The times they are a changin': the impact of technology and social media on the public workplace, Part I.

• Author: Hearing, Gregory A.
• Position: Labor and Employment Law

The influence that technology has on the workplace is no secret. Can you imagine an office environment void of computers? The Internet is an almost indispensable part of business, allowing for more efficient forms of communication, unprecedented access to information, and greater flexibility in work hours and locations. Cell phones are a fixture in almost every home and office. Email permits the nearly instantaneous transmission of digital messages and images from one computer user to another. These technologies have become part of the fabric of our professional environments, and their uses are expanding daily. Desktop computers have given way to portable laptops with wireless capabilities that allow seemingly unlimited mobile Internet access. Cell phones, once costly and cumbersome, have given way to sleek "smart phones" and PDAs that function not only as telephones but also as mini computers, music players, and portable cameras. The advent of these devices has ushered in a technological world where the workplace is no longer confined to the office and where our ability to access information and to effectuate communication is seemingly limited only by our access to a server and the charge in our batteries. The bottom line is that the world we live in today is much smaller than it was even a few years ago. But, you already knew that, didn't you? Did you know that the social networking site LinkedIn, which was created on May 5, 2003, to provide professionals with access to networking, marketing, and job search opportunities, currently has more than 70 million users worldwide from more than 200 countries from every continent? Did you know that YouTube, a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos on topics ranging from professional "webinars" to movie trailers to funny home videos, estimates that more than 65,000 videos are being uploaded every day, where nearly 2 billion viewers per day have access to them? Estimates indicate that it would take approximately 1,000 years to watch all of the current video content maintained on YouTube.

Did you know that Twitter, a real-time information network that allows people to share and discover "what's happening now" via "tweets"--short, text-like messages--currently has 110 million users, with an estimated 300,000 new users per day? More than a third of the users access Twitter via their mobile phone. Twitter recently donated access to all of its tweets to the Library of Congress for research and preservation.

Did you know that, as of the date of this writing, Facebook, a social networking site founded in February 2004, with a stated purpose of helping people "communicate more efficiently with their friends, family, and coworkers" has over 500 million active users worldwide, more than half of which log on to the site on a daily basis to post "status updates" detailing their daily activities, post personal pictures and videos, communicate directly with "Facebook friends," or simply browse the status of others within their online community? There are more than 150 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices, and these users are twice as active on Facebook than nonmobile users. More than 30 billion pieces of content (Web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared on Facebook each month. The average Facebook "user" has approximately 130 "Facebook friends," is connected to an average of 80 community pages, groups, and events, and creates an estimated 90 pieces of content each month.

These numbers don't lie. These and other social media platforms are readily available to anyone with Internet access via computer or smart phone, and their use as a means of information gathering and communication has fast become engrained in our culture. With a single "tweet" or "status update" or "mobile upload," a social networker can distribute information to thousands, if not millions, of users on a global scale with a simple stroke of the keyboard or text pad. Businesses are getting in on the action as well, utilizing social networking platforms as a virtual cost-free resource to distribute information about products and services, develop brand recognition and public awareness, and promote open discussion between the company and its potential.

The explosion of technology and social media has impacted almost every aspect of daily life, including the workplace, and has given rise to a bevy of legal issues for employers to consider. Although many of these issues are not new, their manifestation in the context of social networking may present factual scenarios not previously considered by employers. For instance, the largest public sector labor union in Scotland recently began using Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to "educate" current and potential union members. These efforts not only allowed the union to disseminate information in support of its efforts and agenda, but also provided the public with an open forum to discuss workplace ills and the...