1. Jessica Wang Randy Cadenhead Sutherland Cox Communications
Social Networks
And the Nonprofit
Jessica Wang Randy Cadenhead
Sutherland Cox Communications
July 15, 2009

2. Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta:
Mission of
Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta:
To provide free legal assistance to community-based nonprofits that serve low-income or disadvantaged individuals. We match eligible organizations with volunteer lawyers from the leading corporations and law firms in Atlanta who can assist nonprofits with their business law matters.

3. Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta Eligibility & Other Information
In order to be a client of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, an organization must:
Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Be located in or serve the greater Atlanta area.
Serve low-income or disadvantaged individuals.
Be unable to afford legal services.
Visit us on the web at
Host free monthly webinars on legal topics for nonprofits
To view upcoming webinars or workshops, visit the Workshops Page on our website

4. For More Information:
If you would like more information about the services of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, contact us at:
Phone:
Fax:

5. Social Networks And the Nonprofit Agenda
About Social Networks
Opportunities
Issues
Policies

6. About Social Networks
Yesterday - Online Social Networks date from 1995
Classmates.com – 1995
Myspace.com – 2003
Facebook –
Yahoo
Twitter

7. Today – “Web 2.0” Facebook – 200 million users
MySpace – 60 million user visits/month
Twitter – 1400% user growth
LinkedIn – 36 million users

8. Tomorrow – “Web 3.0 = Social Media”
“Viral” Growth
Constant Change
New Opportunities
New Place for Old Issues

9. Social Media – Communication Facebook, MySpace Collaboration
Multimedia
Reviews
Entertainment
Facebook, MySpace
Wikipedia, Digg
Flickr, YouTube
Epinions, Jobeehive
Second Life

10. Opportunities Agency Promotion Sites
Employee and Volunteer Personal Sites
Client Location and Feedback from Social Networks
Volunteer Recruiting
Fund Raising Opportunities

11. Agency Accounts – Advantages Issues Time costs Negative Comments
Positive PR
Low cost communications
Fundraising
Issues
Time costs
Negative Comments
Monitoring
Supervision
Privacy/Confidentiality
Hacking/Impersonation

12. Employees and Volunteer Personal Posts
Unsponsored References by Others
Valuable PR
Expanding your circle of contacts
But Issues Include
Quality of messaging
Posting of personal opinions
Confidentiality/Privacy
Defamation

13. Friends and Clients Word of Mouth “viral” buzz Issues Include
Lack of control
Defamation

14. Client Identification and Feedback
Virtual “cries for help”
Testimonials
But Issues Include
Confidentiality
Negative PR

15. Volunteer Recruiting
Fundraising Opportunities

16. Issues Employment Issues: Employers can vet potential employees
A non-decisionmaker should first filter out sensitive information like age or religion

17. Issues, continued Potential liability for employers
Some courts have found employers liable for online actions of employees
Defamation, harassment
Should employers terminate or discipline employees for their online activity?
Little case law to guide us—but watch out for discrimination or anti-retaliation allegations
Consider the effect on PR and workplace morale

18. Issues, continued Intellectual Property Issues
Copyright or trademark infringement
Loss of protection of trade secrets

19. Policy Pointers
Control the statements that might be attributed to the non-profit
Monitor and police the online activity that you require of your employees
Consider public perception, legal repercussions, and business repercussions

20. Policy Pointers, continued
Many employer policies prohibit the following:
Directly making defamatory statements
Lashing out at supervisors or coworkers
Making harassing statements about coworkers
Discussing controversial topics while disclosing a connection with the employer
Disclosing trade secrets

21. Policy Pointers, continued
Key aspects of a good policy:
Cover all postings and sites (Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.)
Be specific about expectations
Provide contact person for questions
Employee is responsible for own posts and may be liable
Employee should respect copyright laws, harassment laws, and so on

22. For More Information:
If you would like more information about the services of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, contact us at:
Phone:
Fax: