Should Twitter be Allowed in the White House?

You do know that President Obama has a Twitter account, don’t you? He is widely recognized for his use of Twitter and social media during the presidential campaign last year. In fact social media as a communication platform received a lot of fanfare during the 2008 presidential campaign as both the Obama and McCain campaigns used Twitter and Facebook to communicate their campaign promises on a regular basis.

There is a television report out that Twitter is banned at the White House. Here’s the video clip:

The fact that Twitter is banned in the White House is very interesting and has stirred debate among American citizens and no doubt people outside the U.S. President Obama continues to use his Twitter account to communicate. It doesn’t matter if it is or isn’t really him typing the tweets. The fact remains that we know for sure the Twitter account belongs to President Obama, not an impersonator. Twitter displays a “verified” symbol on his account as a means of communicating that it is really his account. That’s Twitter’s way of preventing people from hijacking a Twitter account from celebrities.

Should White House employees be permitted to use Twitter? What does it imply if they are not permitted to use Twitter? I won’t get into the political aspect of this topic. I will take this in a different direction.

Should employers allows employees to use Twitter?

There are many employers who don’t allow employees to use Twitter. While I’m sure there are cases where that decision makes good sense, as a general rule I don’t like it. Consider these comparisons. Should employers not allow employees to have Internet access? Should employers not allow employees to bring cell phones to the office? Should employers not allow employees to bring leisure reading material to work?

How much distrust should employers have toward employees?

When senior management is aligned with the values of employees and vice versa, tools such as Twitter can and should be considered permissible and productive. I certainly don’t condone abuse of Twitter at work, or for that matter any aspect Internet access during work hours, or reading leisure material in the middle of the day (other than during a legitimate break of course).

My point leads to another point. Twitter is still not as mainstream as people think it is. Sure, there are CEOs such as Tony Hsieh of Zappos who use Twitter every day. In fact, he allows his employees to use Twitter. Strike that…He ENCOURAGES his employees to use Twitter. Why? Because he gets it. He understands that his employees make or break his brand. His employees create great customer experiences in part through communicating through Twitter. He gets it!

Does your company get it?

There are many companies who still don’t get it when it comes to Twitter. I’m sure this statement sounds condescending. I don’t mean it that way. But, I do argue that Twitter is a powerful communication tool and not permitting employees to use it is like not allowing them to use email. That’s right, email! What if an employees wastes time using company email? What if an employees sends an inappropriate email? Sure, those are real risks. But, are these risks reason enough to ban corporate email by all employees but a few who need to communicate with customers? Sounds like a silly question, huh?!

It’s about communication

Twitter is a communication platform. It’s time businesses held classes on how to use Twitter reviewing the do’s and don’ts. Company guidelines are appropriate and even necessary so employees know when they are crossing the lines at the risk of losing their job. But for heaven’s sake, don’t stifle employees from using contemporary communication tools. The truth is, you can’t prevent them entirely from using it. Just look at the situation in Iran. Average citizens used Twitter to communicate to the world the events as they unfolded during recent unrest. The Iranian government couldn’t stop it.

What’s in your corporate communication arsenal?

-Bernie Borges
@berniebay

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