by Laura J. Finn & Jamie Reeves
Twitter is now a ubiquitous word, but has Twitter reached the boardroom? One board member told us he’s just begun figuring out how to navigate LinkedIn, and he doesn’t see the purpose of learning Twitter. Still, if you know what to look for, Twitter offers much more than celebrity updates and breaking sports news; there’s a corporate governance microcosm with pithy analysis, lively debate, and plenty of links to online stories you may not find on your own. Twitter has a search engine, allowing users to weed through thousands of Tweets and find threads on hot topics like proxy access. Plus, many tweeters maintain lists of who is tweeting on a particular subject, such as corporate governance (#corpgov), so you can find more information using these handy hash tags. In addition to the many publications that maintain Twitter accounts (think: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and business magazines), there are activisits, attorneys, and CEOs using this medium. Here’s a sampling:
Frank Aquila
Twitter moniker: @faquila
Twitter bio: M&A/corporate governance lawyer & BusinessWeek columnist. Tweets are purely personal, not for attribution & do not represent endorsement of cited content.
Recent tweet: Trend for the future? RT @ABAJournal: HP Decides to Hire New Law Grads Rather than Law Firm Associates http://ow.ly/17P3ji
Note: RT means “re-tweet”
Doug Chia
@dougchia
Twitter bio: In-house corporate-securities lawyer at a large healthcare company. (All opinions expressed herein are solely my own.)
Recent tweet: Did separating the Chair and CEO positions cause the Deepwater spill? - http://nyti.ms/a8dRQP #corpgov
Corporate Board Member
@board_member
Twitter bio: Boardmember.com is an information library on corporate governance issues for senior officers and directors.
Recent tweet: Six Questions for Comp Committees to Ask As Their Companies Venture Down the M&A Path http://bit.ly/bK6Fdl
Corporate Library
@thecorplibrary
Twitter bio: Since 1999, The Corporate Library has been the independent source for corporate governance risk research and analytics. Cheri Gaudet tweeting.
Recent tweet: Vindicated: Abercrombie & Fitch’s Compensation Policies Do Stink http://ow.ly/17Qgjr
Bill George
@bill_george
Twitter bio: Harvard Business School Professor, former Medtronic CEO, and bestselling leadership author. BGTeam = Research assistants
Recent tweet: Congress continues to debate how to regulate credit rating agencies, which played a huge part in 2008 meltdown-More attn needed to this area
Harvard Business Review
@HarvardBiz
Twitter bio: The latest Harvard Business Review blog posts, Management Tips of the Day, Daily Stats, and more.
Recent tweet: 3 Ways to Motivate Your Board of Directors http://s.hbr.org/ajmez9
James McRitchie
@corpgovnet
Twitter bio: Publisher of CorpGov.net (corporate governance). Enhancing corporate accountability and returns since 1995.
Recent tweet: Proxy access as of early Monday morning - http://corpgov.net/wordpress/?p=2158 - more to follow
Nell Minow
@nminow
Twitter bio: movie critic for Beliefnet and chm of corp gov firm The Corporate Library
Recent tweet: Why majority voting is essential in corporate board elections http://shar.es/mzOhS
Doug Park
@dougypark
Twitter bio: Business and Legal Advisor - Corporate Law, Intellectual Property, Corporate Governance, Strategy and Organizational Behavior
Recent tweet: Boards of directors must assume that #IP theft will occur from cyberattacks. http://ht.ly/1Z5t8 #risk #corpgov
RiskMetrics
@RiskMetricsNews
Twitter bio: RiskMetrics, a leading global provider of risk management and ESG products and services, was acquired by MSCI Inc. on 01 June 2010.
Recent tweet: The Historical Perspective on BP. Analytics Research on BP's Labor and Environmental Practices: http://bit.ly/alQtPo #gulf #oilspill
Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University
@StanfordRock
Twitter bio: The Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance is a joint initiative of Stanford Law School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Recent tweet: Politicizing the Board: Directors Face Powerful Pressures. http://bit.ly/ahTfQ3
and @StanfordCorpGov
Twitter bio: Corporate Governance Research Program, Stanford Graduate School of Business & Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University
Recent tweet: CEO Succession Planning: Who’s Behind Door Number One? Closer Look Series: Topics/Issues in #CorpGov Larcker/Tayan http://bit.ly/9tXGgs
Broc Romanek
@brocromanek
Twitter bio: Editor, TheCorporateCounsel.net
Recent tweet: Blogged "Nasdaq's New Requirement: Prompt Notification of Any Noncompliance with Governance Listing Standards" - http://bit.ly/zr3ZK
Jack Welch
@jack_welch
Twitter bio: Bio Author and Commentator
Recent tweet: I may be only voice not happy bullying BP on $20B. They should pay but rule of law should be observed. Politics shouldn't trump law
Topic tags: corporate governance, social media