Here are links to two upcoming readings:
The first is a story by Jeffrey Rosen that appeared in New York Times Magazine. Link here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/magazine/25privacy-t2.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=the%20end%20of%20forgetting&st=cse
Rosen teaches law at George Washington University, and he has written a few pieces about the Internet and how Internet usage intersects with existing (and developing) law.
You may need to register for nytimes.com. This will only take a moment.
You should read this article and be prepared to discuss it Thursday, Sept. 2.
As you read the article, you should think about your own Internet use, as well how what we post potentially follows us around forever.
Please let me know if you have any problems accessing this article.
Enjoy!
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this is so true. it is important, especially now that so many people are online to protect your online reputation. - elizabeth dusold
ReplyDeleteI think it is in the companies best interest to protect their online reputation. So I agree. - Jessica Cravens
ReplyDeleteI think it's perfectly acceptable for companies to enforce guidelines regarding what is and isn't allowed in terms of posting on social media sites because ultimately it does reflect on them. - Jordan Monday
ReplyDeleteI think it is not only acceptable but necessary for companies to enforce guidlines for social media in order to obtain an spotless reputation. -Kimberlee Ablahat
ReplyDeleteCompanies should have guidelines when it comes to what their employees should and shouldn't post on social media sites but only to a point. - Caitlin Steffens
ReplyDeleteI would have to say I agree with Caitlin. It is perfectly fine for the company to restrict what an employee can and can not say or do on a social media source, but only to a certain extent. Once that point is reached then anything restricted there after falls into the company restricting the employee's freedom of speech.
ReplyDelete-Garrett Sanders
I think that all companies should have some sort of social media strategy. Within that strategy, companies should have a code of ethics regarding employees' social media use at work and at home and what is acceptable to post. Companies must do this in order to maintain a positive presence in the realm of social media. - Caitlin Hogge
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that there are consultants to help monitor someone's online reputation. It is unfortunate that someone's mistakes can affect them years later.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe it is essential companies still conduct online research on any future employee and monitor their current employees. Because before social media existed, people's behaviors outside of work could affect their employment, social media just makes it easier for the employees to monitor.
-Elizabeth Custy
I found this article quite interesting. I believe the employer should have some form of a company policy or mandatory guidelines for present and perspective employees to abide by in the social media.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Stacy Snyder, I think it’s a real tragedy to see her ruin her future over a photo posted on MySpace. She should have thought twice about posting this photo beforehand. I must say, where do you draw the line between your professional and private life through social media? -Jonathan Mitchell
Interesting comments.
ReplyDeleteTo respond briefly: I think one of the difficult things for companies and other organizations to know is where to draw the line on restricting offsite Internet use. At one level, shouldn't I have the right to post a picture of me holding a drink in my hand? At another level, in the digital world the lines between private and public have become incredibly blurred (as Rosen notes).
It will be interesting to see how over the next few years the degree to which reputation management companies are successful in gaining clients. Similarly, it will be interesting to see whether concepts like "digital bankruptcy" take hold.
Eric Schmidt, the CEO of google, has stated that we should treat online identities in essence the same way we do criminal records: when young people hit a certain age (e.g., 18, 21), they should be able to assume new identities and/or erase what occurred before that time.
This are issues that you will face in your careers as PR practitioners, as well as your "personal" lives.
-John Wirtz
Where WOULD a company draw the line? I completely understand pictures with nudity or pictures of someone doing something illegal, but if you have pictures up of you drinking, I feel like it shouldn't be held against you. On the other hand, I see why companies would not want drunken pictures of their employees online. Employees are the ones who represent a company, and they should be setting examples and helping the company develope a positive reputation. It would be hard to monitor who has "ok" pictures of drinking and who doesn't. So I see why a company would be against it in the first place. hmmm..
ReplyDeleteYou know how companies or business can not discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation or race? Well, what if down the road they will not be able to discriminate against what information individuals have online? For example, like a picture of you holding a beer. I think it may eventually come to that, but how on earth will anyone have any control over whether or not they are or are not hiring you based on what you have online? It would be impossible, or either it would be an awful job to have to monitor.
You raise a good point, Ali. My guess is that a picture of a person holding a drink in his or her hand would be different than a picture of a person who was drunk or in some other compromising position.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, I'm sure that some companies use what is publicly available as a proxy for a job applicant's judgment. Is it fair? Maybe not. But never underestimate the willingness of individuals and organizations to make decisions based on incomplete information--in this case a picture or pictures of someone in a potentially awkward position.
I agree with Ali. I believe that there should be a line drawn to what companies can monitor and what they cant monitor when it comes to the hirings or firings of employees. I think that it is absolutely ridiculous that she got fired for having a drink in her hand while being dressed up in a pirate costume. This is an employee having a good time away from the job and she should not be subject to firing because of one night out with some friends.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Ali. I think that companies have the right to monitor what employees are doing because they are the representatives of the company, but I wonder where they draw the line. It would definitely be difficult to judge what is okay and what is not. I think that so long as the employee is appropriate in the photos there should be no problem, but what is appropriate would need to be laid out previously by the company.
ReplyDelete