Hardly a
day goes by without the tabloid press feasting on the latest tweet from some
celebrity, sportsman providing a cornucopia of loose talk. This of course gives
us plenty of entertainment and, depending on our sensibilities, a sense of
outrage at the more expletive laden ones.
However
the popularity of social media, be it Twitter, Facebook, et al, does have major
implications for project managers. The inability of younger colleagues: Gen X,
millenniums, or whatever new grouping the sociologists dream up, to clearly
delineate what is confidential and what can be shared is a major risk for PM's.
Be it giving away development plans by telling their "friends" what
they are working on, or making derogatory comments about clients, co-workers,
or us it can create a major problem. They may have an expectation of privacy,
but there are no guarantees and once on the web always on the web. Last year's
funny but now embarrassing photo of a beer bust or wet T-shirt competition is
still out there.
As a
project manager you have to establish - if your company hasn't - clear
guidelines about what is permissible to mention on social media and what isn't.
Prudence dictates that you apply tough guidelines - basically you cannot mention
any project related activities on social media. Nothing, Nada, Zllch.
It may
make you appear as a curmudgeon, a dinosaur, but it'll save you having to
explain away your team's indiscretions.
So the
answer to the question "to tweet or not to tweet?" is: "Not on
my project, dude!"
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