I have been exploring multiple dimensions of Twitter and LinkedIn.  I am following news relevant to my industry.  I am in closer touch with some of my clients.  I have made contact with professionals in my business area from different parts of the world.  It’s been fascinating to hear news directly from students in Iran.  I see that my daughter tweets early in the morning so we can enjoy short exchanges as we both prepare for the day.

My objective is to explore how social networking can be applied to driving real business improvements.  Forget marketing for the moment (the media is swamped with advice about this).  My clients and I share management challenges in running our respective businesses.  We want to know whether we can use the new tools to:

• Communicate with colleagues internally (as I write this my PA has just seen that my last Tweet was ‘I need a cup of tea’ and has gone to make me one !)
• Support each other as colleagues when out and about, away from the office 
• Help home workers to feel more included
• Keep in touch with each other as members of professional groups
• Communicate essentials to clients without overburdening them with superfluous information
• Reduce the load on our email Inboxes
• Support work / life balance

As employers we need to take care.  We need to think about:

• A policy for employees.  Appropriate mix of the business and personal
• Use of the corporate brand
• What is said goes into the public domain.  What’s said on Twitter can’t be unsaid.  This could cause problems around defamation, privacy, commercial confidentiality and sensitivity.
• Reputation.  Who is following employees, and who are they following ?  This is visible in the public domain.

It is interesting, and hardly surprising, to see that Plymouth City Council has banned the use of Twitter whilst they take time out to think (see Local Gov online).  Like many new ideas there is potential for harm as well as for good.

The purpose of this blog is to explore the good whilst developing strategies for managing the downside.  I have some ideas which I will be developing in future blogs.  Join me if you will – I look forward to your comments and pointers.