Recently, we were reminded that the SEC has no heart when it comes to weighing their fans' desires against their own financial interests. They planned to implement a ban on tweeting from the stands during games. Fans wouldn't be able to tweet, "What a great tackle, I am pumped! GO GATORS! CHOMP!!!" during a game.
Fans and media roared collectively, "NO!" The SEC may back down or water down the policy.
It seems extreme until you consider the billions of dollars at stake in the SEC's contracts with ESPN and CBS.
I doubt ESPN cares if fans tweet from their games. ESPN is all about creating a buzz, and tweeting fans won't cost them any viewers.
But when the issue of video going up on people's blogs comes into play, I can see where the ESPN and the SEC should get a little nervous.
There is a much bigger issue at play. One that old media has struggled with since the invention of Napster. The music company has thus far failed to curtail the free exchange of songs across the Internet. What will companies like ESPN and CBS do in a few years when the video produced on the newest iPhone is as crisp as what they broadcast on television?
Technology and the Internet is a Pandora's Box for these companies, and they better figure out now how to cash in on the changing product delivery methods or they'll get left in the dust like the recording industry.
Meanwhile, I fully expect fans to tweet away and take pictures at games with their cell phones. A few will get caught and the media will follow the stories of how the SEC treats them. But they're not going to get people to stop taking pictures of their families at games, and posting them on the web.
And drunken college kids aren't going to stop tweeting, "OMG LOLERZ A TOUCHDOWN!!!"
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