Should I say it or not?

The use of Social Networks is gaining popularity by the minute and like every tool of communication it has pros and cons. Greater connectivity among people and immediate access to information are some of the positive aspects. If we think of the cons, the main one is that our own privacy is exposed to the entire world, causing many problems to individuals as well as to organizations.

One of the first and most serious mistakes people make when they open an account for the first time in a Social Network is to use their work E-mail instead of their personal one, which causes two serious problems:

1) If they change jobs, they may end up losing all the accounts opened in the different networks. Some Social Networks, like Facebook, for instance, do not allow users to change the E-mail address originally linked to the account.
2) The comments made in Social Networks can be considered the organization’s position on a certain matter rather than the personal viewpoint of the member of the staff who wrote it using the corporate E-mail address instead of his/her personal one.

This is why it is very important to clearly differentiate between personal and professional spheres before opening an account in a Social Network.

On the other hand, we have to take into account that more and more companies use Social Networks to recruit their staff members, and the organization we work for may do so as well. Therefore, if we have written something confidential or harmful to the organization, it is very easy for them to detect it.

Keep in mind that what is published on a network is public and companies don’t necessarily do an online follow-up to all their staff members. Therefore, before writing something, it’s better to think over twice, since what we write can be virally replicated many times before it can be deleted.

Faced with this situation, organizations should help their staff members by:
1) Developing “policies on the use of Social Networks” to help them understand the scope of the networks. These policies are simply the extension of the company’s Code of Ethics applied to a virtual and viral medium.
2) Appointing someone responsible for Social Networks to guide staff members and coordinate online questions and/or comments.
3) Training each of the staff members indicating the role they must have on the Internet to avoid generating noise on this channel of communication.
4) Developing an explanatory brochure for each member of the staff -like in the case of the Code of Ethics- and upload it to the Intranet. Everyone should have access to this information.

Conclusion: it is essential to open a personal account and, if necessary, a corporate account, bearing in mind that we are the only ones responsible for what we write. The moral: before posting something online, think it over twice.

Tags: Social Media, Training