Fiery topic: ethics and social media
While social media offer an unparalleled opportunity for businesses to connect with customers, they can be rife with myriad pitfalls waiting to trip companies up. Those issues are the focus of the 19th annual Burkenroad Institute Symposium on Business and Society, “Taming the Dragon: The Ethics of Doing Business in the World of Social Media.”
Social media are powerful but present ethical issues for businesses. The Burkenroad Institute Symposium on "Taming the Dragon" brings in experts to identify the challenges. (Illustration from the Burkenroad Institute)
The free symposium on Friday (Feb. 10) features national social media experts who will discuss the issues companies face as they look to fold social media into their business model.
“Social media are changing the way people are doing business,” says Adrienne Colella, the director of the Burkenroad Institute who also holds the James W. McFarland Distinguished Chair in Business. “Along with that come certain problems and ethical issues. There are no filters, and things are happening in real time.”
The symposium will feature three speakers and an interactive panel discussion. Speakers include Chris Weil, global chair and CEO of Momentum Worldwide, a New York-based international marketing agency; Michelle Sherman, a Los Angeles-based attorney at Sheppard Mullin who leads the firm's social media industry team; and David Vinjamuri, founder of ThirdWay Brand Trainers and “Brand Truth” columnist for Forbes magazine.
Laila Morcos, senior public relations account executive at Peter Mayer Advertising in New Orleans, will moderate the event.
Issues surrounding business ethics and leadership are typically the focus of the symposium.
“Every year we try to put together a group of experts in an area that is both timely and addresses critical ethical issues facing the business world,” Colella says.
The event is scheduled from 10 until 11:30 a.m. on Friday (Feb. 10), in Dixon Hall on the Tulane uptown campus.
