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Davis is CEO of Davis & Company (davisandco.com). She made her comments at a recent webinar.
Information You Thought Was Protected
Davis shared a story of Gannett, owner of USA Today. Gannet planned major layoffs nationwide, but intended to announce them only at the local level, so that no one would know the total number of employees affected.
Soon a disgruntled ex-employee began a blog to track Gannett's layoffs. He began to post the information on his blog. "We're going to add it all up for you," he said. He created a map that showed all the layoffs nationwide.
Unfortunately for Gannett, Davis says, when you lay off journalists, you lay off a group who are pretty savvy about how to find information, and how to present it.
The main lesson is that the blogger was able to aggregate information that Gannett expected to keep private, and there wasn't much Gannett could do about it.
How About Those Rant Sites?
"Rant sites are a level worse," Davis notes. She calls them “moaning and complaining" sites. They encourage what she calls "management stinks" blogs.
Take, for example, JobSchmob.com, she says. Here's a taste:
Screenvision Is The Worst Company In The World!!
"I worked for about eight months in advertising sales for Screenvision, selling onscreen theatre advertising. Warning: Onscreen advertising is one step above being a total scam and a completely ineffective means of spending your advertising dollars. The commercial spots are an insignificant 10 seconds, and are shown mostly in half-empty theatres, to kids with no buying power or people who regard onscreen ads as little more than an annoyance. They are totally ineffective. The company has something like an 8% renewal rate! That's abysmal.
"… The company management is made up of idiots who are out of step and totally clueless as to the realities of the world we live in. The regional VP was located in our office. I have known doorknobs with more brains than this idiot.
"DO NOT ever do business with Screenvision, and don't ever consider going to work for them! They're the Anti-Christ of the advertising world."
"Not what you'd want a prospective employee or customer to be reading," notes Davis. But as long as the blogger is reciting his or her experience, there's not much you can do about it, she says.
Industry Sites
For another example of another kind of social media site, check out Cafepharma.com, says Davis. Cafe has a message group for every significant pharmaceutical company and for geographic regions and tech specialties like IT.
"Depending on industry, geography, and how strong a presence you are in your industry, these groups will spring up as places where people congregate and talk about your company," Davis warns.
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