09.12.07
Posted in Social Networking, Tech From The Net at 3:46 pm by Lee
Workers who spend time on sites such as Facebook could be costing firms over £130m a day, a study has calculated.
According to employment law firm Peninsula, 233 million hours are lost every month as a result of employees “wasting time” on social networking.
The study – based on a survey of 3,500 UK companies – concluded that businesses need to take firm action on the use of social networks at work.
Some firms have already banned employees from accessing Facebook.
Mike Huss, director of employment law at Peninsula called on all firms to block access to sites such as Facebook.
He asked: “Why should employers allow their workers to waste two hours a day on Facebook when they are being paid to do a job?”
He said that loss of productivity was proving a “major headache” for firms.
BBC NEWS | Technology | Facebook ‘costs businesses dear’
It does not surprise me that Facebook takes away a lot of employees work hours, however, if it wasn’t myspace, it would be something else. Even without technology, you have chatting within the office. Then you could have employees text messaging, updating sites on wikipedia etc. There are a lot of things that can distract them.
I can relate to how distracting facebook can be though. There has been many a time when i’ve been working at home & received an email saying someone’s left me a comment, next thing I know I’m on facebook and lost half an hour.
Is blocking facebook completely the answer though? It probably depends on your workplace’s AUP. If you’re allowed to use the internet for personal reasons (even if only during a lunch break), then it’s probably a bit drastic & staff just need to be monitored. If you’re not supposed to be using the computer’s for personal reasons then perhaps it should be blocked. There’s very few businesses where facebook or any other social networks would be used.
Employers themselves though could look at how they could use facebook to their advantage. For example, they may be able to find out more information about job applicants then they give on the application form, allowing them to form more of an educated discussion.
technorati tags:business, workers, facebook
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08.28.07
Posted in Social Networking, Tech From The Net at 10:11 am by Lee
Everyone has the dream of being able to earn money online, but not many people achieve this dream. One thing a lot of us are involved in though are social networks – so how about if the two were mixed together?
UvMe is aiming to do that by creating a platform which is more like social marketing. You earn money by playing games against other users, then by referring friends who can do the same. The larger your network grows, the more money you earn.
Although not launching till late September, early October pre registration is available for free at the moment with videos available to explain the site to you, as well as the opportunity to see how the system works.
Site features include:
* Tournaments where each player pays a small fee and the winner takes all
* A uni-messenger interface that can list contacts from MSN, AIM, Yahoo and GoogleTalk
* A blog platform
* RSS feeds
* Other Social Networking Tools
The parent company has been involved with MLM for 5 years and has invested a 7 figure sum of money into promoting uVme.
A linked site that may be of interest is Andy Baileys blog who is a veteran affiliate of the parent company and holds the position of Group Coordinator and has been promoting for the company for 3 years.
Please Note:
This post is sponsored by UvMe
Technorati Tags: social networking, uvme
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08.17.07
Posted in Social Networking, Tech From The Net at 2:34 pm by Lee
Facebook Secrets isnt the only site that’s been served with a DMCA, Digg also received a takedown notice and complied (apparently Digg users aren’t as interested in Facebook code as they are in DVD unlocking codes).
read more | digg story
Technorati Tags: facebook, code
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08.11.07
Posted in Social Networking, Tech From The Net at 9:18 am by Lee
With all the social networking and as we bring more and more of our lives online, the talking turns more to how safe we are and what we should be sharing about ourselves.
Children seem to be one of the major parties which people are concerned about with safety online. Should education about risks online come from teachers, parents or both?
A new study in Europe found that the children largely involved with technology were aware about the risks connected with the internet, but would only talk to an adult about problems as a last resort.
Technorati Tags: children, europe, online safety
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08.02.07
Posted in Social Networking at 10:34 pm by Lee
On the internet I spend a lot of time on various social network sites. Some of my friends use myspace, others are on bebo & more are on facebook. Like myself, some are on multiple sites, but whereas if I make a change on one, I try and make it on them all, some people don’t bother.
Most of the time when I visit these social network sites I only want to do 2 things – firstly, reply to any messages or comments I’ve received. Secondly I want to see any changes my friends have made, more specifically any new photos they’ve uploaded. On some sites this is easy such as Bebo, others it’s not too bad, such as Facebook which highlights some updates on the homepage. However, I do have to spend a considerable time visiting multiple sites to see if any updates have been made.
One way which I can save time to track changes is the site Spokeo. You can register up on the site then add your buddies from various sites, including the listed:
Whenever a friend makes a new blog entry, or posts a new photo, the site will display this on a list for you to see so you can go straight to the new content that’s been added. Even better you can receive daily or weekly email notifications to inform you of these changes so that you know to go and have a look.
Please Note:
This post is sponsored by Spokeo
Technorati Tags: spokeo, social networking, buddies, friends, updates, rss
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07.29.07
Posted in Social Networking, Tech From The Net, Web 2.0 at 10:13 am by Lee
JUST now, the hottest startup in Silicon Valley — minutely examined by bloggers, panted after by investors — is Pownce, but only a chosen few can try out its Web site.
Kevin Rose, the co-founder and chief architect of Digg, a hugely popular news site, announced in late June the introduction of Pownce, a social-networking service that combines messaging with file-sharing. Mr. Rose immediately endowed his latest venture with some mystique by declaring that, for the time being, only those with invitations would be permitted to test his new site.
Within days, invitations were selling on eBay for as much as $10. Mr. Rose has declined all requests to be interviewed about the service, including my own. But as a consolation, he sent me a coveted invitation. I enjoyed the rare thrill of cyberhipness — and got to experiment with the site.
A Social-Networking Service With a Velvet Rope – New York Times
I’ve managed to get an invite into Pownce and although it looks and works quite nicely, I can’t find much use for it yet.
Unless you have friends on their, all of the sharing capabilities are pretty much useless, apart from perhaps public messages – which I was able to do before in Twitter or Jaiku anyway.
So to make it useful for me, I need to get friends to use it. Easier said than done. I could invite the first 6, then count on them inviting more people etc. However, the majority of my friends are not people into the Web 2.0 trend. The likeliness of them joining pownce is very low, especially as most of them already have facebook, myspace & bebo and they’re happy on them. In fact I already hear complaints that they’re using too many of these services, which makes me question – how much room is there in the mainstream market for another social network?
technorati tags:pownce, social networking, kevin rose
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