Today@Dal

Published Tuesday, Dec. 11:

[Vancouver Canucks goalie] Schneider's reluctance towards Twitter is an exception to the rapidly increasing trend of professional and amateur athletes using social media to spread news, share views or abuse competitors — among other purposes.

Athletes, coaches and officials predict social media will become even more prominent in 2013.

...

B.C. Lions defensive lineman Khalif Mitchell was fined by the CFL and banned from a game by his team after posting a message derogatory towards Chinese on Twitter while commenting on the U.S. presidential election candidates.

In another online blunder, Calgary Stampeders receiver Nik Lewis made light of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson in the famous O.J. Simpson case. Lewis was fined by the league and, amid a public outcry, donated his Western Final game cheque to a local women's shelter.

But Anatoliy Gruzd, director of Dalhousie University's social media lab, said such controversies are not unique to the sports world.

"We see controversies like these all the time," he said. "It's just a general misunderstanding of how open social media is. Quite often, it's impossible to undo or delete a message."

Gruzd said the solution is all about educating the user on appropriate online behaviour, especially if you're a public figure.

Read the full story at MSN.com.