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Sunday, July 3, 2011

NBA faces $1 million fine for using Facebook or Twitter during lockout (Yahoo! News)

Contract negotiations enact tough new rules against social media leaks

Salary negotiations, salary caps, revenue sharing and just about every other negotiation has come to a standstill today between the NBA and its players. Since the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement last night between the owners and players, the league has barred any interaction between them through Facebook or Twitter until a new contract is reached.

Should the owners communicate with the players via social media tools, the offender is not only facing a million dollar fine from the league, but the owner's eligibility to participate in draft picks for the new season could also be yanked. This could be devastating to a team that is trying to rebuild for a run at the national title.

The ban on Facebook is particularly tough, extending to coaches, managers and front office personnel. The Twitter blackout is a little more lax. Players can be followed on Twitter, but messages cannot be sent via the social service, nor the retweeting of their updates.

All of this is part of a bigger lockout strategy that puts an end to scouting, European preseason games and support for this summer's Olympic qualifying tournaments. If the two sides don't come to an agreement before the official start of the season, Twitter leaks may soon be the least of their problems.

(Source)

Post by Dan O'Halloran

Pope sends first tweet, does so using iPad 2 (Yahoo! News)

The head of the Catholic Church also launched a new website from his tablet

When you think of the Catholic Church, you probably don't imagine the Pope tweeting about the latest church news to thousands of social network followers, but that's just what happened today. Taking to Twitter for the very first time, Pope Benedict XVI shot out a message announcing the debut of News.va, a church web portal that includes worldwide headlines and news from various church departments.

The Pope's tweet appeared on the Vatican news Twitter account, which will now provide links to articles and other features on the new site. Benedict XVI used an iPad 2 to not only send the tweet, but also to formally launch the site to the public. The new religious web destination is readable in both English and Italian, with more languages slated to be added at a later date.

This isn't the first time the Pope and social networking have crossed paths. Benedict XVI also gave online social sites his approval during a speech on the church's World Day of Social Communication in January. At the time, we doubt even he could have predicted he'd be launching a website and sending a tweet just 6 short months later, and from a touchscreen tablet no less.

News.va via AllTwitter