Comments on: Companies that close networking doors jeopardize their future

By: Ross Dawson

Ross Dawson — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:48:19 +0000

Thanks Kolya, I was going to say the same thing... :)

iluvmedia/ sinister1K - this is a great topic which cuts to the heart of how companies are managed. How much trust between employers and employees is appropriate and possible? We'd all like to think lots, and in the most effective companies that works very well. However in some environments it doesn't...

Stephen - there is much to be done. Journalists in the US actively seek out commentary from bloggers on all topics. Australia is several years behind on a number of fronts, so the issue is closing the gap rather than letting it increase. Let's catch up sometime.

By: iluvmeida

iluvmeida — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:33:01 +0000

Sinister 1k,
I’m intrested – you say ‘Now surely one can plainly discern those that are passing around potty humor and ‘wasting’ corporate time/money between blog posts and those really interested in progress and innovation.’
… for a larger corporate I’m not so sure. If you were an employer how would you ‘plainly discern’?

By: sinister1k

sinister1k — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:50:03 +0000

I agree with kolya, there is no longer a border between business and social networking. It’s all the same thing, especially when something such as a blog is concerned. Now surely one can plainly discern those that are passing around potty humor and ‘wasting’ corporate time/money between blog posts and those really interested in progress and innovation. It’s dawn of yet another new age in technology this meld of business and social networking,..
In my humble opinion I most certainly agree with one’s productivity lowering from disallowing one to engage in activities that support self-esteem, self awareness, and empowerment.
I love the future.

By: Stephen Collins

Stephen Collins — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 04:56:47 +0000

Thanks for the comments on my corresponding post at acidlabs. Nice to see someone is fighting the fight. That said, you are a single voice that's being paid attention to, whereas the scaremongering is endemic.

The rest of us in this space - me, Laurel, Bronwen and the very many other trying to convince their organisations and clients that social computing has business benefit - are not being called upon to add voices. It's not as if we're hard to track down (I publish full contact details on my blog).

I don't imagine that tomorrow, News Ltd. will call any of us, nor write a piece saying they were overly heavy with their story. And it's not like we aren't without profile - I've been quoted in overseas media and done several speaking gigs so far this year about business benefits of social computing an am speaking at Office 2.0 in San Francisco in two weeks on similar subject matter, Laurel is chairing a major Australian Enterprise 2.0 conference and Bronwen runs a successful Web 2.0 business.

As a trained journo myself, I think these pieces are irresponsible and seriously lack balance.

By: kolya miller

kolya miller — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 04:41:21 +0000

iluvmedia,
Come on: if you know/read anything about business, then you’re reading about how important building a network is – and how important relationships are to business. There is no longer a border between business and social – these are the same thing today. We develop personal relationships with parents at our kids soccer games, and then we do business with them (possibly).
Our businesses can only benefit from more personal relationships – and these are improved through social networking sites. Anything I do outside work has a positive impact to my work – because my work involves people – and not sitting alone.

That’s my .02 rant.

By: Iluvmedia

Iluvmedia — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 20:11:20 +0000

Surely this comes down to what people are engaging with. Are they engaging with work related matters or social matters during work time? Time spent on purely social matters is not value creating for any organisation – I think this raises an interesting point. How do corporates such as the Deloittes of the world encourage social networking, and monitor it (without seeming to monitor it)? Corporate based utiity of these sites may well be the thing to open Australia’s cultural inhibitions –
thanks, iluvmedia
PS this is a good site, where’s all the comments from your readers? – someone’s got to keep you honest