Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/197979
NewsBriefs.REV_June REV 8/20/10 4:35 PM Page 4 NEWS BRIEFS Antisocial Behavior I This article and suggestions are not meant to Suggestions for Smart Social Media Use Consider adopting a policy of never posting anything about work or a shift. We mean anything. Not even "Tough shift at work today" or "So busy, no time for lunch!" Think twice before you post anything, and then think again. The rule of thumb is: Would you want this statement, comment, picture, or video about you to appear on a public bulletin board? Explore all the privacy and security settings in Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and other sites. Though there's no way to guarantee complete privacy, use "customize settings" in Facebook to set restrictions to the tightest available, usually "friends only" or "only me." Check your settings regularly. Facebook is notorious for changing settings to more permissive defaults. Regularly weed out your Facebook friends and Twitter followers. Delete any you are unsure about. Don't worry, they won't know they're gone. And remember, others can view your friends and pass judgment based on the company you keep. Log out of Facebook and search your own name to see what appears as your public profile or what results pop up in search engines like Google. Prevent friends from being able to post on your Facebook "wall." Use "customize settings" to disable this feature. Don't friend managers and supervisors, and reconsider whether acquaintances are really "friends." Don't Facebook, tweet, or text on paid work time. We're not talking just through your work computers, but also your iPhones and Blackberries. It's wrong, and employers can use the date and time stamps for discipline. Don't ever, ever, ever post or tweet anything about a patient, no matter how innocuous. Don't make disparaging comments about your coworkers, management, or employer. Don't list your employer or your work email and other contact information on your profile. Check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation's blog on how to maximize Facebook's privacy controls: www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/ more-privacy-facebook-new-privacy-controls constitute legal advice. 4 N AT I O N A L N U R S E W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 1 0 PM IMAGES | ICONICA | GETTY IMAGES n recent months, news reports have been piling up of registered nurses and other workers getting fired or disciplined by their employers for items they are posting on social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. While NNU is vigorously defending nurses in a number of cases and hopes to win, it's a disturbing trend. Sometimes it's a seemingly innocuous status update about "the grumpy guy in room 9" that hospitals fear may be used to identify a patient and run afoul of health privacy laws. Sometimes it's a photo a nurse has posted of coworkers at the pub without realizing that someone was holding a union pamphlet—perhaps prematurely outing a supporter to union busters. And sometimes it's a link to a tasteless YouTube video completely unrelated to work, but which causes human resources to question the good judgment and professionalism of the poster. Many workers don't understand that many constitutional rights, such as the First Amendment, don't apply at work, and social media is making matters worse. "Employees are using social media, both at work and at home, to publish a stunning