Board Governance Of Social Networking

This article originally appeared in the Director Journal, a publication of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).

Twitter, YouTube and other forms of social media have swept past teenage toys and now represent a key part of society's communication fabric. The chances are that the organizations you serve as a board director are already using social media to engage in social networking. If that's so, it's time for your board to turn its attention to board governance of social networking. When matters are strategic, or the associated risks become material, the board's oversight role needs to engage. And that is what is happening with social networking.

Board oversight of social networking requires more than an understanding of the underlying technology. It also calls for an understanding of the sociology and the implications of the phenomenon. To explain this, it may be helpful if I give you some background on my discovery voyage of social networking.