Comments on: Is your social media presence really yours?

By: Big Brother vs. Social Media vs. Basil Fawlty

Big Brother vs. Social Media vs. Basil Fawlty — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:09:55 +0000

[...] a growing issue. I noticed about a month ago, posting on SmartBlog, Drew McClellan asked: Is your social media presence really yours? She added: A high-level ad exec puts a multimillion-dollar account at risk because of his tweet. [...]

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:18:56 +0000

It is a fine line between being an ambassador for your company and saying something libelous. I do not agree with businesses dictating employee social media content on personal sites, to a point. But if the employee is bashing the company, they are hurting their livelihood by hurting biting the hand that feeds. If they do it, they are just idiots. I am currently in the process of writing a social media section into my editorial guidelines. I am not the first as one website has 30 examples from corporate and governmental employers. In it, I hope to train 170 employees to be social media ambassadors.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:14:34 +0000

Yup–my company has a social media policy as part of the employee handbook. Refers employees to existing policies that are also relevant with regard to social media: privacy, computer use, etc–and addresses common sense stuff like be mindful of what you post, consider that it’s viewable to the world and forever, etc. etc. Also establishes who is allowed to comment/blog, etc on behalf of the company and what kind of disclaimers others should use.

By: Steve Radick

Steve Radick — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:22:41 +0000

Why are we treating what people do on their Facebook page any differently than what people do in the general public. Why are we making different rules for how to act online vs. in "real-life?" Organizations need to realize that if they want to take advantage of the positive outreach, thought leadership, etc., of their people that they are also taking on a bit of a risk and have to be prepared to deal with it. This should be a question of risk mitigation, not risk avoidance.

Dual accounts don't work for me because if you meet me in the office, I'm Steve Radick. If you meet me at a bar later that night, I'm still Steve Radick. I conduct myself differently at each, but I'm not a different person. I think employers have to start realizing that people are people all the time, they're not "professional Steve" and "personal Steve."

By: Elisa DelBonis

Elisa DelBonis — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:21:34 +0000

Oy vey! Manage your personal brand! Think about what you do on the internet as something anyone in the world can see and on which they can judge your character, professionalism, and intelligence. Seriously… you're the one putting it out there. Don't be pissed when it bites you in the ass.

By: Vance

Vance — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:03:02 +0000

Maybe. We've had no guidance from the corporate level & we're currently working on our local guidelines…including our company's social media involvement & customer interaction.

By: Stuart Foster ~ The

Stuart Foster ~ The — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:41:02 +0000

I think it really comes down to this: Think before you speak or post. If you try and live your life in a transparent and open manner (like I do) you will find a lot of the "problems" with social media tend to go away. It's an open forum and everyone can read everything that you say. Just use common sense.