Does your credit union have a blog policy?

I write a blog for NAFCU.  I have friends in the business that write blogs.  Everyone seems to have a blog.   Importantly though, does anyone in your credit union write a blog?  And do you have a policy that addresses it?

Here's a good article published in the Metropolitan Corporate Counsel that discusses the benefits of having a workplace blog policy.  The article notes that people blog about anything and everything.  Such as...

"(I)magine a blogger spreading completely speculative rumors that a recently promoted colleague got the job by performing sexual favors for the boss. Conversation that shouldn't go unaddressed in the workplace can be extremely difficult to curb when it occurs anonymously in cyberspace."

Or how about this?

"Imagine an employee with a disability who is accommodated with a modified work schedule in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The employer has properly responded to inquiries about the arrangement by saying only that the company is handling the individual's situation in accordance with federal law. A blogger complains that the 'slacker' is being allowed to come and go as he pleases while the rest of the department suffers for it and speculates about the person's possible medical condition."

Ultimately, the decision on whether to have such a policy is a business decision.  The article, however, is a useful read that may get you thinking.

Comments

[Robbie Wright]

I've been running my personal CU blog for quite a while now and haven't ran into any problems yet. I am, however, a responsible employee and would never divulge company secrets, gossip, etc. Our CU does not have a corporate policy, but all of the executive team knows I run the blog. It is odd that I work is such a regulated industry and I hate seeing additional policies added. I fully understand the need to protect the credit unions, but the more paperwork and red tape we put in place, the more innovation we are hampering.

[Mike Templeton]

I think its a good idea for CUs to have a policy regarding blogs being run on the CU's dollar. For example, if a CU has a "company" blog and has internal authors, it makes sense to publish a list of rules. However, if we're talking about an employee running their own blog on their own time, I don't think a CU has a say in that, even if they are a topic of discussion.

And, CUs can make all the policies they want to try to control blogs, but they'll still never gain authority over member blogs, like this post: http://ifdebug.com/articles/web-design-faux-pas/

I think the real key is for CUs to be open-minded and embracing of this culture. If they try to restrict it, they'll only drive people to find other ways to communicate.