Over the past week, interns and companies everywhere should have been making some mental notes on what not to do on social media. I refer to the recent controversy over the Ground Zero mosque’s Twitter account @Park51. Snarky replies to tweets against the mosque were rude, unprofessional, and even anti-Semitic at points. Now, I’m not ever going to TOUCH the whole controversy that revolves around this mosque, since I don’t know enough about it and this isn’t the time or place. However, I do know from what I’ve read that the use of Twitter in this case was a clear example of a social media faux pas (and that’s an understatement).

Interns with Park51 were in charge of the account, which has caused some to use this case as an example against the use of interns in handling an organization’s social media. I agree with this argument on some points, but not others. I think in a case like this where the issue is extremely polarizing, putting interns in charge of your social media is not advisable. I don’t even know if I would trust myself with tweeting about such an issue -  although I think I would’ve done a better job than these interns.  You would think it’s common sense not to use degrading language on a public organization’s account, especially one with regarding such an issue as the Ground Zero mosque.

But I don’t think interns should necessarily be discounted for handling social media in less flammable situations. At The Meyocks Group, we (the interns) took over the @MiniMeyocks account and were responsible for posting tweets. We were given guidelines on what we could and could not discuss on the account and the type of voice the agency wished to convey. Creating guidelines and a strategy is crucial for any organization considering taking on social media. If they let anyone (from interns to executives) spout off on the company Twitter account without any guiding principles, then you get a Park51 situation.

Thanks to Molly for my inspiration!