coach’s list immediately. College coaches are not only looking for athletes to fit a team, but good people to fit a community.
Student-athletes, both in college and high school, need to understand the importance of the content on their social networking pages being appropriate. A Facebook page or Twitter account is the easiest way for a college coach or employer to get a first impression of someone. Make sure that the impression you are making is the right one.
Read more: Facebook, College Sports, and Recruiting: Be Careful What You Post | College Recruiting Blog - Athletic Scholarships Blog | NCSA
http://www.ncsasports.org/blog/2011/02/01/facebook-and-college-sports-recruiting-be-careful-what-you-post/#ixzz1fJ5dBWn
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