The 463: Inside Tech

Social Media Policies: Church, State, and the Workplace

(Whitney Forster) - Did you know that social media could cause you to get divorced, fired, or even killed? The dangers of social media are front and center this week in several news stories.

In the latest New York Times' “Tech Talk” podcast, Bill Milani, a lawyer and instructor at Cornell University’s school of labor and industrial relations, outlines some of the potential business issues resulting from the use of social media, from a highly qualified job candidate who posts a salacious video online to a laid off employee who cites a positive LinkedIn reference from a manager in a law suit.

Social media can also be too much temptation for marriages, according to New Jersey’s Reverend Cedric Miller, who has banned his congregation from using Facebook based on of the number of couples he counsels whose marriage has been rocked by inappropriate online contact.

And in the most serious of the news stories, the U.S. Air Force is concerned about troops' use of geolocation services and the possibility that it could reveal the location of U.S. forces in war zones.

With every advance in technology, the bad can distract from the good. On the marriage front, it is unlikely that the technology creates infidelity – more likely that it is easier to catch and call out bad behavior. If you are going to criticize social media as a detriment to marriage, you have to also acknowledge the thousands of marriages created by dating and social networking sites.

As for military operations, there is no doubt that protecting our soldiers is serious and important business, but we also need to harness this intelligence against our enemies to protect our soldiers and our own homeland security. The Department of Defense had considered banning the use of social media, but changed their mind when they realized that social media can provide valuable information-gathering and communication tools.

And in business, encouraging employees to actively engage in social media can be a great way to promote and build a company’s brand. Tom’s Shoes, for example, is a great example of a company built on social networking, and companies like IBM actively encourage employees to engage online. 463 even encourages us to post our ideas on the company blog!

What is clear is that we need social media policies, because they set the boundaries of relationships, allowing people to know how they are expected to behave. Couples should have clear agreements about what constitutes acceptable online behavior and the forming or re-forging of relationships. The military MUST help warn soldiers on the risk of being identified and help them to manage that risk. And companies need policies to help employees fully understand the benefits and the risks of the social media tools available to them.

Obama and Boehner are no Clinton and Gingrich

(Tom Galvin) By all accounts, tomorrow night will mark the end of Democratic rule of the House and sweep John Boehner into the Speaker’s Chair. Many pundits compare the upcoming President Obama/Boehner dynamic to the odd relationship that existed between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich after the GOP seized the House in 1994.

And they couldn’t be more wrong. Obama-Boehner couldn’t be more different than Clinton-Gingrich. In 1994, Gingrich swept into office as a de factor Prime Minister, full of bluster and bravado. Clinton rose to the occasion, and in a perverse way, they were perfect for each other. They were two imperfect, dysfunctional people whose overwhelming need was to be the center of attention. They were Frick to Frack.

Gingrich loved the attention, whether it was on him and his political views, his kooky mother or gay sister, as long as the spotlight was bright. Clinton seemed to need, yearn for, drama that would cast him in the role as leading man. As a political reporter, I covered both men, and I was startled they were essentially the same person: two men who did what they wanted, not necessarily what they should.

Obama and Boehner couldn’t be more different. Boehner learned from Gingrich’s mistakes – was actually fired from a Leadership post under Newt – and worked his way back. While Gingrich was a New Age speaker full of ideas, Boehner is as uncomplicated a politician as you will find. Boehner is not a self-help book kind of guy. He sees the world in a straight line – you get there by going from here to there. He won’t be a Prime Minister, won’t try to be the Second President.

And “No Drama” Obama isn’t Clinton, in need of every day pulling a Sally Field – “you like me, right now, you like me!” He’ll cruise on, paying as little attention to Boehner as he can. Sure, they’ll have lunch in the next week or two, but Obama is a true believer and the mere loss of 60 or so House seats won’t convince him otherwise.

So, we won’t have any Barack-John debates in the near future, like we did with Clinton and Gingrich. And Boehner won’t be the lightning rod that Newt was. And Obama won’t project an inner Clinton and Dick Morris (triangulation) his way out of the political fix the pundits on Tuesday night will sure say he’s in.

And you know what? The country is better off that this isn’t Newt-Bill II.