With so many social technology tools to choose from, the variety of people in your organsiation and the ability for these to be a positive (or negative) influence on your business, it is vital that your organisation establishes some groundrules.

Find out more by joining a webinar, or see our 12 Steps, or ask your local office about the 12 Steps which is a 2 day workshop, and allows you to hit the ground running. 

Standards for Social Technology Tools

The software tools that come under the umbrella of Social Technology will be rapidly changing for the foreseeable future. In view of this fact, it is not wise to have all team members using whatever tools they happen to run across. For this reason we are providing a list of applications that we strongly suggest you use. Although WSI values teams doing R&D on new tools, there is some value in standardizing a common set. This includes the ability to help each other learn base systems, and to provide training on applications to all personnel. We have broken the list down into categories:

• Microblogging – Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Tumblr, Memmi, Plurk, BrightKite, SpotJots, Quaiku, Google Buzz, Identi.ca
• Social Community/Social Networking – Facebook, Google+, Ning, LiveJournal, Tagged, Orkut,
• Professional Networking – LinkedIn, Plaxo, Biznik, Cofoundr, E Factor, Ecademy, ProSkore, Klout, Focus, JASEzone, Networking for Professionals, PartnerUp, PerfectBusiness, Ryze, StartupNation, Upspring, XING, Ziggs.
• Video user-generated content – Youtube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Metacafe, UStream
• Photography user-generated content – Flickr, Instagram, DeviantArt, Slideshare, Picasa,
• Presentation user-generated content – Slideshare
• Document user-generated content – Scribd, Docstoc
• Blogging – Tumblr, Wordpress, Typepad, Blogger, Squarespace, Myspace, AOL Journalists, Windows Live Spaces, Xanga, LiveJournal

How to use / not use Social Technology Tools

Social Technology is a new phenomenon and as such, it is a world with tremendous positives balanced by equally damaging negatives. WSI can provide a lot of sage advice on how to leverage Social Technologies for the benefits it can provide you and your organization. However, please know that ignoring this input could put your career and your professional reputation in peril under certain circumstances. When you write anything that gets posted to the Web, it can reach over a billion people, and cannot be unsaid. That is why the points listed below should serve as a constant reminder of the balance between cautious vs. reckless use of social tools:

• Your Responsibility: What you write is ultimately your responsibility. Participation in social computing on behalf of the organization is not a right, but rather an opportunity. Please treat it seriously and with respect. If you want to participate on behalf of the organization where it is clear you are an employee, understand that anything you upload, write, or comment on, is no different than having a face-to-face conversation with your most important customer. If you act irresponsibly in the social sphere, it will likely be noticed and this could have a negative impact on your standing in the organization. Please also follow the terms and conditions for any third-party sites.Publishing Content: Organizations typically do not moderate content that their people publish. This means blog authors are allowed to post directly without approval, as long as they use good judgment. When you publish content from a computer that is on your business network, or is owned by the organization, you are speaking for the organization and should do so with the same character you would display if someone was looking over your shoulder.
• Posting Anonymous Content: Anonymous content is defined as content submitted as a comment, reply, or post to a site where the user has not registered and is not logged in to the site. The same is true for posting content using a pseudo name that would not be easily recognized. Be who you are. Some bloggers work anonymously, using pseudonyms or false screen names. We highly discourage this. We believe in transparency and honesty. If you are blogging about your organization we encourage you to use your real name, be clear about who you are, and identify your affiliations if they could be misinterpreted. Nothing gains you more notice in the Social space than honesty and dishonesty. If you have a vested interest in what you are discussing, be the first to point it out. But also be smart about protecting yourself and your privacy. What you publish will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully and also be judicious in disclosing personal details.
• The Good, the Bad, but not the Ugly. If the content is positive or negative and in context to the conversation, then we approve the content regardless of favorability to the organization. This conveys a balanced and unbiased approach. If the content is ugly, offensive, denigrating and completely out of context however, then the content should be rejected. Ultimately, you should come across as a real person when you communicate, while also using discretion for what has no place in any conversation.
• Create Some Excitement. Your organization plays an important role in its field. One of the important things you can do with Social Technology is to create a higher level of excitement and evangalism for what your organization does in its industry. Since you live what you do every day it can become “old hat”, but to millions of people out in the world, what you do may be far more interesting. You can use Social Technology as an inexpensive way to share the good news of what your organization and industry are doing.
• Be a Leader. There can be a fine line between healthy debate and incendiary reaction. Do not use social to denigrate your competitors or people within the organization. Also, do not heed the need to respond to every criticism or barb. Try to frame what you write to invite differing points of view without inflaming others. Some topics — like politics or religion — slide more easily into sensitive territory. So be careful and considerate. Once an inflammatory discussion gets going, it's hard to stop.
• Did you mess up? If you make a mistake, admit it. Be upfront and quick with your correction. If you're posting to a blog, you may choose to modify an earlier post — just make it clear that you have done so. Apologizing for a mistake creates respect from others, while ignoring a mistake or defending a misstep simply destroys your viability as a content provider.
• If it makes you stop and think, stop. If you're about to publish something that makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, don't shrug it off and hit 'send.' Take a minute to review these guidelines and try to figure out what's bothering you first and then fix it. If you're still unsure, you might want to discuss it with your manager or another peer in the organization. Ultimately, what you publish is yours — as is the responsibility. So be sure.
• Be transparent. Your honesty — or dishonesty — will be quickly noticed in the Social arena. If you are blogging about a work-related subject use your real name, identify who you work for, and be clear about your role. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, then be the first to point it out. Nothing will destroy your credibility faster than trying to “spin” your content.
• Be judicious. Make sure your efforts to be transparent don't violate your organization’s privacy, confidentiality, and legal guidelines for external commercial speech. Ask permission to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal. All statements must be true and not misleading and all claims must be substantiated and approved. You should never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties the organization is in litigation with without approval. If you want to write about the competition, make sure you know what you are talking about and that you have the right permissions. Also, be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and any confidential internal information. What you publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully.
• Write what you know. Make sure you write and post about your areas of expertise, especially when referencing the organization or acting as a representative. If you are writing about a topic the organization is involved with but that you are not an expert on, you should make this clear to your readers. Also, write in the first person tense and if you publish to a website outside of your own, please use a disclaimer like: "The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent my organizations positions, strategies, or opinions.”
• Perception is reality. In online social networks, the lines between public, private, personal, and professional information are blurred. Just by identifying yourself as an employee, you are creating perceptions about your expertise and your organization’s capabilities. Be sure all content that could be associated with your professional life is consistent with the values, standards, and ventures of the organization you represent.
• It's a conversation. Talk to your readers like you would talk to real people in professional situations. In other words, avoid overly pedantic or "composed" language and “robot” speak. Don't be afraid to bring in your own personality and say what's on your mind. Consider content that's open-ended and invites response. Encourage comments. You can also broaden the conversation by citing others who are blogging about the same topic and allowing your content to be shared or syndicated.
• Are you adding value? There are trillions of words out there. The best way to get readership is to write things that people will value. This means publishing interesting thoughts, opinions, or links to other thought provoking materials. This also means adding a healthy dose of entertainment or current event references. Feel free to use the “buzz” of pop culture to your advantage from time to time. Beyond that you should aim to be fresh, positive and build a sense of community. If it helps people improve knowledge or skills, build their businesses, do their jobs, solve problems, or understand the organization better, then its adding value.
• Protect our clients, business partners and suppliers. Clients, partners and suppliers should not be cited or referenced without their approval. Externally, you should never identify a client, partner, or supplier by name without permission and you should never discuss confidential details of a client engagement. Internal social computing platforms permit suppliers and business partners to participate in the conversation so be sensitive about who will see your content. If a client hasn't given explicit permission for their name to be used, think carefully about the content you will be publishing on any social channel and get the appropriate permission where necessary.
  
  It is acceptable to discuss general details about project types and use non-identifying pseudonyms for a client (e.g., Client 123), so long as the information provided does not make it easy for someone to identify the client or violate any non-disclosure or intellectual property agreements that may be in place. On a side note your blog or online social network is also not the place to conduct confidential business with a client.Don't pick fights. When you see misrepresentations or biased judgments about you made by competitors, media, analysts, or other bloggers, it is perfectly acceptable to use your blog or join someone else's to point it out. However, always do so with respect, stick to the facts, and identify your affiliation to the organization. Also, if you speak about a competitor, be sure what you say is factual and that it does not disparage the competitor. Avoid unnecessary or unproductive arguments. Brawls may earn traffic, but nobody wins in the end. Don't try to settle scores or goad competitors and others into inflammatory debates. Here and in other areas of public discussion, what you are saying should gain credibility by being factual and accurate.

• Don't forget your day job. Make sure your online activities do not interfere with your job or customer commitments. Ultimately, Social Technology is just a tool that can help you achieve the business goals you agree to accomplish as an employee. This is how you will be judged in the end. Being a “social star” will not necessarily result in being recognized as a valuable team member. It will only be an asset if it is yielding clear results toward your goals.
• Social Bookmarking. Be aware that others can view the sites you bookmark on certain social channels. Be aware of words used to “tag” or describe the bookmark that may appear on your profile. Also be aware of URL shortening services and verify the landing site they point to before submitting a link as a bookmark. In most cases, and if space allows, attempt to link directly to a page or resource if possible as you do not control what appears on landing pages in the future.

Find out more by joining a webinar, or see our 12 Steps, or ask your local office about the 12 Steps which is a 2 day workshop, and allows you to hit the ground running.