The danger of social networking to business

gallery

Out of control

What makes the DSGi example of greater concern, of course, is that it is comments posted outside the workplace (and working hours, presumably) that have caused the problem.

While it would, in theory, be relatively straightforward to limit social networking in working hours, the simple truth is that, out of hours, there’s little than can be done. In the letter of the law, there’s an argument that libel laws can be called upon, yet this would, certainly in the case of a major business, potentially make a big story even bigger.

The last thing that any firm wants is to pour fuel on a problem that’s already causing its fair share of headaches. And a business suing an individual generally by default plays out like the big name picking on the individual. It rarely ends well.

Yet maybe all is not lost, and common sense should prevail. There’s an argument that, for all the negative press, social networking sites can be turned to a company’s advantage.

Already, we hear stories of businesses who are scoping out applicants by hunting around the likes of Facebook and MySpace, but there are many others who are actively embracing services such as Twitter to help promote their company. And they’re doing it effectively at that.

Arguably the biggest danger of all where social networking is concerned is to fold in with the hype, and then introduce ill-founded blanket policies that increasingly tend to antagonise, and decreasingly seem to be effective.

For some businesses, inevitably, a blanket ban will work, and many have reported that that’s the case. For others, a more compromised solution may be the answer, and might even lead to friendlier comments out of hours.

The concern, inevitably, is when the fear induced by headline writers leads to the implementation of business policy, without even a search as to how much the likes of Facebook affects a particular business.

Tittle tattle

Ultimately, whether they’re in work time or not, there’s no foolproof way to stop a member of staff spreading tittle tattle. Out of hours, people have always grumbled about their job, be it in the pub, in e-mails or over the phone. The difference is that the technology has changed, and the methods by which people can voice displeasure have evolved too.

To be fair, the goalposts are altered with the DSGi example, in that this was an open group that any member of Facebook would be able to view. But the simple truth is that social networking has become another avenue by which people can have their say on a business, good or bad.

Should businesses be fearful of this? Absolutely. As DSGi found, when the wrong comments arrive in the wrong place, there can be a price to pay.

But it’s simply unrealistic to think that there’s a method by which this can be technically managed. As generations of bosses have discovered, people will do what people will do. And it’s simply impossible to introduce a foolproof policy to legislate for that.

Email to a friend

Print this page