Social Media Policy – Part 5 – Disclaimers

In part 4, we discussed identification of the employer by employees. Related is the use of disclaimers.

The use of disclaimers is a frequently suggested guideline. If chosen employers should request that employees post disclaimers on their personal websites stating that the views expressed on those websites are those of the employees and not those of their organization. Additionally, employees should be encouraged to post in the first person in order to make it clear that they are not speaking for their organization.

Finally, if the employees are professional or licensed, like attorneys or CPAs, those employees should check with their license authority to see if disclaimers are required by professional responsibility rules.

What else should an employee disclaim? Or are disclaimers necessary?

Cross post from my blog at http://sleepisoptional.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/social-media-policy-part-5-disclaimers/