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Wednesday Sep 26, 2007
Can't we just turn the internet off?
Science fiction writers – and more recently overpaid futurologists – have often talked about a totally networked, always-on world, where the offline and online are so seamlessly intertwined that the words themselves become redundant.
Whether you view this as a utopian dream or an oppressive nightmare, there's no doubt we are hurtling head-first in this direction. There's also bound to be some collateral damage along the way, as people, organisations and communities try and manage this rapid change.
Some recent examples of the new and the old colliding:
Just not tennis
The Lawn Tennis Association – the doyen of stuffy and conservative sports governing bodies – has suspended two junior players for posting pictures and stories on Bebo. The two players were doing what most teenagers are doing on social networking sites – boasting of parties and drinking, posting pictures of their mates and generally being... teenagers. But this, according to the LTA, breaks their contracts which require them to 'act professionally'.
The silly little people
Three council workers in Wales lost their jobs for spending too much time on E-Bay during work hours. By all accounts, the council – unlike many organisations – had been pretty lenient and only cracked down because the employees had gone too far – spending two hours a day on the site. But the eye-popping bit to this story is the response from a union official who said that the council had put "temptation in their way".
More from his statement:
"People get very involved in eBay, Sky Sports and their favourite soccer teams. It happens in many, many offices. Obviously we cannot justify people spending a couple of hours of working time looking at these sites - but temptation was put in their way. We plan to push for the authority to make changes to its IT system, to help prevent workers landing themselves in hot water."
So there's no personal responsibility expected here. The drones need to be given no rights and no opportunities to get themselves in trouble. We know best.
Run! It's Facebook!
The corporate fear of lost hours – and productivity - to Facebook continues to build into a worldwide panic. In the UK, a third of all employers are now apparently blocking it in the office. Which, if you like madey-uppy figures, COSTS UK PLC 132 MILLION POUNDS A DAY!!!
As many rational observers have pointed out, workers have always found ways to skive at work and it's frankly unrealistic to expect staff to work every minute of every working day.
But what this is an example of – like the others above – is a society not coping with change. Traditional corporate responses ("just don't let them do it, ban it, stop it...") are still the first reactions of many, but now, and in the future, it's just not going to work. The organisations that understand that – and recognise the opportunities (as well as the risks) are the ones that will succeed.
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 10:09 AM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
