Dan Miller sent over an article today with stories of more netizens being fired for their postings and a list of suggested rules "to add to employee conduct policies". While some companies are praying (and paying) to see themselves blogged about, others are shutting up eager WOM-ers as fast as their termination policies allow. Gagging the sneezers is a good way to stop the virus from spreading.
Word of Mouth can be bad or good; insiders are a common source of insider information. Trying to cover up bad WOM, or generating enthusiastic fake WOM, is a good way to lose customer trust.
So what to do? Companies who care about WOM should provide a responsive environment where employees can turn with their frustrations. I don't recommend biting the hand that feeds -- if employees like their paychecks they shouldn't vent their frustration in public. Nevertheless, if people's complaints are being listened to at work, they'll have less of a need to plan rebellions or trash the company online.
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