Shel Holtz addresses the issue of restricting employee access to social media with an open letter to employers.
He suggests many of the restrictions come from a fear of viruses from social networks, but suggests that companies should embrace access to social media, because it encourages greater collaboration amongst employees.
He also cites “The New Symbiosis of Professional Networks: Social Media’s Impact on Business Decision-Making” (PDF file), sponsored by the Society for New Communication Research (SNCR) and written by SAP‘s Don Bulmer and Leader Networks’ Vanessa DiMauro, as an example of the growing importance of collaboration for innovation development.
I agree that social media is an important tool for collaboration, and that companies should think carefully about how social media is used within companies. I also believe that all employees really need social media training in order to understand how to use social media and respond in public about their work.
