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Interesting Topic
First, thanks for posting this thread, honeychile, I am also anxious to hear what my ADPis sisters think of this situation.
I’ve worked for a while in marketing and public relations so I can somewhat understand where KKG is coming from. They are attempting to evaluate how to protect their “brand name” and their “brand image” in the light of this new technology which allows individuals to publish their thoughts and opinions in a widely viewed medium while identifying themselves as members of a GLO.
I have to say that in my opinion as a marketer I think that KKG has come under other pressures as well, and their decision to establish the moratorium on their members posting on GC, or any other boards like it, probably stems from the overall position Kappa is in with regards to the web, it can’t be due simply to this board.
If we look at the what kind of brand image issues KKG is dealing with on the web you can start with the New York Times article from this year which reported on the frenzy for GLO pins on one of the Internet’s most popular sites, ebay. The article featured an interview with a KKG who was identified as starting “Keepers of the Key, “ women who are dedicated to buying the KKG pins on ebay and “saving” them from collectors. Fine, interesting. But the article intimated that KKG’s pin was the most coveted on ebay, especially since there were sisters actively bidding against the collectors. This article positioned KKG as one of the most visible, and by extension of their sought-after pin, one of the most famous sororities. Most of us would immediately assume that this is a beneficial position to be in…the most coveted pin, the most coveted sorority. But I don’t think it is as simple as that. To be positioned in this way also opens up the sorority to a lot of the negative feelings and ideas that an overwhelming amount of Americans have about Greek life. If Kappa becomes the most visible, they will receive the most attention, and not all of it is going to be positive.
This takes us to the other phenomenon surrounding KKG, and that is the obsession of quite a few people on the Internet of either finding out Kappa’s ritual or posting secrets of KKG. This is a hot topic of the very poorly run Greek message boards. The topic inspires a lot of flaming and accusations that the people posting are not actual KKGs (which is what I believe). But the most interesting point is how very popular the idea is that people are posting Kappa secrets. For some reason there are a lot of people with an axe to grind against Kappa and the time and fast Internet connection to try and do it. But I’d like to note that I have never seen this on GC, this board has members of GLOs who are perfectly happy talking about Greek Life in general and are happy within their organizations, so you very rarely see even a hint of animosity toward any other GLOs.
Okay, to get back to the image problems that Kappa faces; the fear of Kappa’s National Officers may be that they become the unwitting symbol of all “old” ideas of sorority life. They cannot control their pin showing up on ebay, none of us can do that effectively. They cannot control lone crazies who have some strange issue with sororities or with them in particular posting about their ritual (let me be clear that the posts are fiction). But they do have to do something about making sure their reputation does not become too connected with either situation.
I think that the members of KKG have been asked to stop posting as Kappa’s to give their National Officers some breathing room and some time to decide how to move forward. It also lets them know that anyone still posting under the guise of Kappa membership during the moratorium is just a nutty person or possibly a very, very, uninformed sister with whom they will want to talk.
I realize that it looks like they are infringing on free speech, but that’s not necessarily true. They are simply limiting how one can represent Kappa. It’s the same idea of limiting what you can and cannot do while wearing letters in real life. If you are “wearing letters” on the Internet you cannot post.
This brings us to what we can take from this action on Kappa’s part. Clearly most people here on GC think of the action as being rather extreme. But my opinion is that we as GLOs have not developed a code of behavior, or an etiquette that can be taught to our new members about representing ADPi on the Internet. I think a simple outline of what is acceptable and what is not may very well suffice.
To be honest, I’m always very happy with the way ADPis conduct themselves on this board. However, I cannot say that I haven’t been shocked by what some other GC posters have written here. I have read members of GLOs posts that support illegal acts or support an organization covering-up a crime. Some here still have very fond opinions of hazing. I’ve been pretty surprised by what people are comfortable posting as their letters are clearly shown in their signatures.
I truly hope that some of these fraternal organizations have someone who reads this board and can address some of the more disturbing posts. I think it’s interesting how happily a GLO member will admit to hazing when they feel they have the “anonymity” of the web…I think it’s a fabulous tool for National volunteers to realize which chapters may need some extensive education programs.
Which brings me to an idea for ADPi, a national volunteer position overseeing how we are being portrayed on the Internet. Obviously that is a ton of work, and may take quite a few sisters to volunteer their time, but I think it would be worth it.
Okay, this is an absurdly long treatise, clearly you can see I’ve been in a waiting room for an hour and this is what I do when I get bored.
Anyway, thanks again honeychile for the topic. I look forward to hearing from other ADPis.
Loyally,
Violets
P.S. honeychile, I tried to pm you a couple of times but it never sends properly.
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