This is a subscriber-only article
Among the Indecon Report’s recommendations for the Board of Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) we find this:
“For best practice specific skills required on the Board should be identified and taken into account in making appointments to the board [...] formal induction training should be provided to board members and updated on a regular basis to refresh their skills and knowledge.”
Considering some recent controversies faced by the current HSI board it would appear that one of the most important skills that should be encouraged and updated is that of social media.
Not because they may be going to use this new and revolutionary means of human communication but just in order that they should not be hoodwinked or blindsided by it.
Fake news
Living as we are in the era of ‘Trumpocracy’ and ‘Putinism’, the pursuit of truth has become more problematic.
While useful for communication in the right circumstances, social media can also become a tool of mass confusion.
According to the diktat of White House spokesperson Kellyanne Conway there are not only facts and falsehoods but also “alternative facts”.
Which in turn means there is truth, lies and also “fake news”.
Writing recently in the Irish Independent, Margaret Sullivan noted: “In this era of fake news, the difference between truth and falsehood is hard to spot.”
In her superb speech at the recent Golden Globe Awards Oprah Winfrey declared: “There must be insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth because speaking your truth is the most powerful tool you have.”
In pursuit of an agenda, be it good or bad, an astute user of social media can blur the facts and thus make it difficult for boards like that of HSI to discern just where the best interests of their organisation and the truth lies.
Hampered by confidentiality and use of more traditional means of communication they can have difficulty responding to what are sometimes called social media storms.
Recent controversy
In the recent controversy about High Performance that hit HSI we were informed that there was a “social media storm” in favour of one side of the argument.
Yet investigations on the ground showed that there was also a sizeable body of support for the opposite point of view.
Like Solomon, it is the work of our representatives on the HSI Board to do the research in order to make that difficult call as to where reality lies.
Hence the Indecon recommendation for up-skilling on the part of HSI board members!
As historian Niall Ferguson notes in his book The Square and the Tower: “Much of human history has been shaped by networks like the Illuminati or Facebook rather than by hierarchies.”
So boards like HSI have to be on their toes in this strange new era of social media.
Read more
SHARING OPTIONS: