Monday, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced new rules regarding the distribution of photos, videos and updates at or about college football games by fans and attendees through social media.

Basically, you can't share them - anything related to the game. According to the policy, ticketed fans can't "produce or disseminate (or aid in producing or disseminating) any material or information about the event, including, but not limited to, any account, description, picture, video, audio, reproduction or other information." (For the full policy, see here.)

The main motive behind this is to protect the value of their $3 billion deal with ESPN and CBS.

As the St. Petersburg Times said, "If exclusivity is the aim, and it is, because it's that exclusivity that commands the billions of dollars from TV networks, then the fans aren't just fans anymore. They're looking more and more like so many cell phone-equipped individual information feeds."

Regardless of what we as technology-using fans are defined as, we should be able to maintain the "right" to sharing and communicating as we want. We also should be able to find and hear about our news in whatever forms we want to - we shouldn't be restricted to broadcast, the corporate Twitter feed, etc. I may prefer the way a specific Twitter user discusses the game, with unique details and humorous tone. The SEC is not only restricting him from posting, but me from reading and getting updates on the game how I enjoy them.

Mashable said it well with "For the moment, these policies seem a lot more grounded in fear than reality. Sure, these days someone could theoretically live stream a game from their camera phone. But a shaky, low resolution video from the upper deck of Yankee Stadium isn't exactly the same as watching FOX's telecast on your big screen TV. Social media should be viewed a fantastic compliment to sports that is good for both fans and the TV networks, but at the moment, it seems that's anything but how it's being perceived."

While some reports are saying the SEC doesn't "get" social media, I believe it is more appropriate to say they are fearful  - fearful of social media taking a stab out of their big media budgets.

Other conferences have evaluated their social media policy and have gone the other direction. The Big 10 encourages fans to submit photos and videos that other bloggers can access and share. The Atlantic Coast Conference is utilizing student bloggers and their use of social media to promote this year's 2009 Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game in an effort to increase attendance. As a Florida State alum (Go Seminoles!), I'm proud of the conference for not only encouraging it, but realizing the potential of social media marketing in generating SALES for the organization. So, instead of relying on the monies from traditional media partnerships, they're counting on the ROI from word of mouth using social media. They're relying on sustainable, ongoing conversations occurring among their fans online to drive offline attendance. Wow!

Here are a few additional benefits of social media use by fans at games:

• Increase awareness - Social media allows others to happen upon conversations and become aware of ongoing games, which may lead them to turn on the television to watch, or purchase tickets for the next game.
  
• Extend fan participation - Those watching the game at home can interact online via fans at the game, increasing conversation volume.
• Additional content - The SEC can retweet, post links to and share fan content, creating broader coverage and more engagement with their own fans.
  
• Brand sponsorship engagement - Brands want to connect with fans when it is relevant, and sports events are a great opportunity to do that. For those hoping to engage fans through online channels, the new SEC policy will severely limit what the brand can do, and negatively impact their perception of the conference, making them think twice about future sponsorships.
  

The SEC issued a statement via Twitter late Monday afternoon to their 9,340 fans saying "To our Twitter fans, we have heard you. We're working on clarifications to our policy and should have something done soon."

The revised plan is still to be revealed, but according to the Charlotte Observer, the new guidelines may try to find a compromise and allow fans to tweet from the stands after all. 

What are your thoughts on the policy? How would this impact your participation at SEC college football games?