Well it seems that some businesses, at least one that I recently heard of, are putting in place very stringent rules about what people who work for or with them can/should share with others on social web sites. Even who you should or should not make connections with!  It was bound to happen.  But is it right?  Does it impinge on your basic right to ‘speak’ whatever you want?  Does it also impact who you can network with???   What’s this all about?!   I’m going to focus here on the posting/writing aspect… the draconian bit about who you can network with is too much for me to digest right now.

Well, truth be told none of can truly ‘speak’ whatever we want, there can be consequences to our written or verbal sharing.  But first, let me post here what was posted elsewhere…   I have lifted it and ‘sanitized’ it for your reading pleasure.

What you do on your time is YOUR business, obviously, as is what you talk about and who you talk to. The one exception is The Company.
1. DO NOT TALK ABOUT CUSTOMERS, JOBS.
2. BE CAREFUL WHEN ADDING BOTH CUSTOMERS AND COMPETITORS AS “FRIENDS”. THIS INCLUDES OTHERS IN THIS INDUSTRY! 
3. DON’T MAKE NEGATIVE STATEMENTS ABOUT COWORKERS, COMPETITORS, CUSTOMERS, OR THE COMPANY.

This was sent out to some contract workers for this company.   It actually ruffled quite a few feathers, and I can totally understand why.  With a few exceptions, most professionals would not go off and post negative comments about the company, client or projects they are working on.  In fact, the opposite is mostly true, there are a lot of people who post positive things about what they are doing, the projects they are on… sometimes to the point of making me nauseous.

What it all boils down to is posting anything on the internet can come back to you, in good and positive ways, and in some not so good ways as well.  Don’t think that there aren’t people out there looking for posts about them, their company, or posts that you specifically make.  And again, don’t think it’s just impossible to have someone constantly dig through all the social web sites to gather information;  There are tools out there that will do it for you automatically, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and send you a summary email of what it’s found.  And don’t forget the Internet archive!  That takes snapshots of the Internet on a regular basis.  Never heard of it, well, check it out.  What you write can really stick around!

Did the company that wrote that note to it’s contractors go over the top?  In my humble opinion, they did.  Did they sound like facists?  A little.  Will that impact them?  It already has.  They could have written something completely different and non threatening for sure, maybe they will learn from this, who knows?

Personally, I am very careful about what I say and write already.  I have NDA’s with companies and I don’t write anything that would impact them or myself.  I also like and respect the companies I work for.  This situation is very similar to something I dealt with when I worked for a Fence Installation and Repair company many years ago after High School.  I was told; “You are driving in a company truck with big signs on it advertising the name and phone number of our company.  You are wearing a hat and t-shirt with our name on it.  And as such you are expected to be personable, a great and courteous driver, as you are a representative of the company.  What you do or say impacts our reputation either in positive way, or negative.  If you want to drive badly, or mouth off when you’re not wearing company clothes or driving a company truck feel free. But when you are at work, you represent more than just yourself.”

These days that seems to be true on the clock and off the clock.