Organizations are recognizing the need to expand into the social media space to better understand their customers. Stories like those of Jet Blue, Whole Foods and Dell are becoming more widespread as these firms show concrete, quantifiable measures of success. With the ease of access to product and brand communities (corporate and 3^rd party) companies now want a set of operating guidelines. How do you actually manage the interaction? And, what rules must guide the conversations and behaviours displayed by employees on such message boards?

Stemming from other posts and discussions about this very issue, I put forth the following list of simple guiding principles that I think can provide a starting point for organizations entering this sphere of communication.

Although, there is no one single, policy structure that can fit all situations and organizations, the one thing I do take a strong stance on, is the need to keep the rule simple to understand and relatable, which is the reason I chose to use the rule of the road as my reference point.

Most Importantly, Don’t drink and Drive…well that’s just good advice

My point in putting up this list is to mainly drive discussion around the subject of, what constitutes ‘good’ social policy? Hopefully this provides a springboard from which to launch this much needed debate.