I just saw an article now on News24 about how Facebook is being blocked in the corporate world.
SA companies block Facebook
Johannesburg - South African companies are beginning to follow their international counterparts in blocking workers’ access to popular social networking site Facebook.
They cite concerns over productivity - but some experts defend the site, saying it holds huge potential as a business tool.
Standard Bank is among those who have moved to include it on its list of the company’s blocked leisure sites to prevent people spending non-productive time on non-work related issues, said bank spokesperson Erik Larson.
And, according to Absa, the banking group has done the same although it will consider access based on individual requests.
“We don’t see any business need for Absa staff to access the site,” said a spokesperson.
“Under certain circumstances we do grant permission to have access, but look at each case on merit so they are not totally cut off.”
Facebook users also report that Wesbank and a number of smaller companies are following this trend.
According to the site’s own research, its 31 million active users spend an average of 20 minutes a day interacting with their “friends”.
But, most newcomers to the phenomenon, which has at least 170 000 users on the South African network, say they are addicted and spend far more than that interacting with their “friends” locally and globally.
First of all, let me just point out how uninformed & uneducated policy makers are in most corporates, perhaps especially in South Africa, with regard to the Internet. The Internet exists, and PC’s are just once way of accessing it. There are more mobile users in South Africa (30m+) with GPRS/3G/EDGE/HSDPA Internet connections that there are PC connections (c. 4m). What are corporates going to do now, stop people from accessing Facebook on their mobile phones (http://m.facebook.com)? This is the most ridiculous thing I ever seen, and typically, these knee-jerk reactions are due to a lack of understanding of this space, more than anything else, by the corporate policy makers and IT personnel.
Also, I don’t buy the argument that Facebook is a business tool - yes, I do use it for business, but far less so than LinkedIn. It’s a social tool - but will prohibition help, probably not. Can Facebook become a business tool - yes, if adopted by the company. I had a conversation tonight with some people from incuBeta, and we discussed the fact that incuBeta has a FaceBook group, and if the correct privacy issues and security issues were put to rest (Facebook has a corporate unfriendly policy regarding uploaded content), then Facebook could replace a company’s Intranet - this is potentially something that has been overlooked by many companies. Even with the current policy, it can increase communications between staff members.
After many meetings held this week, I’m constantly amazed at the lack of depth of knowledge there is around the Internet in corporate South Africa (and after seeing a Typewriter being used by one of the secretaries of a US publication in New York a few months ago, I’m not sure if it’s just us!). Companies need to wake up and start educating their leaders as to how technological change is going to affect the workplace, and how to deal with it properly. Knee-jerk, uninformed, close-minded decisions are indicative of a species of humanity that cannot evolve!
Facebook usage in companies should be monitored on an individual basis, and those who exceed fair usage, should be reprimanded. To institute all out corporate bans points to a lack of control within a company, and probably means that the employees don’t have much work to do, or are not being monitored for performance - either of which should lead to retrenchment or dismissal. Deal with the cause of the problems, not the symptoms!
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Comments On This Post
August 3, 2007 at 12:29 am
You are right on the money Vinny . Today we live in a web 2.0 world .
Web 2.0 means there are lot of opportunities opened, that were not there before . Google is a good example of what thinking smart can get you , shows what you can accomplish by living a life that utilizes the web 2.0 trends .
August 3, 2007 at 2:29 am
You are right on the money Vinny . Today we live in a web 2.0 world .
Web 2.0 means there are lot of opportunities opened, that were not there before . Google is a good example of what thinking smart can get you , shows what you can accomplish by living a life that utilizes the web 2.0 trends .
August 3, 2007 at 10:35 am
There’s a rumour going around Facebook that Stellenbosch University wants to block it too.
August 3, 2007 at 12:35 pm
There’s a rumour going around Facebook that Stellenbosch University wants to block it too.
August 3, 2007 at 9:20 pm
The blocking of Facebook at Stellenbosch is for more practical reason ie it eats up too much of available bandwidth on the campus.
August 3, 2007 at 10:34 pm
[...] misquoted - yeeuch) about corporates who block their employees from using Facebook. Now I see Vinny adding his 2c to the mix in response to a News24 article on the [...]
August 3, 2007 at 11:20 pm
The blocking of Facebook at Stellenbosch is for more practical reason ie it eats up too much of available bandwidth on the campus.
August 6, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Vinny, you make an excellent point, but unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. Take the example of an employee on our company network that, after Facebook was blocked, spent the rest of the day finding proxies by which to access her favourite site.
This is the kind of attitude that causes companies to make strategical decisions, that affect the banning of otherwise effective tools. Is it too much for a company to ask that their employees actually work while they are at work?
Furthermore, if FB were genuinely being used as a work-related tool, why then is the general productivity of those that use it not so much higher than those who don’t. Surely with this vast new network of potential customers, more can be expected of those who claim to be able to communicate with them.
I guarantee you that if this were the case, no corporate would even dreamof blocking such an “amazing” revenue-generating avenue.
The truth (for me that is) is that Facebook is a social tool for those of us that wish to communicate (and that is pretty much most of us) but it certainly does not increase our productivity. It’s there for our mates, otherwise this conversation would never be taking place.
August 6, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Hi David
This is a great example. The person in question, should receive the respective warnings from the company for poor performance. Facebook certainly is a distraction and if anything, it points out inefficiencies in the way we manage our staff. They need to be goal orientated, and if they’re not getting their work done, then the necessary action should be taken. Facebook is not an excuse.
August 6, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Vinny, you make an excellent point, but unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. Take the example of an employee on our company network that, after Facebook was blocked, spent the rest of the day finding proxies by which to access her favourite site.
This is the kind of attitude that causes companies to make strategical decisions, that affect the banning of otherwise effective tools. Is it too much for a company to ask that their employees actually work while they are at work?
Furthermore, if FB were genuinely being used as a work-related tool, why then is the general productivity of those that use it not so much higher than those who don’t. Surely with this vast new network of potential customers, more can be expected of those who claim to be able to communicate with them.
I guarantee you that if this were the case, no corporate would even dreamof blocking such an “amazing” revenue-generating avenue.
The truth (for me that is) is that Facebook is a social tool for those of us that wish to communicate (and that is pretty much most of us) but it certainly does not increase our productivity. It’s there for our mates, otherwise this conversation would never be taking place.
August 6, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Hi David
This is a great example. The person in question, should receive the respective warnings from the company for poor performance. Facebook certainly is a distraction and if anything, it points out inefficiencies in the way we manage our staff. They need to be goal orientated, and if they’re not getting their work done, then the necessary action should be taken. Facebook is not an excuse.
August 6, 2007 at 5:48 pm
[...] been several articles and comments in the South African blogosphere about the impact of Facebook. Vinny Lingham highlights how stupid outright blocking of Facebook is and Mike Stopforth gives 5 reasons why you [...]
August 6, 2007 at 6:35 pm
The fact that some people refer to their time spent on Facebook as an “addiction” seems to me to be a pretty good indication that Facebook usage will still occur regardless of bans placed on it by companies. Although I agree that it inevitably takes away from productivity, I do not see how a company-wide ban would have any lasting benefit. At the same time, although it is an interesting idea, I am not quite sure if I understand how exactly Facebook could by transformed from a distraction into a corporate tool.
August 6, 2007 at 8:35 pm
The fact that some people refer to their time spent on Facebook as an “addiction” seems to me to be a pretty good indication that Facebook usage will still occur regardless of bans placed on it by companies. Although I agree that it inevitably takes away from productivity, I do not see how a company-wide ban would have any lasting benefit. At the same time, although it is an interesting idea, I am not quite sure if I understand how exactly Facebook could by transformed from a distraction into a corporate tool.
August 7, 2007 at 7:52 am
Hi Vinny (and David),
I am the employee that David mentioned, and I am not embarrassed or ashamed to say so. Admittedly, initially FB was like an oxygen supply for me. It allowed me to hook up with people who I haven’t spoken to since school, college etc. When it was banned, my initial thought was “I’ll show you” and it took about 10 whole seconds for me to access via proxy. Since then, I would like to think that it has evolved for me, and while I still keep in contact with whats happening in the worlds of my friends, its been a long time since I have messaged anyone or wrote on anyone’s wall in a personal capacity. I am the Affiliate Manager for this dynamic and forward moving online marketing company, and as such I have joined affiliate marketing groups, affiliate management groups and the like. I have garnered some very useful information that I am currently putting into action to recruit new affiliates and optimise my management skills. I have learnt about new technologies, and through my association with top affiliate managers from around the world on FB, I have made very big in roads to this ever changing industry. Now, I am not saying I wouldn’t have been able to do this without FB, I am simply saying that FB has helped to speed up the process, and made it a lot easier to find the information. Also, on the point of not getting work done because of time spent on FB, I challenge to you to find something that has been asked of me, that has not been done.
Just my 2c worth!
August 7, 2007 at 8:17 am
Hi Chantelle
If what is are saying is true - then as an employer, I would have no problem with that. However, Mike did say “spent the rest of the day finding proxies by which to access her favourite site.” - which led me to believe that you had wasted a day of company time.
Again, if the work is done, no one should complain. Fair usage should apply to all corporate Internet policies - abuse should be penalised.
August 7, 2007 at 8:55 am
Hi Vinny. I am sure David will admit that it wasn’t the finding of the proxy that took the time! I agree entirely with you that abuse of the company’s time and resources should be severely penalised. More often than not I feel that the wrong people are punished and for the wrong reasons. But I guess thats the nature of the corporate beast!
Cheers!
August 7, 2007 at 9:52 am
Hi Vinny (and David),
I am the employee that David mentioned, and I am not embarrassed or ashamed to say so. Admittedly, initially FB was like an oxygen supply for me. It allowed me to hook up with people who I haven’t spoken to since school, college etc. When it was banned, my initial thought was “I’ll show you” and it took about 10 whole seconds for me to access via proxy. Since then, I would like to think that it has evolved for me, and while I still keep in contact with whats happening in the worlds of my friends, its been a long time since I have messaged anyone or wrote on anyone’s wall in a personal capacity. I am the Affiliate Manager for this dynamic and forward moving online marketing company, and as such I have joined affiliate marketing groups, affiliate management groups and the like. I have garnered some very useful information that I am currently putting into action to recruit new affiliates and optimise my management skills. I have learnt about new technologies, and through my association with top affiliate managers from around the world on FB, I have made very big in roads to this ever changing industry. Now, I am not saying I wouldn’t have been able to do this without FB, I am simply saying that FB has helped to speed up the process, and made it a lot easier to find the information. Also, on the point of not getting work done because of time spent on FB, I challenge to you to find something that has been asked of me, that has not been done.
Just my 2c worth!
August 7, 2007 at 10:17 am
Hi Chantelle
If what is are saying is true - then as an employer, I would have no problem with that. However, Mike did say “spent the rest of the day finding proxies by which to access her favourite site.” - which led me to believe that you had wasted a day of company time.
Again, if the work is done, no one should complain. Fair usage should apply to all corporate Internet policies - abuse should be penalised.
August 7, 2007 at 10:55 am
Hi Vinny. I am sure David will admit that it wasn’t the finding of the proxy that took the time! I agree entirely with you that abuse of the company’s time and resources should be severely penalised. More often than not I feel that the wrong people are punished and for the wrong reasons. But I guess thats the nature of the corporate beast!
Cheers!
August 9, 2007 at 1:07 am
[...] discussions this week around Facebook and with many external media references to my recent post on Corporates Blocking Facebook, it’s become quite clear that the major banks and other corporates in South Africa that are [...]
August 9, 2007 at 5:44 am
[...] discussions this week around Facebook and with many external media references to my recent post on Corporates Blocking Facebook, it’s become quite clear that the major banks and other corporates in South Africa that are [...]
August 20, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Vin: the biggest issue with any workplace online bans comes quickly to the point that companies are very very bad at measuring actual worker output, and instead reward ‘busy-ness’ and facetime. I would like to think that the global labor market will help work this out as less productive workers get outsourced… but companies should spend their time on measurement, not second order policing.
August 20, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Vin: the biggest issue with any workplace online bans comes quickly to the point that companies are very very bad at measuring actual worker output, and instead reward ‘busy-ness’ and facetime. I would like to think that the global labor market will help work this out as less productive workers get outsourced… but companies should spend their time on measurement, not second order policing.
September 6, 2007 at 9:23 am
[...] positive and negative things have been said about the banning of Facebook access at corporate workspaces. But corporates [...]
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