This week our readings focused on security related to social media. For me, this subject was of particular interest because just over a week ago my Instagram account was hacked. I was panicked, embarrassed, and scared all at the same time. Thank goodness for a friend who happened to notice a problem with my account not long after it happened and reached me immediately on Facebook messenger! I posted on Twitter that evening:
The situation led me to changing my Instagram password account twice. Once to regain access to the account and delete the pictures the hacker had put on my account and then a second time with a slightly stronger password after I had set my account to private. I also changed the password on my email account I signed up for Instagram with as well as the password to my primary personal email account. And now, at least three times a day, I check my Instagram account to see what is on my list of posted pictures. While at work this has become easy using Hootsuite, since they now allow you to monitor and schedule Instagram posts. In addition to monitoring Twitter and my church's Facebook page, I added my personal Instagram feed so I always know what I have posted on Instagram. I have to be better about using the mobile Hootsuite app though.
For personal accounts, it is easy to set things to private so only your followers/friends can see things or post comments. Which is what I wound up doing with my Instagram account. But for professional businesses or even celebrities, if they make their Twitter feed private, then no one can see their tweets and they (or whoever runs their social accounts if they don't) have to approve everyone who follows them. Even for myself I have left my Twitter account open because it has led me to other accounts to follow in relation to my health (migraines), likes (Scorpion, Code Black), and faith. I get emails when someone follows me (in addition to the notifications) and check out their account. Some people I follow and some I wonder why they chose to follow me in the first place.
But now I am just rambling and I need to get to the questions Nicole, our discussion leader for this week, posed.
Question 1: Do you believe that employers should be able to restrict their employees’ use of social media? Consider the decisions outlined by the NLRB and whether you agree or disagree with any in particular.
I do think that some restriction is needed on behalf of employers when it comes to social media use by an employee. Sure I have bad days at work and would love to complain about something. But if I am complaining publicly, as social media is a public outlet, about my job or my employer, what does that say about me and my dedication to my job? Nothing positive, that is for sure. Halpern (2012) summarized nine key points from a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision regarding social media in the work place. Item 1 stated, "Employers may prohibit employee 'rants'" (Halpern, 2012, para. 2). It is one thing to rant or complain about something to a family member or even a co-worker that you are friends with. They are usually trusted individuals that you know would not go around and gossip about your gripes. However, the moment you put that information on social media, it becomes public consumption and a rant becomes an attack on your place of employment. And honestly, would you want someone working for you who hated a particular policy or disliked a particular co-worker who was not afraid to voice that dislike or hatred so publicly?
I also noticed point two, "Employers may restrict employees' commercial use of company marks" (Halpern, 2012, para. 3). This actually makes a lot of sense to me. My employer, Marist, has guidelines when it comes to producing items using different logos. There is a style guide that is available that lists all the rules and regulations that come with using the Marist nameplate, specific use of the full Marist College seal, and how to go about producing office letterhead, business cards, and other publications. Available on Marist's website also are images that have been produced by Marist that can be used as well as PowerPoint templates if you are doing a presentation representing Marist. This way everything is uniform and everyone is following the same rules. In the article Halpern (2012) discussing the company marks as it relates to complaining or conversing on social media. This is important to note as many offices and groups at Marist have social media representation and would likely use something "Marist-branded" as their image to identify themselves as part of Marist College.
Employers may prohibit employee “rants.”
Question 2: Think about how well your personal or professional social media habits follow the tips outlined by Microsoft and McAfee. In your discussion, choose one guideline that you think you follow well and one guideline that you could follow more closely.
The tips outlined by Microsoft and McAfee are very practical and sensible. In some cases, they overlap each other in subject matter. Which is a good thing, because when two large organizations like Microsoft and McAfee agree on something, it must be right!
One guideline I follow well came from McAfee's site, item number 7, "Be suspicious of anything that sounds unusual or feels odd. If one of your friends posts, 'We’re stuck in Cambodia and need money,' it’s most likely a scam" (Siciliano, 2011, para. 7). For a very long time I have realized that messages like that are scams. Recently someone I know from various church functions sent me an email like that. I knew it was wrong, as did several others, because we knew for sure if he was going out of the country he would have told us and asked us to pray for him, because that is the type of person he is. So we let him know someone had gained access to his email account, and he took measures to secure it.
One guideline I could follow more closely, from the Microsoft site, "To avoid giving away email addresses of your friends, do not allow social networking services to scan your email address book. When you join a new social network, you might receive an offer to enter your email address and password to find out if your contacts are on the network. The site might use this information to send email messages to everyone in your contact list or even everyone you've ever sent an email message to with that email address. Social networking sites should explain that they're going to do this, but some do not" ("11 Tips for Social Networking Safety", para. 4). There have been times when I have joined a new social media platform or chat platform, that I have used the feature to see if other friends of mine are using the same platform. I will think twice about that now, maybe choosing to make a post on my own social media saying I am using a particular new platform and if you are also using it, send me your information privately.
11 tips for social networking safety. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2016, from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/online-privacy/social-networking.aspx
Siciliano, R. (2011, July 13). 15 social media security tips - McAfee. Retrieved February 23, 2016, from https://blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/15-social-media-security-tips/
Hi Jenn,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about your Instagram account being hacked. Protecting our data seems like it is becoming a full-time job.
You and I are in agreement when it comes to employers having the right to restrict social media use by employees. Working for an entertainment studio, we have access to a lot of content prior to anyone else. We are often privy to film and television sets, casting information, early cuts of movies and shows and know launch dates long before these things make it to the public. There is no way an entertainment company could be effective or profitable if employees were constantly tweeting this information out before the studio was ready. My company has a very clear, no tolerance policy. Simply put, if you violate the rules, you lose your job.
While the necessity is understood, our policy can be a little nerve-racking and discourages some of my colleagues and me from posting the excitement we feel about our projects in the social space. In an Inc. article written by Jayson Demers (2015), he explains how allowing employees to use social media positively impacts company culture and can add feelings of trust, respect, personality and expression amongst teams (para. 12). Though my company is great at setting policy, it would be even greater if they could do a better job of encouraging our social media participation. It would go a long way in helping us connect with our audiences.
References
Demers, J. (23, February 2015). How letting your employees be on social media can help your business grow. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/jayson-demers/how-letting-your-employees-be-on-social-media-can-help-your-business-grow.html
Hi Jenn,
ReplyDeleteI noticed your Instagram post and felt for you. I had my Twitter account hacked twice and it's not fun. It's embarrassing when professional colleagues and friends DM you telling you you've been hacked. Sounds like you're having fun with it tho, and you're moving on.
I was going to write about the logos ruling by NLRB, too, but I feel I've been writing a lot about branding and logos in many courses here at Marist. I wanted to try something new. However (haha), since you brought it up! I cannot believe the number of employees here at the college where I work that believe they can freely use or logo on their social media sites. Not only that, they distort, blur, and even create new elements to make up their own college logo. The nerve! Now, could we go after them? Yes. But at what expense to the public relations efforts? We will politely ask employees to either remove the logo, or we decide to let them use our logo and give them the proper mark - depending on who the person is.
I wonder if any college has actually legally gone after an employee to restrict use of the logo. While this rule makes sense, it will likely rarely be used.
At Marist, though the full seal of the college is protected, groups are allowed to use a version of the seal that is recognizable as the seal but is not the full seal. I don't seem to be able to include an image in a reply to show you what I mean, but I can include a link to the Fashion Merchandising page (http://www.marist.edu/commarts/fashion/fashmerch.html). If you scroll down you can see what is an acceptable use of the "partial" Marist seal. So someone from Marist can tell it is from Marist but it is not all official, like the seal on your diploma.
DeleteI think your approach of working with the group that improperly uses the campus logo to either have them remove it or help them use it properly is great. I think before groups have to get all legal with things, it is good to try to work everything out internally.
Hi Jenn, Great feedback. This is helpful. Thank you. Another problem we have is students wanting to create t-shirts with all kinds of crazy renditions of the official logo. I know this isn't social media related per se, but if you know of any policies about student restrictions of the logo, let me know. I don't want to stifle student creativity, but I need to protect the college's brand!
DeleteHi Jenn,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like our readings were certainly very timely given the situation you recently went through with your Instagram account. Thank you for sharing your story of a real-life example of the concerns related to cybersecurity! I’m glad that you were able to resolve the issue and it makes sense that you are being extra cautious to check your page more frequently now – I would do the same!
I agree with you about an employer’s right to restrict, in some manners, employee behavior on social media. The way I see it is that employees should be expected to act online as they would in the workplace. While social media provides another outlet for employees to discuss certain topics, they really shouldn’t be bashing their company in a public forum. Collins (2012) points out that employer policies “should not be so sweeping that they prohibit the kinds of activity protected by federal labor law,” which is an important point. Employees rights should be protected similarly both online and in the office.
I also could more closely follow the guideline you discussed about prohibiting social networking sites from scanning your address book. This is closely related to the fourth rule outlined by Siciliano (2011) to “think twice about applications that request permission to access your data” (para. 4) Often when I download an app, log-in to the program using my Facebook account, and it will bounce me over to Facebook with a message about accessing your contacts, birthday, or other personal information. Sometimes I don’t bother to “decline” at this stage, but I should to protect unwanted emails, posts, etc.!
References:
Collins, J. (2012, February 1). NRLB report: Employers’ social media policies must be narrow, must not restrict right to engage in protected activities. Retrieved from http://www.natlawreview.com/article/nrlb-report-employers-social-media-policies-must-be-narrow-must-not-restrict-right-t.
Siciliano, R. (2011, July 13). 15 social media security tips. Retrieved from https://blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/15-social-media-security-tips/.