Is blocking access to social networks in the workplace really the answer, when a business’s ability to flourish is significantly enhanced by these very sites?

As I’ve noted before in social networking – friend or foe, research into time spent on online activities has found social networks hogging the top spot, and I don’t envisage this changing anytime soon.

So what does all this time on social networks mean for business? Well undoubtedly the social network platform has opened up a whole new arena for businesses and other organisations to advertise, market themselves and generate leads for zero costs. In fact in certain sectors such as hospitality and events… you just aren’t cool if you don’t have a Facebook page. For many of us when we’re checking out a new hairdressers, nightclub, hotel, company or retailer, checking out their Facebook page is the first port of call. Here you can find out what other people are saying, avail of the promos dedicated to Followers or find out any other information you may need with regard to directions, services, opening times. Many of the custom fan pages even allow for you to book appointments, contact customer service or reserve rooms automatically and many also have a direct PayPal link so you can purchase goods or services directly from the page! It’s actually possible for a company to manage their entire business on a custom Facebook page… scary.

So with regard to social media’s contribution to businesses… well in my opinion it’s pretty high!

However… stats from IT firm Morse which reveal that 57% employees were accessing sites such as Facebook and Twitter for an average of 40 minutes per week, meaning that non-business use of the social networks is costing the UK £1.38 billion every year ($2.28 billion US Dollars) cannot be argued with.
There are clearly numerous employees who take advantage of the free access to social media sites and faster broadband speeds at the office to keep their social lives up to date and avoid doing anything productive in a work-related context.

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It’s ONLY 49days, 15hours and 34mins to Christmas!!! Well at least it was when I started this blog, but you get the gist, it’s that time of year again. The pandemonium is descending upon us as quickly as the associated bills will flood many hall floors in January.

Love it or hate it, the festive season is very hard to avoid particularly if you intend doing any sort of shopping. It’s a retailers dream Christmas, a huge percentage of the population all buying mindlessly at once, so I suppose you can’t really blame them for shoving it in our faces before the last apple has been bobbed for… however if you’ve opted to avoid the total madness of the shops and opted for the peace of shopping online, then take note of the following and don’t run the risk of online security forcing you to adopt a wholly bah humbug opinion of the festive season!

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Film’s meant to be a cathartic experience so after leaving work yesterday evening I thought that after dinner I’d relax with a good film. Naturally as I’m a big fan of Francis Ford Coppola and with his past gems such as the Godfather I assumed I was in good hands… Now before you tune out I’m not on a rant or turning this page into Danielle’s film reviews don’t panic. The reason my dvd viewing last night has garnered enough of an impression to take centre stage on my blog today is the nature of the storyline.

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Business continuity planning and disaster recovery planning are fundamental to the wellbeing of an organisation. Such plans are intended to ensure continuity in the face of unforeseen or difficult circumstances. In the IT world in particular, downtime and data losses are common given the global and uncontrollable nature of the web. Although this cannot really be over emphasized, so many organizations still side step the issue, or have plans which are out of date or just unworkable.

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President Obama has declared October, Cyber Security Awareness Month urging citizens to back up files and keep their children safe online.

The declaration is part of a Global Online Safety Campaign urging digital citizens to protect themselves. McAfee, CyberDefender and Visa are among companies participating in the online security campaign.

At Maildistiller we are firm believers in the underrated importance of cyber security and fully support all attempts to keep online users of all ages safe from any harm!

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I think it’s fair to say that the land of IT may as well have its own flag because they’ve already got the ITenian language all sewn up!

Ok so every specialised industry has its own words and phrases directly relating to what they do. However, what we have to understand with regard to IT and in particular online security, is that it affects everyone who opens up an internet browser whether that be for work, to chat with friends, gaming, shopping, sharing pictures, learning or general browsing. It’s safe to say that not everyone who spends time online are IT security experts which means when they decide they need to protect themselves online, the jargon that gets thrown around can be pretty confusing.

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Social media’s role in Education

There is much debate in current theory over how appropriate it is for social media to be implemented in the recruitment processes of universities. Many argue that it’s a dangerous step given the additional management and time required to control the messages and opinions that are expressed. However, it cannot be denied that the social media sphere is where the majority of a university’s target audience hang out and so it would be idiotic to ignore the obvious potential…

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Social media’s role in Education

There is much debate in current theory over how appropriate it is for social media to be implemented in the recruitment processes of universities. Many argue that it’s a dangerous step given the additional management and time required to control the messages and opinions that are expressed. However, it cannot be denied that the social media sphere is where the majority of a university’s target audience hang out and so it would be idiotic to ignore the obvious potential…

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