Notorious R.O.B.

So I login to Facebook today just to check out what’s going on, while waiting for the various workers I’ve hired to dig my car (with attached U-Haul trailer) out from under 3′ of snow. And I see that Facebook is recommending a friend to me: Dottie Herman, the CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman.

Which got me wondering… is there any point to networking with a VIP on Facebook or Twitter? Really? What is the likelihood that you’ll get real interaction, like from a real human being, from someone so visible? These are individuals who represent major companies or organizations. Are you really going to get to know them as a person in such a public forum?

I know exceptions exist, but for the most part, people who have such senior roles are not likely to be free, open, and human on public social networking sites. Because human beings are imperfect, and being imperfect, sometimes they mis-speak, or are inappropriate for polite company. Hang out with some of the VIP’s off-hours, behind-the-scenes, and you’ll see that those perfectly coiffed, perfectly spoken people are just men and women like any other. But the social media interactions of most VIP’s strike me as carefully crafted as any PR wire release. Everything is either trivial (“Happy Birthday, so-and-so” and “Loved the new movie XYZ”) or carefully neutral pastel-like shades of correct. What’s the point of following such people?

I just don’t think there’s any way you’ll get VIP’s behaving like regular human beings in public. Social media experts are telling young people to be careful what they upload into Facebook, since those pictures of keg stands in Daytona Beach will come back to bite them in the ass when they’re going for a job. What do you think they’re telling CEO’s of companies?

So, what do you think? Are you connected/friends with any VIP’s in or outside of real estate, who aren’t afraid to just let it all hang out? I can only think of a couple myself.

-rsh

Buried within last week’s firestorm ignited by a couple of posts over at AgentGenius was an actually important issue that all social media practitioners and companies thinking about social media need to think about.

When is a company or an organization responsible for the social media actions of its employees?

Now, while I have gone to law school, and am a member of the Bar, I am not a lawyer, and what follows should not be construed as legal advice or any such thing.  Consult your own attorneys for their take on the issue.

From where I stand, I believe the answer will depend largely on three factors: (a) the employee’s “day job” responsibilities, (b) the “social media act” at issue, and (c) employer’s level of knowledge.  But this is a first stab, and I would love thoughts/comments from the readers, especially from those who are practicing attorneys.

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