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CCCA_V3No4_SocialMedia-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 11/24/09 1:45 PM Page 26 Twitter@work: Leveraging the online revolution Socia l media repre sents a grea t leap forw ard in comm unications, but compan ies ha ve to learn to balance the risks and the rew ard s to reap the benef its. Here’ s ho w corpor ate coun sel can help . by Pablo Fuchs C anadian businesses have never rushed to embrace groundbreaking methods of communica- tions, and social media is no exception: Like the telephone and the computer, the rapid rise of Facebook andTwitter has been greeted with trepidation and, in some cases, outright rejection. “When the telephone first came out, employers didn’t want it because there were concerns of employees [using it] to speak with friends,” says David Wotherspoon, a litigation partner with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP inVancouver who focuses on issues relating to technology and intellectual property (IP).“They were also against the computer because they suspected it would lead to lack of productivity.They are now having the same kind of first reaction to social media.” In fact,58 per cent of 270 chief information officers surveyed at Canadian companies report- ed that their firms prohibit employees from visiting social media websites, such as Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, at the office, according to a survey released in October by Robert Half Technology, a research firm based in Menlo Park, Calif. On the other hand, 22 per cent said their companies allow employees to use social media “for business purposes only,” while 16 per cent permit limited personal use and 3 per cent allow any type of personal use. One per cent of CIO respondents either did not know their company policy or did not answer. These results don’t surpriseWotherspoon.“The immediate reaction of most companies is that people are going to waste time and bandwidth in using social media, so they ban it outright,” he says.“But this is the wrong response. Companies can benefit significantly from social media.” He points out that in September, New York-based global management consultancy 26 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association WINTER 2009