Social media use in the workplace triples, report says
And that’s a very good thing, according to the author. Let’s hope your company is among the ones allowing social media in the workplace.
“Explosive growth in global social networking and browser-based file sharing on corporate networks, with a 300 percent increase in active social networking. (e.g., posting, applications) compared with activity during the same period in the latter half of 2010.”
The press release quotes the company’s CMO, René Bonvanie, saying, “Whether or not employees are using social networks or sharing files at work is no longer a question; this data clearly demonstrates that users are embracing and actively using such applications.”
The company’s conclusions are based on analyzing raw data from 1,600-plus companies for a seven-month period last year.
Since network security is Palo Alto Networks’ business, the conclusion Bonvanie reaches is that you’d better watch out because productivity and network security are at risk. As a result, the reporting of the study will serve mostly to encourage the lockdown of social channels at work.
That conclusion, as far as I’m concerned, misses the point entirely. In fact, a tripling of employee access to social networks is a cause for celebration, not panic.
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