With the spate of press detailing all of the problems that social networking sites can create on corporate networks from employees disclosing corporate secrets to hackers and cyber-crooks using these online platforms for stealing personal information or going on phishing expeditions, it was very interesting to see a recent NetworkWorld article stating that two-thirds of IT pros use social networking sites. More important than the number of people using social networking is the percentage using it mainly for work. According to the NetworkWorld article:
“About 42% of the survey’s social networking users go to the sites mostly for work. Some 30% use the sites mostly for play, while another 28% split their time on the sites evenly between work and play. “The interesting thing is they say they’re using them for work. That’s very cool,” says Gartner analyst Tom Austin, who also reviewed the survey results. “That’s a perception that’s really not out there broadly. I think this data will shock people.”
The article sites a case where, “One Fortune 50 company Austin interviewed found that, unbeknownst to management, a number of employees were using Facebook to collaborate with each other because the company didn’t offer a similar type of service.”
Then I thought about my use of LinkedIn to survey contacts about everything from networking trends to advice on blogging. I have used the information I obtained from LinkedIn queries to then create blog posts.
The problem with applications like IM or social networking sites is that they can be extremely helpful but they can also be abused. When deciding the acceptable use policy for the company, it’s important to not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Although banning the use of these applications might stop threats to security or worker productivity, you may be eliminating critical communication tools that workers depend upon.
This is where daily network monitoring is critical. If you see that many employees are using IM or social networking sites, you should try to figure out why. Rather than out-right banning an application, consider replacing public tools or sites with more secure private collaboration tools. In the case of IM, rather than issuing a blanket ban on IM, replace it with a more secure option like an enterprise IM network (Jabber, Sametime, or Akonix).
