Allen Taylor

A more important question to ask IT managers and business executives is “why do you have the Internet?” Ask them if they can specifically cite how users should use Internet? Ask them to define what constitutes business-related Web access? Most wouldn’t be able to answer because they’ve been conditioned into a state of passivity: Put in a Web filter and forget about it. Sorry, but this isn’t management.

Web 2.0 is a FAD. Basic business operations, processes and selling still remain the same. All Web 2.0 brings to the table is some marketing spice and nuance and that’s about all. Web 2.0 is mostly about personal networking and marketing. Yes, there are some enterprise companies who are exploiting these tools, but the notion that Facebook, Twitter or Linked-in are adding 10% additional sales revenue to the bottom line just aren’t happening.

I believe a lot of money and effort are wasted on “control technologies” that could be addressed with education and active monitoring and management. There should be no room for wasting time during a day if everyone has clear objectives, job tasks and time frames. Making Web available or controlling site access and time of use are a poor substitute. It wasn’t all that long ago companies when managers would peruse phone records culling out personal calls. What was a few dollars in toll charges then now amounts to 1,000s of dollars in lost productivity. Blocking web access, for the most part, has become a stand-in replacement for HR and management doing their jobs. Of course, in extreme cases where flagrant abuses occur, the Filter provides evidence for termination. However, I maintain that many of these problems and disruptions could be avoided altogether with a simple proactive management process: set expectations, train users, monitor use and enforce policy. At no time were any animals harmed in scribing these thoughts. Users, however, may experience embarrassment if they’re failing to follow rules and do the work they’re paid to do.