'But with Nielsen Online's Netview finding 2,039,000 Australian users clicking onto Facebook, 3,074,000 surfing MySpace and 4,602,000 using MSN Messenger during October, the urge to frequently maintain social life online is putting a strain on workplace enforcements.'
People communicate and network, for better or worse, no matter what you do. Adding a restriction may even increase networking. Most of it thus seems to be non-work related, however, the little things that people use social networking for- I know someone who can...., find that number, get a good price for, fix a problem, introduce me to... etc can often imperceptibly make workplaces run more smoothly.
For example, my secretary knows everyone in this town. I took MSN messenger off the computer because she spent so much time chatting to people, but she easily found someone to fix the plumbing , do some carpentry, provide paper needs, collect the mail while we were on holidays, found lots of clients and referrals, inside information about important clients, etc which made life run smoothly at work.
People's need to communicate is thus inherent. Technology makes it easier. A balance between social loafing and productive practice is not easy to find.
Asher, J., (2007) Social networkers turn to hacking at work
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