I am pretty sure this is not what the SEOs have in mind when they encourage property management companies to “utilize social media.”
Within the last few days, a libel suit for the ages has broken out over nothing more than…a tweet. Yes folks, 140 characters of “what are you doing” goodness has turned into a $50,000 lawsuit between a Chicago resident and the property management company she used to rent from.
Horizon Group Management is going head to head with former tenant Amanda Bonnen over a tweet she posted regarding the state of her apartment. One of Horizon’s employees recently released a statement (whose tone is ambigous) saying, “The statements are obviously false, and it’s our intention to prove that. We’re a sue first, ask questions later kind of organization.”
So here’s what we know:
- Horizon Group Management is already the number one example on the “Streisand Effect” Wikipedia page.
- Jeffrey Michael did his company no favors with the above quoted statement.
- The masses on the internet have, for the most part, found this to be more trouble than it’s worth for the management company and assume the company now wishes they’d kept their mouths shut and lawyers under lock and key.
- Amanda Bonnen, whether telling the truth or not, will surely think twice about any tweet she posts ever again (though one source says she’s already shut down her account.)
- The decision of this case will undoubtedly permeate the foundations of social media and networking as it make an example either out of the management company, or Bonnen herself.
Great points have been made across a number of blogs and articles about the legal aspects of libel, freedom of speech and whatnot (many are linked to within this article), but I’d like to focus on the literal absurdity of the situation.
If you read the complaint filed by the management group, you are able to read a string of Bonnen’s tweets, not many of which are particularly positive. If every company she complained about from Spirit Air to O’Hare airport to the City of Chicago, took up a suit against her, she’d be a full time defendant in the courts. And I doubt Bonnen’s twitter stream is all that different from millions of other Twitter users.
I realize Horizon’s case is based on Bonnen’s wording, that she’s directly accusing them of something they say isn’t true, but still. While I’m not condoning the use of Twitter as a place to complain or criticize, I have to wonder if it is really worth it for Horizon to go through with the suit.
If Horizon Management Group is lucky, the story will die down in a few days…but at the rate it’s spreading, that’s probably too much to hope for.
What are your thoughts property managers? Where does “clearing your name on Twitter” rank in your marketing strategy?
