The LexPublica Blog

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Last week, Tresa Baldas of The National Law Journal wrote on the Legal Technology blog at Law.com about companies and law firms that block access to social networking sites. For some kinds of companies, I might buy the argument that this is a good idea. At companies where employees base their work on relationships and services rendered or in any way interact with the public, however, this is just wrongheaded. Here’s a quote from the end of the article that sums up why companies do such a thing:

Lawyers say the bans are due to a number of factors, including loss of productivity, data theft fears, liability risks if online comments turn up in lawsuits and corporate image concerns.

“I think what’s happening is social media is starting to simmer, and the lawyers and the PR teams, the HR teams and marketing teams are realizing there are all these problems,” said Gaida Zirkelbach, an associate at Gunster who focuses on technology and the Internet.

Let’s go point for point, shall we?

1. Loss of productivity. Companies fear employees will spend hours chatting with old high school friends on Facebook instead of doing their work. Reality: If you employ people who so undervalue doing their work, that’s because you made bad hiring decisions or maybe it’s a problem with your management style. By prohibiting access to sites that allow employees to connect with people beyond the walls of your offices, you prevent them from promoting your services and your brand by being the awesome and helpful people they are (and you know they’re awesome and helpful because you hired them, right?).
2. Data theft fears. What how? I don’t understand this one. If the fear is really that employees might say something they shouldn’t, thus revealing “data” that should only be known internally, you should also prevent them from attending parties, going home to a partner and using their telephone both in and out of the office. Yes, posting something online creates a record of it. Sure. So don’t say anything online you wouldn’t say in email.
3. Liability risks if online comments turn up in lawsuits. See #2 above re: email.
4. Corporate image concerns. People might say bad stuff about your company online. The thing is, though, that corporate image is increasingly affected by how customers feel about their interactions with you. Cut off those interactions and see what happens to your corporate image. Flipping that around, see how Zappos, Jet Blue, and Comcast have used social media to tremendous benefit.
5. “There are all these problems.” Scratch that, reverse it.

There are all these opportunities.

Don’t dismiss them just because you don’t want to spend the energy exploring them.

(Note: Kevin O’Keefe wrote about his own good reasons for scoffing at companies’ banning access to social networking sites.)