Topic 4: Ethics and the Internet

Prior to the digital revolution, options of being heard were limited to the ‘Speakers corner’. In the 80’s, chances that you could influence someone were small, as you had to be educated, whereas now, all you need is the Internet and a “click that reverberates around the world” (Lewinsky 2015)

Today, social networking sites can be our Speakers Corner,as a cultural gatekeeper no longer controls us. Social media gives lenses into a large scale of influence and we discover the influence that each of us have.

Due to the openness of the web, social media distorts private/public boundaries when an individual’s personal opinion and information enters the public domain. As mentioned in my response in Topic 2, the boundaries between personal and professional life also becomes blurred as companies respond to the proliferation of mobile devices and make use of social media and employees too can access personal sites at work.

 A 2011 DLA Piper survey found social media is used for personal and work related activities by 95% of employees

Statistics such as this raise ethical challenges for companies. Every time an employee uses social media irresponsibly (which after this module I hope none of us will!), it reflects badly on the company and undermines the company’s commitment to ethical practice and poses a risk to their integrity. (ibe 2011)

The 2011 Nestle case is a great example of this. An employee in charge of the Facebook ‘Fan Page’ responded offensively to negative comments made my environmental critics.The actions of the employee violated Nestle’s principle of integrity and commitment to “avoid any conduct that could damage or risk Nestlé or its reputation”. Random members of the public also joined the Fan Page specifically to criticise Nestle.(ibe, 2011) Read more here

Conversely, American Red Cross carefully illustrate how to rectify a post that may not initially reflect the integrity of the company.

*I have to say, well played American Red Cross

Despite this, in order to encourage internal work-related discussions amongst employees, Serco Group have developed what they call an ‘internal Facebook’, where staff can discuss work related topics rather than resorting to twitter and ultimately deals with the risk of integrity. (ibe, 2011)

Conclusively, as social media expands, what would have in the past been forgotten in a matter of hours, is magnified across all platforms and is something businesses must consider when integrating social media.

References:

Lewinsky 2015, Available: http://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame#t-315225 [Accessed 21st March 2015]

Nestle Article (2010), Available: http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/nestle-mess-shows-sticky-side-of-facebook-pages/  [Accessed 21st March 2015]

Nestle Images(2010), Available: http://www.joergweishaupt.com/online-marketing/facebook-online-marketing/nestle-meltdown-on-facebook-shows-sticky-side-of-social-media.html [Accessed 21st March 2015]

IBE 2011, Available: https://www.ibe.org.uk/userassets/briefings/ibe_briefing_22_the_ethical_challenges_of_social_media.pdf

[Accessed 21st March 2015]

American Red Cross Images (2011), Available: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/social-media-disaster-recovery-it’s-all-about-the-response-016373

[Accessed 21st March 2015]