An article in the Orlando Sentinel caught my attention. It reports that a leasing company has stopped the process of making tenants agree in the lease to not post bad social media reviews, at the penalty of $10,000. Wow! I must be naïve because I just cannot fathom anyone making such a business decision. Well, it’s good they stopped it.
Reading a little deeper, apparently the leasing company was concerned about a “’growing trend’ of real estate renters posting unjustified and defamatory reviews on social media in order to negotiate lower rents.” Okay, that is certainly unfair, if that is happening. Trying to control what people write on social media, however, is a little bit like trying to bail out a sinking canoe. If someone wants to write a negative review and not pay a penalty, they’ll find a way to do it, even if it means getting cousin Gertrude to write the review.
Later in my inbox, I saw the headline “Three Reasons CEOs Can’t Ignore Glassdoor.” If you’re not familiar, Glassdoor.com is a website where employees and former employees can post anonymous or identified reviews on companies for which they work. Prospective employees use this site to help them make decisions about applying or accepting a job. I like the format – each review identifies “pros,” “cons,” and “advice to leadership.” Those three questions challenge the writer to think, and makes it easier to tell when someone is just plain disgruntled. (more…)
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