For many years, employers set up firewalls at work that prevented employees from going to certain websites.

Didn’t want your employees shopping at Amazon? Block the site.

Didn’t want your employees posting updates at Facebook? Block the site.

But here’s the reality: Smartphones have made those firewalls meaningless.  Information, as I’ve said before, wants to be free.  Employers who attempt to block social media usage are merely putting fingers into the proverbial bursting dam.    Whether you recognize it or not, there’s a massive waterfall of information that is now flowing.

Am I suggesting employers give up? Hardly.  But there needs to be an acknowledgment by employers that social media and technology will continue to infiltrate our workplaces in ways we haven’t even begun to think about.  We need to think about a world where such usage is considered the norm.  How do we rebuild a workplace that is cognizant of these changes and also protects both the core values of the business and the secrets that your company has that allow it to have a competitive advantage in the marketplace?

On October 25th, I’m going to discuss these concepts further as part of a larger presentation my firm is giving on labor & employment law. The session that I will help lead is entitled, “Are You Ready for Instagram, Vine and All the Latest That Social Media Brings Into the Workplace?”

In the presentation, we’ll cover social media policy but also how employers need to address the evolving world of social media.  Ever hear of sites like Whisper or Snapchat? And what do you do when employees take their converations off of your servers and onto instant messaging apps?

Overall, we will address the latest developments in employment law and social media, and provide guidance to employers on dealing with this shifting landscape.  Download a brochure here.

Registration is free, but is done on a first-come, first-served basis.  So be sure to sign up before it fills up.

See you later this month.