I came across and interesting post about a CFO who was fired
for writing a couple of Tweets. Here is one take on MediaBistro.
It appears as though the company is claiming that he
revealed company information improperly, although the tweets themselves do not
seem particularly incriminating. He does mention the company having ‘good
numbers’, though that is pretty broad.
Over the years I have heard of many cases regarding lower
level employees complaining about their jobs or their bosses or something
similar, though this is the first time I have heard of such a high level person
getting the axe for this sort of thing. Each time it occurs, however, it brings
back up the issue of personal space and freedom of speech.
Of course, having people complain about a company on any
form of social media looks bad for the company. Unlike just complaining to
friends or family, social media complaints are permanent and can become viral.
Companies also often have their hands tied when it comes to defending
themselves – they can’t really get into a he said she said debate on twitter
with the administrative assistant. It is perfectly understandable why companies
would want to fire people who do this sort of thing, but can they?
They certainly have so far, but the courts are going to have
to decide soon once and for all if this constitutes a violation of freedom of
speech. If social media is a personal platform, companies can’t really govern
what we say on there. Where does being a representative of the company stop and
personal life begin? Does it matter who you are in the company? Does it matter
the kind of career you are in (ie do we want teachers sending out expletive
laden posts about principals on Twitter with their students following – of
course not, but can schools do anything about it)?
Social media is truly changing the way we interact with the
world. Few things are really considered private any more. Many young people
growing up with this technology think nothing of sharing their every thought
with the world.
What are your thoughts? How much say can a company have over
what employees say on social media?
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