In my last post, I shared a video segment of an interview with David Pogue of the New York Times. In it, he cited “loss of control” as a primary reason companies hesitate before jumping onto the social media bandwagon.
According to Jon Iwata, SVP Marketing & Communications at IBM, companies can address most of their concerns (disclosure of proprietary information, criticism of management, personal attacks, etc.) by turning to existing company policies.
I found Mr. Iwata’s insights particularly interesting given IBM’s relatively early adoption of online social media tools. In 2005, IBM began encouraging employees to enter the blogosphere, and the company has since garnered attention for incorporating social networking and online collaboration into communications practices.
Read: Big Blue Embraces Social Media: IBM has been encouraging social networking among its employees with in-house versions of Web 2.0 hits such as Facebook and Twitter (BusinessWeek, May 2008)
Despite Mr. Iwata’s statement, it is worth noting that IBM maintains a comprehensive list of “Social Computing Guidelines” on its website. These guidelines expressly encourage the use of social media for learning, collaboration, and community building, but they also outline how employees can engage in social media responsibly, legally, and in accordance with IBM’s principles and values.
As companies turn more frequently to the use of technology and social media in internal communications, the loss of some control is inevitable. Organizations must learn to walk a very fine line between protecting their own interests and being perceived as the 21st century’s answer to Orwell’s Thought Police. In my own humble opinion, I believe IBM has set an example for how this delicate balance can be achieved.
Cheers,
Cristina