Social Networks & Ethics

A friend of mine has this very bright and ambitious young man working for him, who creates a pseudonym for social networking sites to go "undercover" for his company -- engaging in conversations with people without them knowing his identity -- or phishing for information. My friend is mortified and asked me to provide some guidelines that he could post.

The principal guideline is simple: be honest and maintain integrity.

We started our blog Behind the Curtains four years ago, which was way ahead of the curve. We had one rule -- you had to be honest. The derivatives were: If we saw the post somewhere else first -- cite it -- and better yet, link to it. And if we had never sat on a certain designer couch before we couldn't claim its comfort. We could say i bet it is comfy -- or it looks like it would sit like a park bench, but we couldn't state it with authority. (The main site, Pure Contemporary, follows AP-style and avoids first-person claims altogether.)

My Dad used to say to me -- before you do something think, "would I do this if my parents were present?" The same should be used in blog posts, comments, community sites and others -- what would happen if my peers, colleagues or employer were to associate me with this comment? Will I or my company be irreparably harmed?

Whether it is social networking, being a journalist, maintaining a good relationship with customers, your credibility is all you have. Destroy it at your peril.