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Telstra Lays Down Law On Social Media
Kerrieanne writes to tell us that Australian telecommunications giant Telstra has become the first major player down under to lay down the law with respect to social media. Still recovering from the shakeup surrounding a Telstra worker using the name of the communications minister on Twitter, they have released a six-page set of guidelines on the use of Facebook, Twitter, and other similar websites for both company and personal use. "Under the guidelines, which are backed up with the threat of disciplinary action, employees using sites on official Telstra business should disclose who they are, ensure they do not give away confidential information and treat other users with respect. They are required to complete an accreditation process and undergo training to update their 'knowledge on emerging social trends and evolving best practice in social media.'"
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(The views expressed in this post are mine only and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer)
'knowledge on emerging social trends and evolving best practice in social media.'
Soooo... some 56 year old CEO who regularly asks questions like, "Have you heard of these two new sites, 'Tweets' and 'Twitter'?" is going to ask his best 47 year olds (the hip kids) to form a committee to write the official company policy so they can tell the 24 year old kid, who has been using social media for nearly half his life, about the best practices in social media?
Man, that sure is some big, clankin' hubris you got there, old man. You may well be giving Steve Ballmer a run for the "head stuffed furthest up one's nethers" prize.
How 'bout this: Telstra announced that they would be forming a committee of 23 year olds to explain to the executives what social networking is.
I'm closer to the old guy than the young gun, but lets face it - the kids are the ones who are defining this disruptive technology. Discount them at your peril.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
Telstra think their employees are always on the clock - as shown by a court case over the unfair dismissal of a Telstra employee that got up to sexual activities after an offsite staff Christmas party in February 2007 (Telstra can't do anything on time - not even a Christmas party). The two men involved were given nothing but a talking to and the woman involved was sacked - I'm sure the imported manager would have made her wear a scarlet letter if he could since it the false dismissal ruling was appealed all the way to the high court which would have cost into seven figures.