A June survey released by Facetime, makers of a gateway appliance for managing Web 2.0 applications, revealed the growing popularity of social networking applications in the workplace. Out of 1199 survey respondents, all IT professionals, there were more who felt that social networks played an important role in the business world than those who didn’t. What’s more, it appears that the IT folks are now seemingly okay with providing access to these networks behind the firewall – even for those who don’t approve of their use!
Getting Comfortable with Web 2.0
There appears to be a growing acceptance of social networks in the business world, and not just the kind of networks dubbed “Enterprise 2.0.” In the recent survey, Facetime found that 46% of IT professionals viewed some social networking applications as having business value and 31% even went so far as to say that social networking is critical to business. However, that 31% believed they need to be secured and controlled. Specifically, the IT respondents identified LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter as the networks they deemed permissible for work use.
Not only are the IT folks growing more tolerant of these networks in the workplace, they also admit to using them themselves. 39% of the IT pros reported logging into social networking sites at least once per day with only 13% saying they never use Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
Still, not all social networking is seen as business-related. For example, virtual worlds such as Second Life were seen by 73% as having no business value. That’s somewhat ironic since back in the day, Second Life was supposedly going to revolutionize the business world with its ability to host virtual meetings and the like. Plus, setting up an in-world company presence used to be the status quo for major corporations.
On the Flip Side…
Of course, there continues to be a big group of IT folks out there who are not comfortable with the rise of these Web 2.0 applications. However, this time around, they’re not the larger of the two groups. As of last month, 43% of the IT respondents said they felt social networking has no measurable business benefit and should only be allowed if it can be secured and controlled.
Oddly enough, 85% of the survey respondents believed their users were using social networking applications at work. That seems to imply that even though 43% may scoff at these apps, they haven’t actually gone so far as to make them inaccessible on their network.
That theory seems to prove true since less than 10% of the respondents thought social networking should be banned from the workplace. In other words, personal opinions aside, there’s a growing tolerance of these applications now. A few years ago that number (the 10%) would have definitely been higher. Back then, social networking was more often viewed as a time-wasting and unproductive activity. Maybe not everyone’s personal sentiments have changed, but something else has… perhaps a general sense that you just can’t outright ban these apps anymore? My, how times have changed.
