What is the difference between personal and professional communication on social media? The Federal Government just recently released a series of recommendations for social media use that all Canadian government employees are required to follow. This includes regulations for profile pictures, posting topics, and protocol on how each employee should respond to user requests. The regulations have made many question how effectively social media can be integrated with professional enterprises, including public sector social media and in-house social networks.
Some companies have tentatively begun to integrate or explore the possibility of using commercial social networks in a business setting. Google+ has elicited interest from businesses for its potential use as a collaborative space. Many companies have also tried to come up with software that mimics the instantaneous communication that takes place on Facebook. Other companies have decided to eliminate this step and simply start using Facebook in a work setting.
Unfortunately, using commercial networking sites for business purposes has several drawbacks. The very purpose of a commercial social networking site like Facebook is to connect as many people as possible while encouraging freedom of expression. This goal creates difficulties for both proprietary and public sector organizations. A proprietary company would necessarily need more security measures on its social network in order to keep unauthorized members from gaining access to its secrets. While a public sector company would welcome feedback from as many people as possible, it would want to minimize the amount of personal information or tangential topics discussed on the network.
Software suites like Opin provide a balanced approach that welcomes contributions from multiple individuals while keeping the debate focused and civil. These software suites also make it easy for users to follow government regulations without feeling as if they must censor themselves. In effect, Opin provides the public sector with its own form of social networking that helps generate innovation while mitigating chaos.
