At a time when the employee is no longer simply an ambassador of the brand, but becomes a free medium on his or her own, how can businesses help contribute to understanding and not try to control social networks from within?

Laetitia Puyfaucher and Ludovic Boursin, co-authors of the book “Human media: dangers and opportunities of social networks for business” (Eyrolles), explained how the emergence of social networks is creating long-term change in our organizations’ images, managerial relationships and crisis communications.

Sophie Pene, an expert on new technologies, and a research professor in information and communication sciences at the University of Paris Descartes, offered her take on the phenomenon.

In the presence of 100 CELSA alumni, three arguments were presented backed by concrete examples to explain the current shift taking place in the business of communicating:

• the emergence of social networks will drastically change our ways of communicating in general and particularly internally;
• the employee: the company’s first and last medium;
• social networks will profoundly change access to information within companies as well as habits of collaboration.

The debate was moderated by Laurence Houdeville (CELSA 2000), founder and director of reputationvip.com.

Link to the CELSA alumni association