THE ETHICAL ISSUES RAISED BY EDUCATIONAL AND BUSINESS USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA – A REFLECTIVE SUMMARY

My previous blog debating the ethical issues surrounding educational and business uses of social media received a lot of comments, many of which complimented my writing style, approved the content and appreciated the featured SlideShare and diagrams. I have definitely learnt that there are alternative, more effective ways to present information in order to keep the blogs interesting.

After reading my classmates blog posts I have gained a new appreciation of the huge negative impact unethical social media can have on businesses and individuals alike. This new found appreciation was mostly down to real life examples, such as the story of Justine Sacco and the coinage of #hasjustinelandedyet as told in Yee-Ping’s blog. Sacco lost her job as a PR executive after her tweet of an AIDs ‘joke’ before flying to Africa gained huge attention. This story offers a real life optimisation to prove the theory behind the potential consequences of unethicality online, which was arguably missing from my original post.

Sacco’s story can also be used to illustrate a discussion of ethical issues in business uses of social media which appeared not only on the comments of my previous blog, but also in the blogs of others. Anna and Kimberly asked for my opinion on sanctions given to employees after unethical activity online even when they are not directly representing the company. This notion, which was used in Eldar’s blog, perfectly embraces my opinion on this issue: ‘‘say what you want until it clashes with the rights of others – whether these are religions, race, gender, etc.” I believe that companies are correct to fire employees who are discriminating  on social media, especially if they feel that the expressed opinions would impair their ability in the workplace. Unfair firing is protected by and can be rectified with employment law, so such issues can be avoided.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading my peer’s blogs, tweets and opinion on this subject, as I always do. It’s a great way to further learning while maintaining interactive – a great example of successful educational social media and a case to overcome any potential ethicality issues.