Some say there’s no place for a social media professional once he hits a certain age.
Some say it’s a job for millennials, an entry-level gig that once you turn, say, 35, you’ve worn out your welcome.
While that may be the case in regards to some brands, when it comes to news, especially entertainment news – with all its rich history – I say it’s good to have someone around who knows that D.A. Pennebaker’s classic Dylan doc doesn’t have an apostrophe in its first word.
I think it’s good to have someone around who knows that N.W.A dropped the last period in their name.
I think it’s helpful to have someone in the social media department who knows that Donna Summer had been dead for years before posting on FB that she had just passed.
What’s the value of ensuring that an organizations tweets are as solid as its copy? Pennies? Dollars? Tens of thousands of dollars?
Serious people who realize social media posts are capable of flying around the world in a split-second might say that it’s priceless to give off the perception that you actually know what you’re tweeting about.
And unfortunately 25 year olds, talented as they may be, can’t know everything.
.. and sometimes they skip the factchecking part where you go to IMDb to double-check spelling.
When I was hired to do the lowly task of editing the closed captions for the E! Networks, I had a boss who told me “look up every single name, even if you love that person.”
I’ll never forget that direction. For in even a fleeting caption, our job was to be accurate.
Today the trades, the experts, and even AP did a great disservice to an award-winning documentarian. In part, I believe, while experienced pros are sitting on the bench… or in my case wasting away on the free agent wire, patiently waiting for the phone to ring.