Some of the latest news from the security world about enterprises blocking social networking sites strikes me as disturbing. I have found that some of the social networking sites provide a valuable way for people to stay in touch with former colleges, perhaps for fun, and perhaps to use these resources to solve current problems. To think that enterprises are now blocking these sites with web filters boggles my mind.
The justifications for blocking access run the gamott from resource utilization to lost productivity to security concerns. For those sites with known security threats I can see why blocking them would be useful in protecting the enterprise network. As for productivity enhancements, there are any number of distractions that can rob staff productivity during the work day. I used to think that employees going to the "smoking lounge" was a big productivity loss. I suspect it still is but I have given up on that point. Networking resources is another issue alltogether. If streaming video is a big issue coming from social networking sites then assign it the lowest quality of service and let users download it to their smartphones instead.
Social networking has been going on for centuries and will likely continue for many more to come. Some of the new internet based applications make any excuses to not keep up with people virtually disappear. Enterprises should embrace the capability to network among people in as efficient a manner as possible.
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