As social media continue to grow in popularity and reach, they have, in a sense, become less purely social. Tools that once seemed to be mere avenues of connecting or catching up with friends are now becoming engines of publicity, news dissemination, marketing, etc. Twitter was conceived as a microblog that allowed users to see what their pals were up to. Now, many large companies, famous celebrities, and even government agencies have accounts with thousands of followers. These entities are aware of the power of social media, even if socializing isn’t exactly what they are using social media for.

This is not a bad thing. The use of social media in less-personal ways serves to strengthen and diversify the ways in which individuals and organizations reach each other. Also, given the wide variety of profile options, applications, and settings that social media offer, users are free to maintain a more personal internet demeanor if they so choose.

Yet now that companies are more aware of what people are saying about them online,  people need to remember to watch what they say! The stakes are higher now. Posting a rude comment about someone on Facebook was, in the past, a small matter of social embarrassment.  Now, if you say the wrong thing, you might get sued!

Daily Tech reported yesterday that Horizon Group Management LLC, a real estate company in Chicago, has sued a former tenant. Why? Because she used Twitter to complain that the apartment she rented from Horizon was “moldy”, and she insinuated that the company was to blame.

Now, there are two sides to every story, and it’s true that the former tenant actually sued Horizon Group first due to the same mold issue. Still, the counter-suit is based on a Tweet, which Horizon deemed “malicious”. Is this overkill, or a legitimate response to a defamatory remark? I’m not entirely sure, but I suspect that until now, this sort of thing has either never happened or has been rare.

It will be fascinating to see how the case plays out. The results will offer insight into how seriously social media communications are taken in the public square.

by Jeff Estano