Now that Twitter, Facebook and blogging are second-nature to much of the working public, business policies regarding these practices outside the workplace are becoming more and more common.  Depending on the size of your business, what your employees do can effect not only your reputation but the protection of trade secrets and other confidential information.

High profile companies such as Delta, Microsoft, and Google have fired its employees for their postings online.  In some cases it was just a PG-13 photo on a blog or a twitter post that divulged a little too much information regarding a future project.

Most employees you may have are at-will and may be terminated without a blogging policy; however, the main purpose is to prevent the damage from ever occurring.  Blogging policies within employment agreements have been essential in justifying termination or even pursuing damages where trade secrets and breaches of confidentiality occur.

On a more positive outlook,  encouraging employee social-networking sites may actually produce a positive effect.  This is providing that your employees use the accounts within corporate policy.  Terminated employees with social-networking accounts may be a loose cannon if they are disgruntled.  Consider creating separate, employer controlled, accounts that can be repossessed upon termination.