Strive Notes

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I was having a monthly progress meeting with a client a couple of weeks ago when the subject of Facebook came up.  My client contact told me that FB is blocked in their workplace.  I wasn’t entirely surprised. She also mentioned that mobile phones are also  banned.  That did surprise me. I really can’t imagine what my work day would be like if I was cut off like that. Not good, I expect.

I was thinking about what Niall Cook said when I saw him at the Ottawa ThirdTuesday last month. He pointed out that if you take away people’s networks and communications tools, they’ll find a workaround.  It could mean sneaking away from the desks to check for text messages and Facebook on the BlackBerrys. It could mean stretching the lunch break to dashing out at 4.59.

I reminded my client that communication technologies are the oxygen of today’s generation. You need to let people breath if you want to get the best out of them.

Today I saw a story in the Telegraph about the think tank Demos.  They say that these forums provide crucial platforms for discussion and collaboration and that limiting the use of this software could have an adverse impact on the way staff communicate with one another.

“Banning Facebook and the like goes against the grain of how people want to interact,” said Peter Bradwell, author of the Demos report.

“Often people are friends with colleagues through these networks and it is how some develop their relationships.

“They are part of the way in which people communicate, which they find intuitive,” he added.

Erm….I couldn’t have said it better myself.

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Filed under: public relations