Are the Facebook posts and Twitter tweets you make while away from the job immune from the prying eyes of your employer? The New York Times reports that new software called Social Sentry is ensuring everything you do online is being scrutinized.
Employers pay between $2 and $8 per employee depending on company size to have Social Sentry’s proprietary software automatically track employees in the social media sphere. The Social Sentry service is only available for Facebook and Twitter at this point, but it will soon expand to cover YouTube, MySpace and LinkedIn.
Six out of 10 companies now say they have a social media monitoring policy. Employers are considering anything that’s publicly accessible as something that you waive your right to privacy on.
Source: Clark Howard: Employers monitor your social networking profile
This idea isn’t so new; only the medium to do it with.
In times past, when people relied mostly on the newspaper, public message boards and other “social news” situations, it was up for grabs by all. If you had your name in the paper the employer saw it, plain as day. If someone wrote a letter to the Editor, had a photo journalist take a photo of them as they did something, answered questions by a reporter, etc. an employer would see that and take note.
In the military, GI’s (of whatever branch) are forbidden to take part in political marches of any kind (even a pro-life rally). If they do (whether in or out of uniform) they can get into trouble with a superior officer. Like it or not, that’s part of being a G-overnment I-ssue.
The surprising thing to people is that many forget that things like Facebook, Twitter, etc. is opening oneself to the world; a kind of voyeurism in reverse.
When one lives in a glass bowl, one doesn’t undress.
“When one lives in a glass bowl, one doesn’t undress.”
What a great line!