Social media is all about connecting and forming relationships. At their best, these relationships do help new people become part of the culture and community of an organization and strengthen bonds between professionals already a part of the organization. It encourages and enables people to develop more connections and to enter into effective and productive conversations, meeting people’s need to bond. I agree; this is the true value of social media. On the other hand – groups are by nature cliquish. In large groups, sub-groups naturally form. Do you remember how good it felt to “fit in”, to feel connected to a shared belief, purpose, or enemy (or how alienating and lonely it felt to not fit in)? Do you also remember the prejudice and close-mindedness of belonging to a group? The term for this is groupthink. Groupthink is when individual creativity, uniqueness, differences, and independent thinking is secondary to the group’s cohesiveness and mission. The stronger and tighter the group, the easier it is for groupthink to rear its ugly head. In other words, groupthink is what happens when its members check their individuality and ideas at the door and succumb to the will of the group. If the will of the group is functioning in an environment conducive to the company’s growth and purpose, everyone thrives. If that’s not the case, there are many seriously negative scenarios that may result. Finally, at no other time is an individual more vulnerable than at the onset of joining a company or organization. Throwing them into the company sea via social media at onboarding is a risky proposition with too many variables.