Why backward social-network-banning education authorities are wrong - edublogs. Where many education authorities continue to routinely block, filter and ban social networks not just for youngsters but for teaching and management staff, new research from Gartner (via Euan Semple) reveals yet more logic behind opening up networks and encouraging teachers, learners and managers to network online as well as at their twice-a-year in-service get-togethers: "While a job may be regarded as an economic transaction, the human brain thinks of the workplace as a social system," she said.
Social networking can make employees "feel valued, a part of a community, and earn the respect of peers. " Read more here. I therefore continue to be disheartened by the backward policies of regions such as Argyll and Bute, who admit that "social networking sites are blocked in all schools as policy... Have We Missed the Boat? I have been following with interest the enthusiasm with which practitioners are adopting and promoting web 2.0 as the next big thing for knowledge management.
(Myself included.) It is not hard to see why. The explosive growth of social media and social networking sites such as FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter is enough to make any old school KMer turn green with envy. Why can't we induce that sort of participation in our knowledge sharing programs? However, even when corporations try implementing web 2.0 solutions inside the firewall, the results are often underwhelming. Second Life through a proxy.