Social networking lockdown

Are you a social media enthusiast who’s about to start a new job?

First off, congratulations especially to my friends in the United States, where far too many of them are dropping like flies these days. You’re employed.

Second, talk to your network administrator if you don’t want to end up in hot water soon after joining the company. Why? It seems large companies are increasingly wary of social networks \or the rich internet apps (e.g. Twhirl, Tweetdeck) that help facilitate people’s addiction to social media.

You’re likely to end up hitting a big ol’ firewall when trying to download the application or view the site anyway but it’s probably worth the chat anyway as admins are increasingly worried that social networks pose a grave security threat to companies.

This is especially true if you’re starting with a large company, many of whom have caught on to the whole social media phenomenon recently.

Larger companies, which typically have far greater resources to draw upon, are locking down desktops for fear people will bring in some form of malware written by a bitter, unemployed programmer in Russia (where a lot of malware is written apparently).

That means no way are you going to be able to download even a lightweight app like Twhirl or Feedalizr without your admin’s permission.

It’s easy to see why administrators are wary. First, it’s their job to be overly cautious. More to the point, social networks and the cottage industry of applications created for network users are new, growing fast in terms of popularity which makes them potential security threats.

Social network sites are great business tools, but caution and common sense and probably a stamp of approval are needed.

[tags] Facebook, Twitter, Twhirl, Twitter, microblogging, Feedalizr [/tags]