Andy's Video

Hello Everybody!

Let me start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this video and thought it was in keeping with Andy's writing style - short, sweet, and to the point. Right off the bat Andy pointed out that it is easy to stay honest with a short simple phrase, "and now a word from our sponsors." If it is this easy, companies should be able to follow the simple guidelines and ethics code in order to stay honest in the social media area. He also went on to discuss three big ideas. These included requiring truthfulness in social media, monitoring the conversation and correcting mis-statements, and teaching social media policies and training programs.

The first big idea, requiring truthfulness in social media, seems pretty obvious right? Well to some extent, this is true. However, requiring truthfulness not only means telling the truth yourself, but it means requiring it from all your employees. All people associated with the company must be truthful about what they say and who they are. If this is a requirement in a company's code of ethics, it is easier for the company to hold everything that is said to that standard.

The second big idea, monitoring the conversation and correcting mis-statements, is an essential idea which sometimes gets missed by many companies. First, if a company becomes part of the conversation, what is being said about them and their product is easier to monitor and respond to anything said that may be false. Correcting mis-statements by your own employees is important as well because you want to be able to own up to your mistakes before someone points out fault in your statement. Instead of the public seeing this as a mistake, they will probably see it as your company lying, leading to mistrust.

Finally, teaching social media policies and having set training programs is one of the most important things a company can do for its employees because they will be aware of the standards and expectations about ethics from the beginning. How can a company expect an employee to know what to do and not to do if they were not properly trained? The same goes for ethical behavior. An employee can not be expected to know what to say and what not to say when referencing their company unless they are taught what is right and what is wrong.

These three points helped me see how Andy feels that we can change things for the better. When we see something that is wrong, we should say something. Don't be afraid to speak up, because one of the best ethical codes that you can follow is your gut feeling and own personal intuition.

Until next time!

Rache :)