Stop me if you’ve heard this before. See, there was this viral video going around showing [insert questionable behavior that could — or could not — be employment law related].
It happened again yesterday.
It was at a Coldplay concert in Boston. I’m sure you’ve seen it by now. I won’t link to it because
It may be hard to remember, but during the first year of the blog in mid-2007 to 2008, there was barely a mention of social media and its impact in the workplace. Just a single reference in January 2008 noting that with sites like Myspace (!), “employees from around the country can share information instantly, making it much easier to figure out if there are trends associated with the layoff that may give rise to a lawsuit.”
Then, in September 2008, I talked about how employers were considering using those sites to “screen” potential candidates for employment. I suggested against it at the time. But what I also suggested back then is that employers needed to recognize the sites’ growing influence.
Yes, some college grads put some boasts on their site, but Facebook has moved so quickly into the mainstream that many people are using it as a communication tool, far removed from their college years.
That was just five years ago, but really, it feels so much longer than that.
Flash forward to today. 91 percent of American own cell phones. 63 percent of those owners use their cell phones to go online, mainly through apps used on devices like the iPhone. As a September 2013 Pew Internet study found, a majority of Americans “now owns a smartphone, and mobile devices are playing an increasingly central role in the way that Americans access online services and information.”
Social media accounts for a significant portion of that usage. 89 percent (!) of 18-29 year olds online use social networking sites. Even among 30-49 year olds, that percentage is 78 percent.
But what sites are they using and how?
You’ve no doubt heard of YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Maybe Foursquare and Google+ (poor Google). And if you’ve been following the blog, you know that Instagram (a photo sharing site) and Vine (a video sharing site) are growing in influence as well. But what about everything else?
When I spoke to a group of people last week, a few wore their ignorance of social media as a badge of honor. But in my view, employers ought to understand the scope of the issue; they may not need to use all the sites, but it’s only when you understand how much is out there that you begin to appreciate the scope of the social media issue.
Take, for example, Whisper to which I referenced yesterday. A few people responded, “huh?”
Continue Reading Snap(chat), Kik & Whisper: What Social Networking Apps Your Employees Are Using Today
Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of delivering the keynote address at Adnet Technologies’ Worksmart 2013. My thanks to Adnet (Christopher, Ed, Amanda, and Faith in particular) and the hundreds who attended. We were able to sprinkle in a few Star Trek references in light of the new movie out.
One of the issues
In legal circles, we’ve all been anxiously awaiting a result in the case of Eagle v. Morgan (download here) — a case out of Pennsylvania where the issue who owned a LinkedIn page and contacts (the employee vs. the employer) was front and center.
I talked about it in a post late last year, but if you still need to get up to speed on the case, the Employer Law Report blog has an excellent recap here. I won ‘t repeat what is said there, but I do want to focus on a few things.
The case is not terribly complex both legally and factually.
In the main claim, the former company founder alleged that the company wrongly took over her LinkedIn account (and using her password) in an attempt to divert business back to the company. She alleged a variety of legal theories associated with such an action.
The company, in turn, had filed a counterclaim that the employee misappropriated the LinkedIn account. It argued that it had invested time and effort into employees’ LinkedIn account.
As to the counterclaim, the court rejected it because the company never had a policy that required, for example, required its employees to use LinkedIn. A big flaw in the argument was that the LinkedIn User agreement says that the accounts are between LinkedIn and the individual. Therefore, the Company had no business idea that was misappropriated.
The employee was able to show that the company “used” her name and derived commercial benefit from her likeness. The employee also prevailed on her invasion of privacy claim and misappropriation of publicity claim as well.
But such a victory is a hollow one for the employee.
Continue Reading Does Your CEO Own Her LinkedIn Account? One Court Says Yes, But…
Five years is a long time.
In the time span of the Internet, it might as well be a lifetime.
So, after five years of doing this blog on nearly a daily (ok, business daily) basis, it’s time for a change.
Now, I’m not retiring like other
In my presentations on social media this year, I’ve talked a bit about the Phonedog v. Kravitz case where an employer sued a former employee who continued to use the company Twitter account he had started.
When the employee left, he merely changed the
Lately, it feels that employment law is revolving solely around social media. Indeed, many of my speaking engagements recently have all had a social media bent. (This week, I’ll be keynoting a speech to the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Marketing Professionals Services on Strategies and Risks on Social Media in the Workplace
As another week passes by (seriously, where did January go already?), here are a few odds and ends that are worth a mention:
As social media continues to dominate 
the world — or at least conversations about employment law — there are a few notable posts that are worth delving into this week that explore the topic further.
Are you scared of social media yet?
That seems to be the approach of newly-m
inted legal "experts" telling employers to be on guard for employees who use social media with the added suggestion that you can (and perhaps should) fire anyone who says anything silly or mildly inappropriate on Facebook.
If only it