Five Reasons Why Your Company Doesn’t Need a Social Media Policy

When I started blogging, Thomas Nelson was a public company. Our stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: TNM). When I announced to the lawyers what I was going to do, they got very nervous. They were afraid I might say something that would get us in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission. When I told them that I also wanted to encourage our employees to blog, they about had a heart attack.

I’ve always been curious as to what employers thought might be given away. What are they afraid of? If employees were going to share insider secrets, would they do it in a totally public forum where their every move could be followed? Might they write something inappropriate? Just what is it that the corporate guys are fearful of?

If you’re afraid that your employees won’t represent you well in print, aren’t you afraid they’ll misrepresent you in normal day-to-day dealings?

Instead of stifling employees, shouldn’t employers be helping to develop their writing skills and other communication?

Just wondering…Technorati Tags: career, social media