Risk Management:
Preempt the Perils of Online Social Media Forums
Published on Wed Jun 09, 2010
Prohibit your staff from making this No. 1 privacy mistake. Online social forums provide a great networking tool, but they're also rife with potential privacy and public relations snafus. You can, however, sidestep the pitfalls and make social media work for, rather than against, your organization. Start by realizing the potential for major problems. "Facebook and similar social forums can be a very dangerous world" in terms of privacy, warns Jim Sheldon-Dean, principal and director of compliance services for Lewis Creek Systems in Charlotte, Vt. "Never assume that anything that [is posted on a social media forum] is going to be private." Develop A Policy And Procedure To Cover The Privacy Bases You should formulate a policy addressing the dos and don'ts for using online media, including what staff can and cannot say in that forum -- "and under what circumstances," says Sheldon-Dean. Must do: The policy should prohibit staff from [...]