The Ethics of Twitter

Twitter is seen by many as the next big advance in public relations and marketing - it allows you to direct a message at specific individuals, carry out conversations from miles away, provide links designed to sell products or offer information, and retweet interesting websites or thoughts those you are following post.

Yet with the recent advent of social media as a whole, and specifically Twitter in 2006, the jury is still out on the ethics of such social networking and sharing sites.

For instance, was the tweeting by Hartford Courant football writer Desmond Conner (@desmondconner) at the funeral services of slain player Jasper Howard in October ethical? And on a smaller scale, what about the tweeting via text message by Marquette student and Tribune editor Sarah Milnar (@smilnar) during a memorial service for freshman Andrew Siebenaler, who died Saturday night in McCormick Hall?

These journalists were attempting to share updates not all would be aware of, but could be entitled to. And if if were not these seasoned writers posting, couldn't another person just as easily disseminate the updates via their own Twitter accounts. Personally, I would rather learn that Howard's mother was being strong and comforting his former teammates from a trusted journalist than from Joe Schmo's Twitter post - it adds a sense of legitimacy to the update.

In my opinion, Twitter is a great way of dispersing the news to a very specific group of followers, who follow the account by choice. While I believe neither Conner or Milnar were unethical in their Twitter activity during these services, it is important discover and maintain where a line might lie. Arguably, the funeral of Howard was viewable on streaming video online, and the memorial service was open to all in the Marquette community.

If using social media to share updates at these events is acceptable, when would it not be? The online journalism community needs to establish an updated code of ethics, much like those created and held by PRSA and SPJ, to take into account the advanced in technology and sites like Twitter.