Should Businesses Block Social Nets?
We've written quite a bit about Web 2.0, looking especially at the impact these technologies are having on corporate IT. What did we find? Some good and some bad. Good or bad, it's clear that businesses are adopting these tools at rapid rates. (Check out our new research report on collaboration, which reveals many interesting points on the issue.) But a new report from security software firm MessageLabs finds that companies are also blocking some access to popular Web 2.0 tools, namely social networks. The firm points to dramatic rise in blocked Web sites last month due to security threats. According to the report, the number almost quadrupled, with businesses weighing the risks of users clicking on links in social networks and blogs that could lead to malicious Web sites. This reflects one of the biggest-and barely whispered--problems CIOs and security pros face when evaluating Web 2.0: since these tools are so easily accessible, employees can use them without consulting their IT departments. Blocking access might be the best--and only--option CIOs and security pros. That's not to say Web 2.0 doesn't have its advantages. But blocking them outright can stifle morale and innovation. We'll have more to say about this in the future. Help us out: how are you approaching Web 2.0? Do the risks outweigh the rewards, or vice versa? |
Comments (2)
Blocking social networks in some businesses may be appropriate; however, there is a trend toward collaborative work we all know. The case studies in Tapscott & Williams "Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything" gives one perspective. Then think about how creative businesses are actually valued as described in Chris Westland's "Valuing Technology: The New Science of Wealth in the Knowledge Economy." Highly valuable firms such as Microsoft, Google, etc., have tangible assets valued less than 10 percent of market value -- the rest is in the minds and relationships of employees who walk in and out of the business each day.
If your business hires people to do mindless drone work then you probably don't want them distracted by social networks; but if your wealth originates in creativity and synergy and complexity then figure out how to use the networks at work with high integrity (not an easy thing to do when we read about Eliot Spitzer in the news today.)
Larry Gebhardt
Director, Research & Development
Posted by Laurence P Gebhardt | March 11, 2008 11:11 AM
"Social networking" is a term loosely applied to many activities, ranging from collaborating on scientific research to online teenage chatting about topics of personal interest. Most organizations have policies, training and communications to inform employees about appropriate "on-the-job" behaviors and activities. These should include guidelines and training about the appropriate use of any new information technology.
SaaS offers organizations ways to conduct trials and tests of many types of social networking, including workgroup collaboration, online conferencing, communities of interest, online meetings, etc. Many of these can be implemented on a subscription basis as externally hosted services, avoiding the initial expense of internal infrastructure development. They can be modified, expanded or halted based on results of pilot projects.
Technology changes and shapes behavior. When any new technology becomes available in an environment, it can't simply be ignored or blocked. One can only develop ways to use that technology appropriately. How to do this most effectively within a specific organization depends upon that organization's culture and policies, the results of pilot projects, and the bottom-line need for what that new technology can offer. The challenge of rapidly changing technology requires collaboration and planning throughout organizations, and it's another of the less obvious impacts of the technology in breaking down organizational "silos".
Posted by Jon McAdams | March 11, 2008 2:02 PM