socialmedian: Companies Ban Social Media = Bad Idea

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Submitted by Scbalazs from Google Reader

Oct 23, 2009

Summary

There has been a lot in the news lately about companies banning social media in the office. The USA Today reported on October 22, 2009 in their Snapshot®* that 54% of companies completely block Facebook, whereas another 35% apply some form of limits. That leaves only 11% that don’t put any limitations on Facebook use in the work force. Why does this feel like déjà vu? Maybe it feels familiar because a few years ago many companies banned Web mail (Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, etc.) in the work place. A few years before that, companies banned the Internet at the work place. And it’s not just companies that placed these types of bans; teachers often ban mobile phones in the classroom as well. Is this the right thing to do? Let’s take a closer look.

Banning social media in the work place is:

Analogous to banning the Internet

Analogous to banning the phone because you might make a personal phone call

Analogous to banning paper and pens because you might pass a note that is not related to class or work

Could potentially signal to current workers and future recruits that

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Comments (1)

Deusdiabolus,

Oct 23, 2009

Actually, the fact that I can't do much social media what-not at work just means I'm all too happy to do my work and then get the hell out of there so I can go home and sit at my machine.