Maren Guse

Is Jim Boeheim retiring? Or did a tweet go out to the wrong account?

The below tweet, sent by Syracuse University’s official Twitter account, went out to its 18,000+ followers in the middle of Jim Boeheim’s post-game press conference after his win over DePaul.

The link goes to this DYST blog post, which alleges that Jim Boeheim was asked to retire over possible NCAA violations. The author’s bio indicates the blog was started in 2010 when he was a junior in high school.

The tweet was quickly picked up Deadspin, making the site’s homepage. ”The DYST Now page is certainly of questionable authority, but why did Syracuse link to it?,” writes Deadspin.

Is Boeheim actually retiring? SU says “no.”

The @SyracuseU account is run by multiple users, including students.

A blog post on NunesMagician.com argues that this incident, “was just another shining example of the university’s incompetence with social media. The school’s inability to control its own message not only embarrasses the university” but jeopardizes the credibility of other bloggers.

(Read more in my article on CNYCentral.com)

(Edited with Instagram)

A few photos from the New York State Fair.

President Obama’s strategic and successful use of social media leading up to the 2008 election is widely known, and it looks like he hasn’t lost his touch.

In the middle of the Republican National Convention, President Obama sparked excitement online when he participated in an unannounced AMA (“ask me anything”) on Reddit. Users asked the President a variety of questions including his stance on internet freedom, the state of the economy, unemployment among recent college grads, and about the hardest decision he’s had to make yet. (Read AMA here.)

Obama introduces his Reddit AMA

As word spread the President would shortly be on Reddit, ”Reddit AMA” and “Ask Me Anything” quickly became trending topics on Twitter. Meanwhile, the Romney campaign says it has purchased a trending topic on Twitter to appear during his speech at the RNC tomorrow; it’s the first time a political campaign has purchased a trending topic.

Founder of Reddit announces the AMA

Question: We know how Republicans feel about protecting Internet Freedom. Is Internet Freedom an issue you’d push to add to the Democratic Party’s 2012 platform?

Answer: Internet freedom is something I know you all care passionately about; I do too. We will fight hard to make sure that the internet remains the open forum for everybody – from those who are expressing an idea to those to want to start a business. And although there will be occasional disagreements on the details of various legislative proposals, I won’t stray from that principle – and it will be reflected in the platform.

Is it more valuable to break news first, or maintain credibility and report accuracy? You decide.

Earlier this year…

Wrong.

Also wrong.

Sidebar to an article and segment I wrote for CNY Central.

Social media has been huge surrounding the Olympics. Athletes have gotten the boot for tweeting racist remarks, a reporter appears to have gotten kicked off Twitter for criticizing NBC’s tape-delay, and GPS signals have been kicked off the network from fans over-tweeting.

It’s the tape-delay in the age of social media that has me wondering about the future of “social TV.” Most shows that embrace social media are already taped and events like NFL games air live, both of those scenarios work for social; the event airs at the same time for everyone.

But scenarios such as the Olympics and award shows that have historically been tape-delayed face a decision – to hang on to primetime tape-delay for the advertising dollars or to embrace viewers’ access to and desire for real time information. Is there a way to satisfy both needs?

While I understand the business need for the tape-delay, as a viewer who was excited to watch particular events, I was disappointed when I signed on Twitter and immediately saw the results. I did not tune-in later to watch the event; my interest was lost.

NBC has said very little in response to the complaints (#nbcfail), but have cited astonishing ratings in primetime despite all the spoilers. Does this mean that not enough people were outraged? Or, did people still watch despite the spoilers?

The lesson in this is that “social TV” is here, and we have a long way to go to balance traditional with social. (Okay, we can all learn a bit about how not to handle a PR crisis online, but that’s for another day.)

(Read my article on CNYCentral.com)