Managing Social Media in the Workplace

2900 Words6 Pages

Since the beginnings of American society, America has used news media as its primary tool to distribute information. Media is involved in nearly every aspect of everyday life. From morning until night, citizens are constantly bombarded by media images on television, radio, magazines, and the internet. However, since the mid-2000’s, one form of media has dominated the social landscape. This type of media has entirely changed the way other media connects with its viewers. It has shifted the power of information from the select few to the masses, from the broadcaster to the audience. It has given the individual voice a pedestal. It has made information faster, busier, more streamlined, more hectic, more interactive, all at the same time. Its name is social networking.

One area of that social media has transformed entirely is American business. Now, in 2013, companies can use social media to their advantage; by analyzing posts to determine the opinions of the general public, they can identify which aspects of their advertising campaigns and public relations are working successfully. This helps businesses stay in direct contact with their customers. They can use this information to better promote their products, their brands, and themselves by directing their advertising to what people want. However, social media has also caused a large dilemma in the workplace. When interviewing applicants for job positions, many businesses will check the applicants’ Facebook and Twitter histories in order to find anything that would positively or (more often) negatively affect their overall resumes. In addition, companies have fired employees for their comments and posts on these social media sites. As of late, companies are continuously searching for more power over their employees’ internet freedoms, penalizing employees in attempt to constrain and censor their posts.

So why are businesses discriminating against potential employees based on their social media history? If the analytical data received via sites such as Facebook and Twitter positively contribute to the evolution of big businesses, why do companies penalize employees for their posts? In addition, what is credited as social media, what is its purpose, and why is it misused as a tool to evaluate employees? Companies and businesses should not penalize or limit workers for their posts on ...

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