“Clean up your facebook and your MySpace account,” these are words of wisdom spreading to college undergraduates all over the country.  Employers have quickly discovered that these social networking sites shed a new light on a potential employee’s personalities and habits.  What corporations may not have realized is that the general public is approaching their selection of future employers or products the same way, referencing social media sites for an insider’s opinion on corporate culture and product reliability.  Social Media has leveled the playing field in the form of user generated reviews!

Facebook is a great resource of users generating content about companies and products.  General Electric is a national corporation with a large presence online.  After typing in General Electric in the Facebook search over 500 results were found!  GE has fan pages, group pages, specific product fan pages, boycott pages, and much more!  GE has its own identity online that may not be in line with its corporate identity.  Social Media explorers can research both sides of the company before making a purchase decision or submitting an application.

While corporations cannot “clean up” user generated content they can monitor it.  Corporations need to have their eyes and ears open to general public taking the time to listen and analyze the conversation.  Constructive critical analysis of user generated content can help corporations mold new initiatives, identify potential problems, recruit new staff, and restructure their brand to be in sync with what their customers want.

The end result will be better informed consumers, job applicants, and corporations.  In an era of user generated reviews, opinions, and corporate press, it behooves everyone to get online and get educated.