Act Responsibly, Moderate.

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Act Responsibly, Moderate.

Aug

Alisha Paul | Director, Marketing & Social Media | ICUC

When companies plan a social media strategy, something that is sometimes not accounted for is moderation services. This is in part, because social media moves at such a fast pace that there is a sense of urgency for businesses to jump into it. As well, many companies don’t think of the implications of user-generated content until something goes wrong.

Whether it is Facebook, an online community or your YouTube channel the Internet provides an open, and fairly anonymous forum for speaking your mind. Whether your mind is honest and fair, or hateful and mean-spirited is not under anyone’s control.

What should be taken into account, on a legal and moral level, are the obligations a company or business has to its audience and community members. Moderate The intention to provide a friendly platform to educate, spread messages, share content and participate in discussion or fun is simply no longer enough.

User-generated content has a way of getting away from us. As interest grows, so does volume and simple keyword filters no longer get the job done. The only reasonable way in which communities can be managed directly and efficiently is through people-powered moderation services.

Human moderators provide real-time, decision-making based on cultural, environmental and emotional context. Automated systems are cold, inaccessible and have a greater likelihood to misunderstand the discussion or situation. Would you rely on a software to handle all of your customer service concerns? Probably not.

So, while we certainly understand the urgency of social media, and the desire to jump in, we also suggest you act responsibly. Moderate.

Posted in Social Media