SHOULD SOCIAL MEDIA BE BANNED AT WORK?

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In 1876, at the age of 29, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.  A few short years later companies of all sizes were using phones in their businesses.

When phones were being introduced, do you think some bosses were saying, “We better not have a phone because some of our employees may use them to make personal calls?  Since I wasn’t there, I really don’t know, but some how I doubt it.

Now look around your office.  There are phones on every desk.  Are they sometimes used for personal phone calls?  You bet they are.  Are companies threatening to yank them out?  I don’t think so.

However, many companies are making the decision to ban all social media.  The main reason—employees may use them for personal reasons.

Is that true?  Probably.  But how is that different from the telephone?

Let’s face it.  The whole world, including business, is migrating to social media.  LinkedIn, which is primarily a business tool, is growing at the rate of 1 million new members every twelve days and now has 65 million members.  The average Linked user earns $107,000 a year, 25% are at executive level, and every Fortune 500 company is represented.

Facebook now has 400 million members and is growing at five million members a week.  Even though Facebook is primarily social, it’s a great tool for building business relationships.

Social media is how business will get done in the future.  Does every employee have to have access?  No…just as every employee doesn’t need a telephone.  But no business will survive without it.

This is David Sher, your WeMentor guy, saying it’s not what you know, but Whoo you know.