Our company tried implementing IM, which is a feature of our collaboration suite, but it was not to be. The temptation to use it for its social value instead of its business value was too great. So much so it cost two employees their jobs within a very short time. It ended up costing us efficiency instead of providing efficiency.
I have been against social media in the business but thought this might have been an exception. Instead it just proved my point.
One of the biggest problems in the economy today is the terrible inefficiency that has crept in everywhere. IMHO social media is simply adding to that inefficiency and will cost most if not all businesses that choose to implement it. By its very definition it is anti-business.
Experts: Don't clamp down on social media
Summary
The use of Twitter to spread information about the unrest in Iran can teach businesses valuable lessons about the flow of information in their organizations, according to leading lights of the IT security world.
Topics
The use of Twitter to spread information about the unrest in Iran can teach businesses valuable lessons about the flow of information in their organizations, according to leading lights of the IT security world.
Howard Schmidt, president of the Information Security Forum (ISF), told ZDNet UK on Friday businesses need to recognize that technology such as instant messaging can be used to improve information flows, while still maintaining security.
"Instant messaging has been blocked for a long time, especially by financial-services companies," said Schmidt, speaking at an European Network and Security Agency (Enisa) event in London. "But it's easy to have IM (instant messenger), based on an internal server, with security controls. A knee-jerk reaction just to block information is not helpful."
If businesses try to put a complete block on such tools, employees will find a way around that as they try to get their work done, according to a panel discussion at the Enisa event involving Schmidt. A wider example of that is the way that Iranian citizens have managed to evade state Web-censorship and organise protests following the recent disputed presidential elections, BT chief security technology officer Bruce Schneier pointed out. This has been achieved through technologies such as Twitter and YouTube, allowing information to flow to a global audience.
"Many-to-many social media is being used as a reporting tool," said Schneier. "Iran is the coming of age of citizen journalism. Journalists are under house arrest, and the Web is censored. But the Iranian government forgot about Twitter, so that is the way that information is getting out."
Schmidt said the Iranian government had also failed to take into account the multiplicity of Web-enabled mobile devices belonging to citizens. "Mobile devices are all over the place in Iran, and when the government finds ways of blocking information, people are finding ways round that," he said.
Given this, Schmidt advised businesses to harness employees' own paths to sharing information, and instead to build in security controls to prevent sensitive information leaving the enterprise.
This article was originally posted on .
Talkback Most Recent of 5 Talkback(s)
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bjbrock22nd Jun 2009 -
Old Grand Uncle Adolf, the acknowledged "screw-up" in my family....
....would be totally in favour of this. He was once a World-Class Leader in "Clampdowns". Here's what some of hos old friends have to say about all this...
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=32899
Feldwebel Wolfenstool22nd Jun 2009 -
I'd Sooner See It Gone.
I have no use for this social media crap. 99.9% of it is noise. There is no truth to 99% of the crap out there. Its all BS noise. Havent you people figured this out yet? Do you need a 2 by 4 to smack you upside the head, in order to begin using your brains? Its all BS.
VoiceOfLogic23rd Jun 2009 -
I don't think so
Er, no it's not you tool.
How do you think most of the information got out recently about the stuff going on in China, and Tibet? Twitter and Facebook. Because it's fast and easy. Maybe YOU have no use for it, but that doesn't make it useless.
It's an incredibly effective news source, even though yes, a lot of it can be crap sometimes - but when dealing with issues like the stuff going on in China/Tibet/Iran etc it's kind of useful, especially to people living outside those countries who have relatives there.
murph.j@...23rd Jun 2009 -
Uhh..
Uh, the two scenarios are completely different. One scenario is a business office where the primary concern is efficiency and profits. One is a country where the people are being oppressed and are trying to seek a way to let people know about it.
Twitter and facebook (twitter especially in the case of Iran) is a convenient way that people can launch out information without being caught or tapped - at least, its harder for them to be caught.
In the case of a business, this need to express information isn't that vital at all - as an above commenter said, most people would use IM to just chat with their friends and family. People in Iran are using IM to try to launch a protest against a stolen election.
Again, two completely different things.
Solcry25th Jun 2009
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