“What happens when a reporter who authors a respected Twitter page moves to the competition? Can she take the identity with her as part of her personal brand? Can the paper assert ownership?” asks Hart Van Denburgh referencing the case of a US reporter for the Pioneer Press, who recently moved to the competition, but left her Twitter account behind.
The Pioneer Press’ own technology correspondent, Julio Ojeda-Zapata, recommends companies issue formal or informal guidelines on using social media and rules on who owns and controls branded accounts.