The dark side of social media: Be careful what you share with the wide world watching

Protocols and etiquette of online usage have lagged behind advances in technology

The use of social media, both for individuals and business, has become so ubiquitous that it’s hard to remember a time when this was not the case. And perhaps because of this speed of adoption, our understanding of the protocols and etiquette of how social media is used has lagged behind technological developments.

Ben Choi, a lecturer in information systems at UNSW Business School, along with international colleagues Zhenhui Jiang, Bo Xiao and Sung S. Kim, has conducted a revealing experiment on how users of social networks react to the posting of some mildly embarrassing information (in this case, a note of the subject having fallen asleep in a university lecture).

The authors found that social media users should be made aware of the intricate implications of embarrassing exposure – a benign joke may turn into unintentional humiliation that damages relationships.

Notably, users should be encouraged to prudently consider the visibility of the embarrassing content before publishing it on social media.

While the focus of the experiment may be narrow, it nonetheless throws up much wider questions, about the changing nature of privacy, and what this means – for business as well as individuals.

“Privacy is an evolving concept,” says Choi. “The kinds of things we have traditionally seen as private – such as your current location, your political views, or relationship status – are no longer so.”

Indeed, there appears to be a fundamental change between generations, in that younger people are happy to exchange their privacy in return for maintaining connectivity with friends, and gaining attention from others beyond their friendship group.

“They think this is normal, and don’t see it as giving up their privacy – if you’re not doing it, you’re missing out,” notes Choi.

Business implications

For Choi, the new social media environment has brought about two key changes. First, it has allowed an expansion of ‘reach’, where multiple social circles can be collapsed into one. Second, information becomes permanent, and beyond an individual’s control.

“These two things exponentially empower the possibilities for embarrassing exposés by others,” he says.

Choi believes that his research has implications for social networking sites such as Facebook. These sites want their members to share information (including sometimes embarrassing information), but don’t want embarrassments to cause people to give up on the site, and so lead to a loss of revenue.

“I’m sure that Facebook can do something about this. The moderating process can decide what postings are appropriate, and where things have gone too far.”

What, then, are the implications for businesses seeking to use social media to promote and market what they do?

“What our experiment has shown is that individuals engage in more positive public reactions, but less positive reactions in private. Extending this to businesses, [it suggests that businesses should] do everything in a tactful manner in public – but sort out specific problems in private,” says Choi.

‘There’s still an expectation, in Australia and elsewhere, that businesses and service providers will look after my privacy – even when I don’t. This is not the case’

TONY SMALES

Data aggregation

“Social media encourages us to share the things that we’d previously kept within our social circle,” says Tony Smales, CEO of IT company Forticode, which specialises in authentication technology.

“Knowledge of social circles is very high value marketing information, because of commonalities such as restaurants, sport or music. Having data on this sort of collectivity shortens the lead time on exposing a person to things they might be interested in consuming.”

According to Smales, prior to the internet, there was a perception that data would only ever be used for the purpose for which it was collected.“At that time, reality and perception were very aligned. But fast forward 20 years, and the people who educate the children who use web-based services don’t necessarily understand the extent to which data is now disseminated and spread.”

For Smales, one of the biggest drivers of data aggregation is the banking and finance sector – both for the mitigation of risk, but even more for the ability to market services to customers. However, this kind of activity predates the internet, such as the notable example of Reader’s Digest using its mailing list to market other products.Given the existence of what Smales calls ‘public-private’ information, are we being naïve as individuals in using social media to add to it? Smales believes we are.

“There’s still an expectation, in Australia and elsewhere, that businesses and service providers will look after my privacy – even when I don’t. This is not the case,” he says.

The dark side

Smales believes that Choi’s research has two important implications for business. First, businesses can utilise this public-private information to do social check-ups on future, current – and even past employees (such as ensuring they are abiding by non-disclosure agreements).

“Is this legal? Yes, but I believe it’s unethical. Twenty years ago, you would have had to hire a private investigator to do it,” Smales says.

Second, this public-private information has become a free and highly targeted marketing resource.

“There is, however, a dark side here, in that businesses can use social media to attack other businesses,” says Smales. “Is this legal? Probably not. Is it ethical? Definitely not.”

In this uncertain new world, Smales’s advice to individuals is to, “assume that anything you do electronically can be put on display by someone else, now and in the future. If you’re comfortable with that, hit send!”

“A good example is birth dates, which can often form a part of a person’s online security. Ask yourself, as a business, do you really need this?

“And also, never be tempted to on-sell data for a short-term profit.”

‘There currently aren’t enough specialists who can say with authority exactly how to utilise social media with a positive return on investment’ 

SELINA POWER

Setting the rules

As creative director of social media management and development agency Super Power Digital, Selina Power has seen first-hand the struggles that businesses have in their quest for effective use of social media.“There currently aren’t enough specialists who can say with authority exactly how to utilise social media with a positive return on investment,” she says.

According to Power, there are two essential documents that any company involved in social media needs to have. The first is a social media policy, an expansive legal document that anyone using social media in the company – “not just the social media manager” – needs to read and sign. This covers areas such as why the company is using social media (such as for brand awareness), and issues such as “levels of truth”, for the avoidance of misleading a client or customer about a product or service.“Importantly, this document applies to people using social media in their personal as well as work life,” Power says.The second document is the social media guidelines – one or two pages, which must be easily accessible, and updated every six months.

“Companies also need six-monthly meetings, to reiterate the rules, and to answer any questions from staff. Simple things like the need for passwords on mobile phones to prevent rogue postings.”

‘Inaction is not a solution’

Power recalls a chilling tale of a Facebook-based promotion that she undertook for a well-known franchise, to demonstrate the potential for things to go wrong.

She posted a message to the company’s 5000 customers on a Friday at 7pm, in the hope they would reply and share her post. The promotion went as expected, with comments petering out by 10pm. But at 1.30am, hours after Power had officially finished working, she received a new comment that was very long, and employed aggressive and abusive language.

“It turned out that the man had killed his wife and was using the posting as a way of confessing what he’d done,” she says.

Fortunately, Po?wer’s quick action in hiding the post, contacting the company’s CEO, and ultimately passing on what she knew to the police, limited any damage. If the post had spread further, then traumatised customers, lawsuits and untold damage to the company’s brand could easily have followed.

“To every business thinking of going into social media, I say this. Stop what you’re doing, assess the level of risk – and if you don’t have a plan to mitigate that risk, don’t do it.”

But perhaps the most pertinent advice for companies using social media is Choi’s idea that “inaction is not a solution”.

“A generation ago, it was possible for a company to ignore complaints. Now, though, that’s not possible,” Choi says.