Who does your work-related Twitter account belong to?

[KJIM]

Here's why I ask:

Those without established digital chops - a highly active Twitter account, for starters - need not apply.

I understand requiring experience for a job, but I'm wondering if it's expected that a writer new to a paper is expect to bring his or her own audience to a new paper.

If I move from a rural Georgia paper to Shreveport or something, how would my "highly active Twitter account" have any bearing on my new gig?

Perhaps this ad means "active" in terms of posts, and I could grasp that. But it does seem like employers are looking at the number of a person's followers. (And of course, "active" doesn't necessarily equal "quality," but I digress...)

For national writers, I get it -- I like someone, I'll track that person down. But local and hyper local? If I'm a reader in Thomasville and Local Writer moves to Shreveport, I'm un-following that person and signing on to the new one.

When you leave a job, do you cancel your work-specific Twitter? Who do those followers "belong" to?

 

[LongTimeListener]

It's probably more likely that they want to see how you're handling your Twitter account now than the number of followers you'll automatically bring with you. Some people really suck at Twitter. (Most people, maybe even.)

It's little more than the 21st-century equivalent of asking for clips. I think you're making too much of the specifics. And if someone is NOT on Twitter by now, that's a person that can be dismissed from the running in the first round.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Here's why I ask:

Those without established digital chops - a highly active Twitter account, for starters - need not apply.

I understand requiring experience for a job, but I'm wondering if it's expected that a writer new to a paper is expect to bring his or her own audience to a new paper.

If I move from a rural Georgia paper to Shreveport or something, how would my "highly active Twitter account" have any bearing on my new gig?

Perhaps this ad means "active" in terms of posts, and I could grasp that. But it does seem like employers are looking at the number of a person's followers. (And of course, "active" doesn't necessarily equal "quality," but I digress...)

For national writers, I get it -- I like someone, I'll track that person down. But local and hyper local? If I'm a reader in Thomasville and Local Writer moves to Shreveport, I'm un-following that person and signing on to the new one.

When you leave a job, do you cancel your work-specific Twitter? Who do those followers "belong" to?

Is this a small paper that's asking this, as it's pretty funny if it is?

If I'm the only one with the password, they belong to me. I'd also change the password iif you're about to leave a current position. Usernames are easy to change.

 

[boundforboston]

An off-shoot question: Can your boss dictate your tweeting, whether you don't do it enough or you tweet things unrelated to your job, if it's your personal account?

 

[Captain Obvious]

An off-shoot question: Can your boss dictate your tweeting, whether you don't do it enough or you tweet things unrelated to your job, if it's your personal account?

If you're in an "at-will" situation, yes.

 

[bigblueman]

An off-shoot question: Can your boss dictate your tweeting, whether you don't do it enough or you tweet things unrelated to your job, if it's your personal account?

What does being an "at will" employee have to do with twitter postings?

 

[boundforboston]

An off-shoot question: Can your boss dictate your tweeting, whether you don't do it enough or you tweet things unrelated to your job, if it's your personal account?

If you're in an "at-will" situation, yes.

I guess I was getting at, Are companies allowed to dictate your personal twitter account?

 

[bigblueman]

Companies aren't allowed to dictate personal twitter accounts, yet. But it doesn't stop them from asking to do so. Personally, I keep a personal twitter account and a newspaper twitter account. I try not to mix them, but occasionally I do retweet items on my personal account that appear on the newspaper twitter account. I've always thought two twitter accounts would be better because readers may like following you the writer, but may not really care when the writer posts his big off-day plans of dropping off clothes at the dry cleaner and picking up the kids from school.

Of course, I'm making a huge assumption that some of you still get days off.

 

[bigblueman]

Who do the tweets belong to? Are they subject to copyright? Even if you have the passwords, are they the property of the paper?

I would guess that tweets by their nature of being 140 characters or less wouldn't be eligible for copyright. They really aren't long enough. They are not necessarily classified as a product. Also, facts are not subject to copyright, which is what I would guess most tweets are. "I played golf here." "Junior recovered a fumble at the 30-yard line."

Ownership of the tweet according to twitter belongs to the tweeter. They may be the property of the paper if you are doing the newspaper's business on the newspaper account.

If it's a personal account, I would have to side with the tweet being owned by the account owner, not his employer.

 

[TigerVols]

Oddly enough, in the news yesterday about the court throwing out President Obama's recess appointments to the NLRB, it was mentioned that more than a thousand cases and rulings by the NLRB would now have to be tossed, including recent ones that outlined employees' social media protections.

Here's a previous story about what those protections are (were?):

http://www.nooga.com/159578/the-national-labor-relations-board-and-employers-social-media-policies/

 

[writingump]

Basically, it doesn't matter if you can craft a 1,000-word feature any more. Tweeting, shooting video and blogging are more important than being able to write.

 

[Double Down]

Not correct.