Internet in the 90's, Social Media today.

I remember when I began working on an IT helpdesk; the internet was really leaving its infancy and was a full fledged way of life.  We had exited the 90’s and, for the most part survived the millennium without all bursting into flames or anything else too crazy.  At that time, there was still quite a lot of fear surrounding the internet, and what exactly was the appropriate level of access to give to an employee.  I remember the debate in our team meetings.  Only specific work related sites would be opened, and that list wasn’t all that long.  There was no searching for information on topic’s, reading blogs on specific topics and finding information on the business issue you were researching.  No, there was a cloud of fear surrounding loss of employee productivity, disclosure of sensitive information and who knows what else.  I even remember when approval was required to allow for an external email address (now everyone, including the 18 year old intern gets email when they arrive for their first day at work, no questions asked.

Compare that to today and social media.  The debate rages with companies over providing access to Facebook or Twitter because of the fear of all the exact same things that were feared by opening the internet.  The ability to answer questions, recruit excellent employees and find solutions to tough problems is enhanced by these tools, but this isn’t the focus.  Once again, as in the debate of the 90’s, the answer isn’t in the IT department controlling and policing, but rather management should be teaching responsibility and empowering it’s employee’s to create a stronger orginization by using these tools for viral marketing and building customer relationships, among other things. 

Imagine if the internet goes down in your workplace for 20 minutes.  You’d think people were poisoned and only Google in the next 10 seconds will cure them.  I imagine that we’ll reach a point in the not too distant future where this will hold true for Twitter or Facebook.  I think it will become a required tool in the next few (or less) years, just like email. 

How does your company treat social media?  Is it the internet of the 90’s, wrought with fear, or is it part of the strategy?

Leave a comment, as well as your @twittername, and I’ll thank you on Twitter.

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