The Role of Facebook in the Enterprise: A Post Script

In my one of my last posts, Should Facebook Be Banned from Work?, I sided with Gartner analyst Nikos Drakos over Gartner's Ray Valdes on the debate as to whether Facebook should be banned from the enterprise. Nikos argued for banning it. What I was attempting to convey was the difference between using social media with confidence within the enterprise versus doing it in public space. Banning is a bit draconian as Facebook can serve useful purposes in a business context. It is simply important to understand its proper role within a work environment.

I do not think the debate was asking the right question. Facebook is a consumer oriented networking tool that is increasingly being adopted by business people as a social networking tool for business purposes. In this way it is like a “virtual social event or other recreational activity” that can be effectively used for business networking. I would not ban my sales force from attending social events in the real world with customers during business hours if this activity has the potential to lead to sales or helps with customer relations. But if my salesperson goes to social events in the real world every day or surfs Facebook all day and does not make any sales, I might “ban” that person. In the end you need to use good judgment.

You should ask yourself if you are using Facebook appropriately for business purposes during business time? Even that is a bit of gray area. Since most of us work outside business hours, we also, at times, take care of personal issues during work hours. So I do not see any harm connecting with friends through Facebook on what to do after work during work hours if you are getting your work done. I do not ban Facebook at my company but I expect people to use good judgment and I trust my employees to do this.

I think the more important question is what social networking tools are right for your business. In this case I would pick a tool that is designed for business use, and not one designed for recreational use and built to generate high traffic.