"A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man's mind can get both provocation and privacy." --Edward P. Morgan
Many folks who maintain social networking sites are being asked by their bosses to supply them with their personal password so that their online activity can be monitored for potential security and breach of corporate protocol concerns.
While they privately make light of the fact that this demand is an invasion of their privacy and personal space a great many employees begrudgingly provide their demanding employers with the requested password to their Facebook account.
Suddenly their perfect job has become tainted by the fact that they must unwillingly relinquish their guarded password to their boss. The economics of the situation persuades many of these employees to succumb to the demand of the job and of course their continuing employment.
Julie is one such employee who has been a marketing researcher for the past five years. She works in an office environment and communicates with clients via her Facebook site. She manages her site when she is at work and states that she uses it for business promotions, conferencing and client updating.
She realizes that her employer is providing the net connection for her to use and as such has the right to ask her for her password. She resents the fact that a condition of her continuing employment with the firm rests on her compliance with the password ruling.
Concerned friends and colleagues advise her to comply but also suggest that she either create a new Facebook account for her own private use or else change the password a month after she reveals it to her employer.
A number of people I chatted with resented the outright imposition on their privacy. They stated that their employer really had no right to invade in their private space especially if their private thoughts and concerns revealed online were not related to their jobs.
Doug, a radio DJ , said "no way Jose!" would he ever comply with such a demand by his employer. His connection to his listeners was enhanced by his Facebook persona and he emphasized the fact that his listeners might not communicate as freely with him if they suspected third or even fourth parties were monitoring them.
Facebook does provide a forum for many folks to not only express their views to the world but also at times an ideal meeting place to meet new friends, business associates and reconnect family members separated by great distances.
It also offers unscrupulous employers the opportunity to not only intimidate their employees with termination but also a private view into the non business lives of their personnel.
It may be wise and economically prudent to maintain two such social media accounts: one to appease the demands of your boss and a second , more private one in which your non work related personality and networking connections are private and secure from your company's probing eyes.
