Smart to Think Twice

By Molly Grane - Social Media Specialist at Xapsis Integrated Marketing

Away at college, we all know the old saying “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”  I guess it’s safe for many college students to also say, “What happens in college stays in college,” especially coming in as a young freshman, eager to—PARTY.   Come on, we all know we've been there.  We've all felt that initial taste of freedom--freedom away from all the rules at home.  But, as the old saying goes…maybe what you used to think about what happens in college, doesn't necessarily stays there anymore.

  

For example, one night a young girl decides to go to one of the local fraternity parties, drinks a little too much, and the next day she is awakened to her roommates talking about the YouTube video of her from the night before.  Instantly, she rises to check her computer and finds a horrific video, one that she does not want following her for the rest of her college career.  Soon, Facebook blasts about her are popping through; pictures are being tagged of this young lady right and left.  She has started out her career with the wrong impression for many future employers to view.  Two years down the road, she applies for an internship with a very significant company.  She lands it, because of her amazing personality and qualifications, but soon there is talk around the office.  One of the employees just happened to stumble upon that old YouTube video placed on the web a few years back.  Soon, comments are floating around the office and she is quickly stamped with a name--one that she is not proud of.

I know this story might sound a little drastic, but it’s one of those stories to make you think twice.  Companies are more compelled today to use Facebook as a resource.  They put a tremendous amount of trust in the people they hire, since each employee represents their company. 

A law that was passed as of the first of the year, Illinois agreed on password protection laws and it is now illegal for employers to ask for their workers' log-in and password information to their social media accounts.

The question does always arise in many businesses--how do you handle what your employees put on the web?  As for many, it starts to become an internal issue.  I had this question pop-up in one of my meetings a while back because of the legality of the issue.  Each business should have guidelines for their employees when dealing with social media networks, along with a notification that you are changing your privacy settings.  Especially when working with the public, many of us do not want all of our posting information out there for all to see.