Media in the New Millennium

There’s a great story today by Anne Broache on News.com regarding potential lawsuits for companies stemming from employee blogs. The case covered stems from a blog called “Patent Troll Tracker” written by the director of Cisco’s intellectual propoerty department. Once the author identifiend himself as a Cisco employee, two patent attorneys filed suit.

Imagine — attorneys filing suit the minute a potential deep pocket is involved. I’m sure I’m as shocked as all of you are!

But all kidding aside, this is a very real issue for companies struggling with new media. There are many examples of companies gaining credibility by letting their employees blog openly. At the same time, one mis-placed comment can upset delicate negotiations, reveal trade secrets or — as in this case — prompt a lawsuit. Then there’s that pesky little First Amendment. Can companies “forbid” employees from blogging and commenting even if they want to?

It’s clear that the legal responsibility on the issue of blogging has yet to be fleshed out, and will probably be debated for some time. That said, employers should consider the following when thinking about potential policies surrounding online employee communication:

• You can’t stop it. You can say you forbid blogging, and you can even fire people who blog if you wish, but it’s impossible to completly shut someone down who chooses to blog. It’s too easy to do and too hard to stop.
• Weigh the risks and rewards. Even in the Cisco case, the blogger in question was most likely expressing company opinion, given that his job was to help form that opinion. Just because a lawsuit was filed doesn’t mean it was a bad thing, as it might help Cisco (and other companies who believe the same way) raise awareness of the need for patent reform, a hot topic for much of the tech world today.
• Many common sense elements still apply and can be handled. Employees should not be allowed to disclose material facts early, make defamatory comments or do anything else that wouldn’t be allowed in other communications. Companies have every right to demand professional and appropriate behavior and should react appropriately when posts break those basic guidelines.
• For every lawsuit that grabs headlines, dozens (hundreds?) of companies are effectively communicating with their customers in an open and honest way, and building credibility as a result. Lawsuits can result from just about anything. A knee-jerk reaction to try to crack down on employee expression will do far more harm than good.
• This is only the beginning. The proliferation of conversational media tools is changing the way we talk to each other, and it will continue and grow. Case law and regulation moves much more slowly and will take years to catch up. And just when it does, the market will be on to something else and we’ll be debating whatever that is.

Don’t let the lawyers spook you. Apply common sense and understand that — as with any new medium — all the business segments are still learning where they fit in.

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