More and more people are using social tools in every day life. Micro blogging, blogging, sharing pictures and videos – at home, at work, and in between. Private and business life is merging. Being a representative of an employer – even if you are your own – bears responsibility. Business relations are online, and connecting too.

The pitfall of tools like Twitter and Facebook is that a misstep is easily made – they can be used as emotional outlets. And with customers watching 24 hours a day, things are bound to go wrong one time. I have been discussing this topic more and more recently. I work with pleasure, and occasional personal frustration. I always keep in mind the following rules before posting anything out on the web.

For employees

Who is paying your bills? Even though your Blogger or FaceBook profile belongs to you -  you are representing the company you work for. Think for a second about the impact that publishing bits of information or pictures might have for the company. And it will also have impact on you – since you decided to accept your job.

Be respectful. Give a colleague or a manager the opportunity to solve the issue or problem before hitting that “Send Tweet” button. People make mistakes and everyone deserves a fair chance to solve them. Some things are better discussed in private, without anyone else watching (or listening).

Don’t like your job? If you do not like your current job, leave. Put effort and energy into finding new job opportunities (positive) instead of dissing your current employer (negative). Your online profile will be scanned by any potential new employer as well, and trash-talking on your colleagues or employer will not increase the chance of you getting that new job. Be careful with job-hunting out in the open though.

For the employer

Just like a real relationship. When work is not going according to their plans, people complain. And usually there is always something to complain about. This is a good thing – it shows authenticity and builds trust. When things are getting out of hand,  you are probably doing something wrong. Listen to what your employees are saying, both online and offline. Have improvement sessions and take appropriate action. Your employees will spread the word.

Let your employees send out your message. Looking for new staff or leads? Your employees are often the right place to start. Make use of their network of people – but pull, and do not push. Do the occasional fun stuff and let your employees talk about how great your company is. Do not expect them to act like a small marketing war machine. Remember that authenticity builds trust.

Create some kind of policy. Creating a policy is a delicate matter – policy equals control. And you do not want your employees to feel like you are controlling them. So some kind of policy requires mutual understanding. Sit down and ask for suggestions – how would they do it? What do they suggest?

Do you have some kind of policy at work? Is your employer giving you the freedom to be authentic? I would love to hear your thoughts about this.