Word
Newsletter
Social Media in the Workplace
by David P. Williams
These are the days of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, IM, MMS and SMS. We blog, we tweet, we post, we follow, we like, we comment, we pin, we text — and while doing so, we have blurred the lines between personal and professional lives. A 2009 workplace survey indicated that some 55 percent of employees reported visiting a social networking site at least once a week at the workplace; practical experience suggests that number is low, particularly now that we are in 2012. Regardless, these employees may be commenting on their job, or on you, as their employer. They may be venting about a new policy, or praising a favorable work environment. They may be recruiting new employees, or turning new recruits away. They may be selling your business, or selling your business down the river.