American Kennel Club Announces New Judges’ Guidelines for Social Media Use: Modernizing the Ring Procedure for a Better Community Experience Embracing Change – New Guidelines for Judges’ SocMedia Use By Best In Show Daily (Printed yesterday) In a dramatic shift, the American Kennel Club’s Executive Board has issued an entirely new handbook for Judges to address the use of social media in the Ring: “SocMedia Responsibilities & The Modern Judge.” With every Judge now carrying a mobile device and having access to social media, the Executive Board announced today that all Judges will now be responsible for using social media as part of their ring procedure. Said Chris Walker, the AKC’s VP of Marketing & Technology Guru, “We’re pleased to embrace these fantastic mobile technologies into our Sport. The KC is committed to technology adoption everywhere it makes sense to provide a richer experience for the Fancy.” The new requirements for Judging Procedures includes real-time tweets and facebook posts while going over the dogs, with final selections to be posted as “selfies” to the American Kennel Club’s, Super’s and Breed Club’s walls immediately after the award of ribbons. Currently approved are iPhones/iPads running all operating systems 6.0 and below – it’s still the Kennel Club! – and Samsung’s Galaxy S5 for Judges that need more support than what a virtual keyboard can supply. Said Les Cannilini, head of Judges’ Operations “we wanted to ensure an easy transition for our Judges of all ages and are offering classes for the new socmedia requirements. Coursework will include • The art of selfies remedial, intermediate and advanced. This class will focus on how to look authentic; how to keep yourself, the dog & the handler in the frame; • Learning the art of ambiguity when you can’t say something nice. This class will focus on easy to remember phrases when you just don’t have words; • Avoiding socmedia gaffes & the potential for flame wars. This class will discuss the dynamics of socmedia tensions in the show ring and beyond; • Friending When to Say “yes” and managing “likes” to avoid conflict of interest. This class will focus on the moderate use of “likes” and sharing” Patrick Guilfoyle, approved for all Poodle varieties & Afghan Hounds, was as ever, an early adopter of the new requirements. While initially troubled by the limitations of tweets, he’s now capably tweeting his critiques in 140 characters or less. As part of the advanced Judges’ Test Team, Mr. Guilfoyle uses the approved AKC mobile device Apple’s iPhone running iOS 7; currently in Beta Test. He said of the new requirements, “This action is such a positive step forward. It frees one from the constraints of exhibitor and bystander criticism. Now everyone will know practically instantaneously your reasons for placements. I’m particularly excited to begin using the Google Glasses that were sent to me by the AKC in a pilot program by the Judges Operations department.” Said top handler Larry Cornelius a true believer in the power of socmedia, “we appreciate the AKC’s modernization of Judging. The critiques available real-time & selfie’s with the Judge will do so much to improve the experience for our clients. It’s almost like being in the Judge’s head.” Ellen Charles, well-known lover of dogs and backer of well, just about every breed ever, enthusiastically endorses the new requirements. “As everyone knows, having immediate information is the new new. I’m not able to be everywhere my dogs are. This program will support my need for understanding what the dogs have done before leaving the ring. No more impatiently waiting for the end of the day. The added benefit of seeing new dogs…. well, just think of the possibilities!” Tray Pittman, professional handler, avid socmedia poster of beautiful Sheltie puppies and friend to everyone, is thrilled with the new requirements. He said “I’ll friend them all! While they’re posting, I’ll be sharing, tagging, & posting from within the ring. This is a wonderful program from the American Kennel Club and will do so much to bring us all together!” Mr. Chris Walker did pre-announce a special project utilizing Google Glasses, Standards On-the-Go. “Now Judges will be freed from the necessity of memorizing every detail of the standard. If in doubt, they will have new video tools showing all crucial elements of judging a breed. Why, they may never need to study again. This will greatly expedite the approval process for Judges, shifting the burden from Operations to IT.” In a separate announcement, the American Kennel Club will be moving to Silicon Valley to better integrate the full digital experience into the Fancy. The new offices will be adjacent to Apple Galactica in Cupertino, Ca. Refuting the rumor that they were just tired of being cold in NY, Mr. Spring said “dogs are natural fit for this new broadcast medium. We wanted to work with the various high tech companies to deliver technology most appropriate to our sport. We envision a time when the dogs may have their own “show cam” which has an automated live feed to our websites.”
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 22:27:37 +0000
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