Have you been
Counting the costs,
S ocial networking sites like Facebook,
Twitter and MySpace are in vogue
at the moment. They have become
established forums for keeping in contact
with old acquaintances and meeting
new ones, but do they have a place in
the workplace? What are the concerns
and, on the upside, what are the uses
these might have?
CO31 THE STRATEGIC PATH TO Convergence & Collaboration
and benefits, of
social networking
By Carol Skyring-Daunt,
Founder & CEO of
LearnTel Pty Ltd
Productivity
A report from SurfControl (now Websense)
received a lot of coverage towards
the end of 2007 when it claimed that
employees are more likely to be whiling
away the hours on a social networking
site than slaving over a project. The report
estimates that if an employee spends an
hour each day on Facebook, it costs the
 • T he reality about productivity and Facebook
•C  an social network benefit your business
• S ensible precautions

company more than $6,200 a year and calendar app with SMS reminders and
may be costing Australian businesses a built-in to-do list function. There’s an
$5 billion a year. It found that some online office app that is a collaborative
employers were restricting employees’ tool where you can work on documents,
internet use or blocking the sites, but spreadsheets and presentations, and
others are establishing protocols for then request collaborative feedback from
using social websites. In some cases, a group in Facebook. The list goes on.
social networking sites have replaced These can be valuable tools for small and
internal messaging systems and emails. medium sized organisations that don’t
have the budget or IT infrastructure to
While this might be of concern, social set up these types of productivity tools
networking sites are not the only way in-house.
employees can avoid work. How many
jokes are emailed around the office and Privacy
to friends? How many people shop online Another survey conducted by Sophos
or use the internet to research consumer around the same time revealed that
goods from cars to DVDs? And how 50% of workers are being blocked from
does this stack up against the time the accessing Facebook by their employers,
smokers spend around the corner of the who are worried about the website’s
building feeding their habit? impact on productivity and security and
have put policies or access controls in
Social networking tools can actually make place to ban its use in the workplace.
employees more efficient and streamline Sophos created an interesting piece
communication. Facebook, for example, of ‘research’ where they fabricated a
has many work-related apps. These Facebook profile for ‘Freddi Staur’, a
range from to-do lists and email to a small green plastic frog who divulged

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minimal personal information about accept random ‘friend’ requests (they
himself. Freddi sent out 200 random understand the issues of privacy) and
friend requests and 82 people accepted, they’re circumspect with company
thereby giving the frog access to their information.
information. Although an interesting
exercise, it hardly meets the criteria for Workplace use
research rigour – but what can be drawn Some companies actually encourage
from it? their employees to use social networking
sites. Flight Centre is one that endorses
The main concern revolves around the use of Facebook. They think it’s a
the fact that a large number of social valuable tool when used appropriately,
networking profile pages contain users’ for example to interact with each other
current employment details, which could and clients to share travel photos and
be used together with other stolen information. At the time of writing the
information by cyber criminals bent group had 399 members and you must
on committing corporate fraud, or to have a valid Flight Centre email address
infiltrate company networks. To a lesser to join this network. The company’s
extent, companies are concerned that policy requests staff to be respectful of
employees may be writing material or Flight Centre’s reputation when using
publishing photographs and videos that the company’s name or logo online.
may cast the company in an embarrassing
light. A quick scan of Facebook shows hundreds
of work groups have a presence there
Just about anyone can read what’s posted – whether officially sanctioned by the
on to social networking sites and much company or not. The IBM network has
of what is posted can never be deleted. 33,579 members, NAB has 2,703 and
Once something appears on the internet, Telstra has 5,981. The decision to allow
it’s almost impossible to remove – even social networking in the workplace
after it’s been deleted it will be cached depends entirely on the type of operation
somewhere. you’re in and needs to be taken on a
On the upside, most employees don’t case-by-case basis. It seems much more
CO33 THE STRATEGIC PATH TO Convergence & Collaboration
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CAROL SKYRING-DAUNT is Founder & CEO of LearnTel Pty Ltd. She has been involved
in the design, application and effective use of eCollaboration technologies since 1986.
She holds a Dip T; Grad Dip Dist Ed; B Ed & M Ed (Research) and is currently undertaking
doctoral studies. She has been published in numerous journals and is a frequent speaker
at international conferences.
Copies of some of her papers and articles can be downloaded at http://www.learntel.com.au
Her blogs are http://caroldaunt.wordpress.com and http://videoconference edublogs.org

appropriate for those at the cutting edge addresses the issue of privacy as an old-
of technology than the local grocery fashioned notion remembered only by
store or pharmacy. Undoubtedly these the grandparents of the youth of today.
tools can be highly addictive and distract This is the generation that has grown up
employees from the purpose of their with Big Brother (the television show –
work. not that of Orwellian fame), MySpace
and CCTV recording their every move in
Most companies understand there’s some public spaces. They don’t perceive any
personal use of resources by employees inherent danger in exposing all of their
at work. They encourage responsible use intimate details to anyone who wants
and acknowledge that people will act to watch and listen. How will today’s
responsibly. By responsible they usually workplace policies on social networking
mean not spending all day online, not sites have to change in the next few years
giving out client or company information as this group enters the workforce?
and respecting the company’s reputation.
The important issue is for the company to Social networking is a part of everyday
have a policy in place about responsible life for many people and this trend will
usage. continue. Companies can capitalise on
this by supporting its use with a well-
The future designed policy. As with everything else
All of this is interesting in the light of in the workplace, only those who abuse
employees of the future. In her book the privilege should be banned – not
Tomorrow’s People, Susan Greenfield everyone. l

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