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Companies should establish clear policies for social networking sites

Guest post by: Ross Fattori

Article Overview: Companies should establish clear guidelines governing social networking sites

Companies should establish clear policies for social networking sites

In September, Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, gave a speech to employees of the Bank of Canada. The subject of the speech was privacy and social networking sites.

Ms. Stoddart acknowledged the benefits of networking sites']);"> social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace in transferring knowledge. She also stressed the need for employers to establish clear policies, procedures and guidelines about the use of these sites.

In Canada, employees have gotten fired or reprimanded for posting stories and pictures online. In the recent federal election, at least six candidates withdrew from the race because of comments they made on blogs and social networking sites. Some of their posts were made years earlier.

Companies that don’t establish clear policies for the use of blogs and networking sites']);"> social networking sites could expose themselves to problems. An employee could reveal proprietary information (trade secrets) about the company, or defame another employee. Without a clear online policy, it might be difficult for companies to defend their positions, if an online indiscretion occurs.

For companies that don’t have an online policy in place, I’d suggest researching the issue. Find out what other companies within your industry are doing to protect themselves.

One of the interesting findings that Ms. Stoddard reported is how unaware many young users are of the risks of identity theft online. Identify theft is one of the fast-growing crime segments in Canada, and the Canadian government should be doing more to protect consumers against this type of unlawful activity.

In the meantime, however, Ms. Stoddart says that employees who use networking sites']);"> social networking sites or who write blogs should apply good judgment. Employers should establish clear policies and guidelines to protect themselves from any fallout resulting from careless or damaging information being posted online.

Here’s a link to Ms. Stoddart’s complete speech.

http://www.privcom.gc.ca/speech/2008/sp-d_080909_e.asp

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Article Tags: bank of canada, blogs, canada employees, canadian government, consumers, facebook, fallout, federal election, gc, identity theft, indiscretion, judgment, myspace, privacy commissioner of canada, proprietary information, segments, social networking sites, stoddard, stoddart, trade secrets



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Re: How do you maximize your time at business/networking events? - Whether you realize it or not, 80% of all jobs are found by networking. That's why it is so important to consistently network and upgrade your networking skills. This may feel a little uncomfortable at first but with some practice you can quickly establish yourself as a seasoned veteran. You can establish a vast array of networking sources with this process. One contact can lead to another and another and so on. Networking remains the ultimate job search philosophy. This process allows you to establish a base of contacts through various social settings. Through your networking life line you come into contact with individuals possessing knowledge about various job openings, specific leads, as well as personnel who have the authority to make the hiring decision. When you attend business networking events always look for ways to be of service to those you network with. Don't appear pushy and overly aggressive. Make it a smooth natural conversation and ask questions of those you are speaking to and try not to focus all the attention on yourself. And do ask questions when you are speaking with a prospect ask what type of business they are in and what types of goals they have for their business or company. Finally get a business card and make a quick note on the back about something you spoke to that person about and later you will be able to inquire about that same thing. This will show you were listening and are truly interested.
Re: Best looking social networking site? - Hi Kevin [quote:3h76yt08]With so many social networking sites to pick and choose from, what influences your decision to join a particilar site? Is it just your friends, the content, people using it or looks??[/quote:3h76yt08] For me, the most essential criteria in selecting a Social Networking Site is its Content followed closely by popularity- in terms of daily visitors. Then comes the Content followed by the Friends and looks. Most of do social networking to attract traffic to their website(s) and as such the Content and Popularity of the site are important. btw, the list doesn't have digg or netscape or del.is.us which are the top social media sites.
Re: How can a social networking site make serious money? - [quote="topeyinka":2qfvhbg9]I think social networking site do make money through monthly subscriptions and at large, they do make money through placing advert through their database.[/quote:2qfvhbg9] With the exception of the online dating sites, I'd say most social networking sites are free to use.
Re: Twitter, Social Networking: What's Your method? - [quote:3jvh79yz]From my experience, social networking traffic (Twitter included) also converts at a far lower rate than search engine traffic. People who find you via a search engine are looking for answers to a particular problem and are more likely to buy your product / service. Twitter and other social networking visitors can help your traffic numbers but they usually come out of general interest and don't end up buying what you're selling. I haven't seen a website owner yet say they prefer social media traffic over search engine.[/quote:3jvh79yz] I couldn't agree more! I've been trying to drive this point into people's heads on my blogs and various forums for at least a year now. Yes, you can get a lot of traffic from social sites but if it doesn't make you any money (or very little) then what's the point?! You can use the same time you spend on social sites building up your rankings in search engines to get traffic that actually converts into money!
Re: How can a social networking site make serious money? - [quote="Kevin":19dbp6nz][quote="topeyinka":19dbp6nz]I think social networking site do make money through monthly subscriptions and at large, they do make money through placing advert through their database.[/quote:19dbp6nz] With the exception of the online dating sites, I'd say most social networking sites are free to use.[/quote:19dbp6nz] you are right,but with a restriction on advert placement because you have to pay for adverts in certain pages of their sites.


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