Taken from an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Within the next few years, companies that have resisted the use of social media in the workplace may find that resistance is futile.
Earlier this month, a representative of technology research firm Gartner Inc. predicted 20 percent of employees will use social networks rather than e-mail as their business communications hub by 2014.
Speaking at an information technology expo in Cannes, research vice president Monica Basso said, "Today, social paradigms are converging with e-mail, instant messaging and presence, creating new collaboration styles."
Just days later, Facebook founder Marc Zuckerberg announced the social networking giant will soon roll out Facebook Messages, an offering that will integrate new e-mail features with texting and chat.
With that launch, Ms. Basso's estimate may turn out to be low.
"Facebook's entre into this market will hasten Microsoft, IBM/Lotus, Google and others to roll out similar product," Daniel Mittleman, associate professor in the College of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul University in Chicago, wrote in an e-mail. "So, by 2014 much of the corporate world -- using a future version of the same product they are using today -- will have access to something similar to what Facebook just announced. And I think it will be much more than 20 percent."
Which raises the question: How will companies respond? Will they embrace the new modes of communication and encourage their use? Or are culture wars already brewing between companies that will view such tools as timewasters and workers who say that they enhance productivity?
Last year, Englewood, Colo.-based Robert Half Technology asked more than 1,400 chief information officers to describe their companies' policies on employees visiting social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter while at work.
More than half -- 54 percent -- said their companies prohibited such activity. About a quarter, or 26 percent, said it was allowed for personal use; 19 percent said it was allowed for business use; 1 percent did not know or did not answer.
In April, Half revisited the issue, asking if companies had re-evaluated their policies in light of the increasing use of social networking as a business tool.
"No change," said 55 percent.
Perhaps even more telling, 23 percent had developed more strict policies regarding personal use, and 15 percent had developed more strict policies regarding business use.
"Companies need to weigh the benefits of using social media against the risks that are involved," said Jeff Nunez, division director of tech support for Robert Half Technology's Pittsburgh office.