Comments on: Why Facebook Bans Must Stop

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:56:22 +0000

Hey, for groups that want to collaborate in an environment that does not allow chat programs, i would suggest looking at a single file chat room like http://batchchat.blogspot.com. We use it at work, and because it is only a single file shared by all users, no sysadmin has ever found it.

By: RoyalAntsJosh (Josh "Shua&quot)

RoyalAntsJosh (Josh "Shua&quot) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:31:15 +0000

Twitter Comment

Why Facebook Bans Must Stop [link to post] great article by @ariherzog

- Posted using Chat Catcher

By: meznor

meznor — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:02:26 +0000

“Companies are banning sites like FB because they fear what they don’t understand.”

Amen to that!

We’re blocked from Facebook and YouTube (among various other sites) at Ontario government, but we can get manager approval for a proxy to bypass it if we legitimately need them for work purposes. Besides the fact that I’m the new media intern and do ongoing research into Web 2.0 stuff, I actually can’t think of any reason I’d be using FB/YouTube other than killing time… very very few of our ministries are actually using them strategically in their own programs.

The mentality toward social networks like Facebook definitely has to change, but, at least where I work, an internal communications strategy needs to have been adopted by employees before that can happen. One reason there’s mistrust of new technologies is because we’re not using them internally… there has to be an employee engagement strategy to get to know social networks and think of ways to use them in our work. But I guess if they’re blocked from the start, it’s kinda hard to do this!

By: Jillian C. York

Jillian C. York — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:44:55 +0000

Ari, most of my colleagues are in other countries! That's not my point. I'm stating that the average American (and probably the average Swedish or average Moroccan, whatever) worker has no reason to use social media during work hours, for work purposes. And my guess is that the average workplace that bans Facebook (such as my mother's workplace) realizes this. Now, no doubt there are workplaces that could benefit from their employees using Facebook as well; those such organizations should be our focus. I recently worked for a non-profit which was unwilling to embrace social media (they didn't block it though) despite my insistence that they could recruit new donors that way. I did my best to convince them (they still haven't budged). Jillian C. York´s last blog post..Teaching my Mom to Twitter

By: Ari Herzog

Ari Herzog — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:39:13 +0000

You mention the American workplace. Imagine if your co-workers, colleagues, or vendors were outside the United States. Or, maybe someone was traveling and evangelizing your organizational brand. Is email the only way for communication? What if said person or satellite office wanted to share a video? Wouldn’t a closed Facebook or Ning group be suitable? But if the company bans/blocks access, there goes the productivity and the increased costs of making a DVD and shipping it around the world.

Just saying. Companies need to think beyond their walls.

By: koltregaskes (Kol Tregaskes)

koltregaskes (Kol Tregaskes) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 07:04:25 +0000

FriendFeed Comment

Wh... [link to post]

- Posted using Chat Catcher

By: Daniel Hoang

Daniel Hoang — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:19:20 +0000

Ari, in response to your post, I put up my thoughts on companies to develop formal policies and procedures for social media, similar to the IBM social computing guidelines. Companies are banning sites like FB because they fear what they don't understand. The greater risk is for employees to take it underground. Instead, companies should be proactive and formalize policies surrounding social media usage. Daniel Hoang´s last blog post..Social Media Policies and Procedures