What policy issues have resulted from social networking?

Shifts in digital citizens:

1. Newspaper circulation down 7million over the last 25 years. Movement to online news readers has increased to 30 million over the last 5 years.
2. More videos have been uploaded to YouTube in 2 months than has been broadcast 24/7 on selected networks since 1948.
3. The shift from visiting traditional websites (10 million unique visits per month) to social networking sites (250 million unique visits per month).
4. President Barack Obama raising more funds for his campaign using social networking sites than John McCain did attending fundraising events.
5. Disciplinary action being taken by employers against employees for violating blog/IM policies.

How do the above shifts impact the need for information policies in the workplace?

The shift from traditional mediums to online mediums means people are using the internet more and for everyday needs, whether it is for work related needs or personal needs. If a statement from a workplace is not issued by them as to how an employee should be using these resources during work hours, an employee may take advantage and use them for personal means rather than for work related activities.

Uploading any content to the internet is considered publishing, and therefore is protected by copyright as intellectual property. To protect the workplace from legal action, companies should have in place strong policies outlining copyright laws and the exact licensing (if any) arrangements they have in place. Content creators should also be made aware of their intellectual property rights, especially when they may not even realise they have any.

Due to the increase in use of social networking sites, privacy issues with regard to the workplace need to be addressed in an information policy. What employees (as representatives of the workplace) can disclose online and what they can’t need to be as clearly outlined as the same policies for face to face interaction.

Overall, content creators need to be aware that there can and will (if necessary) be consequences to their online postings, especially as there is no such thing as personal in social networking. This needs to be outlined in a policy and employees need to be made aware of possible consequences of their actions.