Journalists attending the BBC Social Media Summit on May 20 discussed ways to “shift” their attitude toward social media, according to Julie Posetti in a blog post for PBS. Journalists were advised that they should participate with their audience through social media, instead of viewing social media as a way to present to an audience, Posetti explained. Discussions also reportedly focused on the challenge of setting and achieving standards of journalistic verification on social media platforms.

However, the first day of the two-day conference was invite-only and used Chatham House rule, under which participants “are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed,” as ChathamHouse.org.uk explains.

The irony of doing so “did not escape us when we made the decision,” according to Matthew Eltringham in a blog post for BBC.  Eltringham stated that BBC used the rule for the conference “in order to enable participants to speak freely at today’s session without fear of being taken out of context.” Read more here.