As the Twitter phenomenom continues to explode, and more and more people feel the necessary urge to tell the entire world what they are doing at every exact moment, one major issues continues to emerge, namely, how are businesses supposed to react towards Twitter from an internal policy standpoint? Twitter, can create a multitude a problems for employers, some of which include, (1) wasting valuable corporate time following pop culture, favorite sports teams, and Hollywood gossip; (2) sharing proprietary work ideas/information; (3) promulgating workplace chatter that is mere gossip; and (4) revealing confidential trade secrets of the corporation. However, twittering during work hours can produce numerous benefits for businesses like (1) building brand awareness, (2) creating buzz about a product launch, (3) testing marketing initiatives, and (4) use of a cutting edge business development strategy.
The biggest example in the news of late deals with the NFL, and its insistance that players not "tweet" during games. The NFL’s position is that a twitterer may unintentionally, and unknowingly, transmit information that could create a competitive advantage for some third-party (i.e. opposing team, gamblers, etc.). That policy seems to make sense, and can be translated into a more "normal" business environment. If common sense tells you that allowing the use of Twitter in the workplace may potentially expose your business to unintentionaly liability, then you may want to rethink your marketing strategy, or at least build a strong data governance policy that outlines what is, and isn’t, acceptable "twittering" behavior.