The Economist tells a cautionary tale of companies who find out after the fact that their employees are revealing or misrepresenting their employers' brand online with their own posted indiscretions, gossip or exchanges on community sites like myspace, Facebook and Twitter.
It's a must read for organizations who currently have not addressed social networks usage policies - not only "at work" usage policies, but also "general usage guidelines" that are highly recommended to manage your brand and online reputation. The article has three important recommendations to consider:
- [Create] and reiterate online guidelines frequently
- Monitor online activity closely to ensure that rules are respected
- Frequent “online watering holes” where people exchange gossip and views [to be fully aware of what is being posted directly by employees or through their affiliation with the organization].
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