Boyle Fredrickson Hosts Seminar On Business Implications Of Social Media

Held downtown at the Milwaukee County Historical Society, the Social Media event was attended by more than 100 business professionals and attorneys.

Boyle Fredrickson recently played host to an interactive presentation on the business implications of the social media phenomenon. Roger Scommegna, from Three Thieves Wine, provided an informative presentation on Thursday, Oct. 1 that showcased several different forms of social media technologies that some businesses are using to capitalize on the medium and reach out to wider audiences.

Following Scommegna’s presentation about Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools, attendees participated in an informal Q&A session with a panel of experts. Emceed by Boyle Fredrickson shareholder Adam Brookman, the discussion centered on the legal ramifications and business nuances associated with social media campaigns, as well as the legality of the policies many businesses are attempting to put in place to curb some of the inherent risks to employee communications through social media.

According to Boyle Fredrickson shareholder and participating event panelist Mathew Corr, it is wise to outline business-related expectations for employees regarding their social media usage and its potential effects on their employer. It is important to communicate a set of standards to all employees regarding their social media participation through an appropriate company social media policy. One reason for needing such a policy is because derogatory comments made by an employee about other employees, their company or their company’s business partners are normally publicly available when disseminated through these uncontrolled media channels.

“This can be very damaging to an employer, at the very least from a reputation standpoint – or even worse, from a liability perspective depending upon the content of the employee’s comments,” said Corr. “It is essential for companies to ensure that employees distinguish their personal views from that of their employers’ whenever possible to avoid unauthorized employee comments from being attributed to the company as a whole.”

Held downtown at the Milwaukee County Historical Society, the event was attended by more than 100 business professionals and attorneys. For more information about social media and how it can affect the safeguarding of your company’s intellectual property, be sure to consult your Boyle Fredrickson attorney.