Organizational Social Media Policies and Best Practice Recommendations

Ellen Simonetti, or the Queen of the Sky, began blogging as a method of therapy following her mother’s death in 2003. As a Delta flight attendant, Simonetti typically blogged about her travels, offering practical travel advice; however, one day, Simonetti posted seductive photos of herself posing in her uniform on a grounded plane. Although she never provided her last name or that of the airline, was off-duty when the photos were taken, and Delta had no policy regarding such matters, Simonetti was terminated (Simonetti, 2004). She subsequently made appearances on The Today Show and filed suit against Delta in 2005. This very public case is considered one of the first controversial instances of employee social media use. Nearly a decade later, it would be expected that most organizations have implemented clear social media policies; however, this does not seem tobe the case as evidencedby a 2011 YouTube video by Starbucks barista Christopher Cristwell. In the video, Cristwell sings about the finicky Starbucks customers wearing only his apron and underwear (Cristwell, 2011). Further, a 2010 study by Manpower found that 75% of employers (of the 34,400 responses worldwide) say their organizations do not have formal policies regarding social media.