On the book’s jacket it is described as “a comprehensive risk and compliance management toolkit that walks employers step-by-step through the process of developing and implementing effective social media policy and compliance management programs that are designed to maximize – and in some cases prevent – social networking and web 2.0 risks and other electronic disasters”. I’m going to call it your go-to guide for creating any type of policy needed to protect your company in this highly connected world.

I have always believed that companies need policies when it comes to employee use of social media, but after reading this book and learning about the true risks, it is imperative for companies to have a policy. Telling them to use common sense is not enough. Things were really put into perspective by the examples and actual cases that were discussed in the book. Added bonus is the sample policies at the end of the book to serve as a template for creating your own.

I will say that while this book seems to be targeted at the Human Resources professional within large companies, I believe that small business HR professionals and business owners can get a lot from this book as well. I was a little apprehensive when I received the book that it would be a boring read and that I would never get through it, but that’s so not true. It is well written in a format that is easy to digest whether you read it cover to cover or jump around and use it as a resource.

One area that I found myself in disagreement was on how to handle comments on your blog, namely requiring everyone to log-in to leave a comment and to moderate every single comment that is left. I totally understand her point and see the risks involved, but I would hate to see the conversation held up or stifled on your blog. This is why I’m also a huge fan of having a response protocol set up before starting in social media.

If you are struggling with how to set up policies and procedures in your company, and want to make sure you have all your i’s dotted and t’s crossed before contacting your lawyer, this book is a great investment. You most likely won’t need to do everything she discusses in the book, so pull out what pertains to your company and employees and get your policy in place.

You can find the book here on Amazon.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for agreeing to review the book, but with no restrictions on what I say.