Should employees be able to post anonymously to internal message boards or blogs? Back in 2003 we profiled the U.S. Navy's then-new knowledge management portal, Navy Knowledge Online. We were struck by how hands-off naval leadership was in regulating posts. Enlisted personnel expressed their opinions freely, even voiced dissent using IM, discussion boards and scheduled chats ... but their names and ranks were displayed. Anonymity is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it grants a layer of freedom to the poster: True feelings and opinions can be conveyed without the risk of retaliation, embarrassment or loss of reputation. However, people tend to drop societal norms when they're anonymous, so we recommend limiting anonymity in forums where the company could be held accountable for harassment.
Web Development
New Media in the Enterprise
Blogs, wikis, podcasts and other new communications mechanisms improve interaction among employees, customers and business partners, but the transparency can put your business resources--not to mention your reputation--at risk. Here's how to make it all manageable.Related Reading
More Insights
INFO-LINK
To upload an avatar photo, first complete your Disqus profile. | View the list of supported HTML tags you can use to style comments. | Please read our commenting policy. | |