When Dow Jones executives last week came out with guidelines describing how employees of The Wall Street Journal and other publications should use social media, they were lambasted for putting forward an approach that many saw as out of touch. Among the new rules were restrictions against promoting one’s own work and becoming Facebook friends with confidential sources.

But Dow Jones should be commended for even trying. Social media can catch businesses off guard if they are unprepared — witness Motrin’s belated attempt to make amends with offended mommy bloggers — yet most companies have not formalised their policies around it. While a limited number of savvy corporations are developing social media guidelines, most are still unsure what to make of conversational technologies such as Facebook and Twitter. Read more