During Social Media Week in September 2012 IRISS, in conjunction with the Improvement Service, ran a discussion panel on who is, or should be taking the lead, in relaxing the restrictions on the use of social media for collaborative working and knowledge sharing in the workplace. You can listen to the highlights of the debate on IRISS.fm.
The obstacles are technical and cultural. Many organisations technically block access to sites, albeit allowing access on request. Culturally, however, they tend not to be very well disposed towards encouraging innovative use of web-based tools and services.
Of course, there are risks in using social media, but we must keep them in perspective and remember that the analogue world is not exactly risk free. If we start from the premise that professional people can be trusted to behave properly and are guided by professional codes of practice, we might be able to put risk in perspective.
We need creative dialogue with those who are charged with ensuring data security. It is important to understand legitimate concerns but we would argue that access to streaming video carries no security risk. Blocking access just makes life difficult.
There is no magic wand. This is all about leadership: helping your organisation understand that web-based collaboration and communication is part of normal, everyday working. We have produced a summary of key statements from a number of authoritative sources which will help the dialogue.
You can also join the Who's Leading community of practice on The Knowledge Hub.
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