It’s (December) Madness!
December 20th, 2007 posted by Dan BrennanWhen we first talked about initiating this blog, we discussed mandating staff participation, even specific procedures. We talked about the number of times each of us should post, whether material should be reviewed before posting, etc. Several of us argued that such requirements were counter intuitive to the blogging process. It would mean, we said, people would participate because they had to, not because they wanted to.
Thankfully, we created no formal procedures and a better blog is the result.
I mention this because I came across a sports blog last night talking about the NCAA’s “Blogging Policy” that credentialed media must follow while covering specific events. Granted, it is a policy dealing with a specific audience, but you’ll get the idea. A taste:
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“The following is the NCAA’s policy for the number of blogs allowed during a Competition or Session (i.e., where more than one contest takes place under the same admission ticket). They apply to all sports listed and are applicable to both genders.
Fall Sports
Soccer: Five times per half; one at halftime
Field Hockey: Five times per half; one at halftime
Volleyball: Three per Competition; one in between Competitions
Football: Three per quarter; one at halftime
Cross Country: Ten per day/session
Men’s Water Polo: Three per quarter; one at the halftime
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It goes on to mention other sports, but you get the point. The NCAA is trying to control the flow of information from its events to the web.
The policy doesn’t say anything about how such things will be enforced or the consequences of failing to comply beyond losing the precious media pass. The absurdity of such a policy is obvious, never mind the nuances of the seemingly arbitrary alloted entries for each sport. I can only image how many meetings were held to develop such a policy. And while this addresses media representatives, it says nothing about “fans” in attendance, which is beyond reach anyway.
How does this relate to B2B? It doesn’t.
This is actually about a much bigger “discussion” (re: lawsuit) about First Amendment rights of media outlets covering public events and event organizers trying to protect broadcast contracts. It’s a discussion that needs to be held within the collegiate sports environment. But it may set the future tone of blogging from, oh, say tradeshows, and other events.
Beyond that, it shows that many remain in the dark about the nature of the medium and we need to change that. If you’re thinking about starting a B2B blog, don’t let this kind of policy stand in your way. There’s value, go find it.