Creating a Social Media Policy To 'Protect' Your Customers?

"I think a part of this whole process that's been missing has been collaboration," she said. "It's difficult. I don't feel that the [we are] involved with the process, and I think that would be helpful here." via www.westport-news.com

Look. When Group A issues a policy to Group B that tells Group B how Group A says Group B should socialize in public with  social media... you have what's called...a missed opportunity for collaboration and engagement.

What makes this policy even worse is that it:

mandates that employees' use of social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, not breach confidentiality obligations, not harm the reputation of the school district, and forbids personnel to make "friend" requests to students or parents on Facebook.

Yes. We wouldn't want teachers, parents and students to be friends and share ideas and complaints, solutions and questions. Because after all:

"I think collaboration is appropriate when an item is appropriate for collaboration," [Superintendent Landon] said. "This is a policy for protection of children. It is not a negotiable item."

And who are the children being protected from, again? Parents and teachers?

The first group is the ones whose taxes pay for the Superintendent's salary. And the second group is the one hired by the Superintendent to spend the majority of their waking hours with the children during the majority of the children's waking hours to teach them.  And together, the children spend nearly all hours of a day and night with these two groups. And your policy prohibits any interaction among these three groups for the protection of children. 'K.

What I hear being told the parents, children and teachers is:

You don't know how to behave in public...You are not trustworthy.  Ergo and ipso facto, I  prohibit you from collaborating, connecting, communicating together, singly or as a group. 

I wonder if they have a policy like this covering email, phone calls, text messages, person-to-person contact like at the grocery store...And what about the parent-teacher conferences? Is anyone listening there?

That's like companies saying their social media policy that prohibits the use of social media by employees is:

...a policy for protection of customers. It is not a negotiable item.

I'm sure they'll work it out. They're adults, right?