DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Reflections


When I initially approached this project I had quite a few questions regarding social media in the workplace.  After several drafts of a thesis statement I realized that social media is presenting some interesting challenges for businesses.  As a manger in a technology company, I'm struggling with some of those challenges myself.  So, I wanted to explore what challenges social media presented companies and individuals to start.  Next, I wanted to explore how companies make a decision about what to do with social media.  Last, I wanted to understand how effect these policies actually were.


As I did my own research and participated in the class survey I realized some things that I already expected and got a few surprises.  I found it very interesting that most people responding to our survey believed that social media was a distraction at work but wouldn't admit to using it often while on the job.  So, either people just think that others are abusing social media or they are simply not being realistic about their own use of social media.  I also found it interesting that social media is just one of the many distractions we face daily in our jobs yet seems to always get the blame.


Employer policies on social media vary from company to company and I now understand more why companies make the decisions that they do in order to protect themselves and their employees.  As more social media sites and applications arise, I believe the challenges will also evolve, but at least companies are taking an active role and monitoring their employees, reputations and themselves.


DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.