Web Policy is a Corporate Governance Concern

Often when we help organizations establish web policy, the web team balks when we recommend they seek guidance from colleagues in legal or human resources (or some other “non-web” domain). We always push back. Web policy addresses (among other things) the mitigation of risk associated with operating online. And shaping effective web policy requires the experience and expertise of a diverse set of organizational domain experts—not just the web team.

A couple of days ago, the NY Times ran an interesting piece related to the use of social media by an employee and a resulting legal case. It seems organizations and employees are starting to walk the legislative path that will help define the limits (if any) of free speech online as it relates to the employee/employer relationship. Simply put: can an employee say whatever they want about their employer online and still have a job in the morning?  As always, the devil is in the details of this interesting case. See the NY Times article "Company Accused of Firing Over Facebook Post."  Definitely a case to watch and I’m sure more to come.

And a gentle reminder:

There’s a difference between web policy and web standards (see our definition of web governance). Web policy addresses risk mitigation, regulatory concerns, and opportunity enhancement for the corporate entity. Web standards are about the development protocols and rules for developing your web presence. A mature approach to corporate web governance addresses both of these concerns. We find that most organizations blend the development of web policy and standards—compromising the quality of both.