Facebook as a work tool?

Discussion in Computers, Electronics & Gadgets started by Peninha • Nov 26, 2014.

  1. Peninha

    PeninhaWell-Known Member

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    Lately I've know quite a few people that share their Facebook with co-workers and discuss work over it. I don't do it and I find it really strange, we have Skype for that right? More, what are we doing with Facebook working during the work time lol?
     
  2. lindbergh

    lindberghWell-Known Member

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    I do use Facebook once in a while at work. One of the departments in our company insists to send their reports through Facebook messaging. Still, Facebook is more of a place to hang out and have fun and not a place for work. Of course, there are certain exceptions like in our company. :)
     
  3. troutski

    troutskiWell-Known Member

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    Why couldn't you use Facebook for work-related chats? It's not like Skype is designed for business use only, and Facebook is just an alternative as far as chatting and voice calls are concerned. You can use any platform to talk business. All that matters is that that platform meets your needs and comes with enough security to protect your conversations from intrusion and eavesdropping.
     
  4. Spectre456

    Spectre456Active Member

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    I use facebook specifically to have somewhere where we can share every information for assignments with my university group. Every time someone needs something or we need to work on a project we share links and join information through facebook. So far it has worked really well, the only drawback is that I can't delete facebook, since I don't use it for personal reasons anymore.
     
  5. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    I think that it's ok to use Facebook for work-related discussions, it's just that you're inclined to get distracted more when you use Facebook because of all the profiles and photos that can distract you. And besides, video chatting can be a hassle, especially if your internet is not too fast.
     
  6. calebmelvern

    calebmelvernActive Member

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    I don't work in an office setting, but I do experience something similar. Sometimes, I get clients who prefer to discuss things over Facebook. Personally, I like conversing through email. But hey, it's the client who requests so I can't complain. I have to say that I really hate it when this happens. I had deleted my Facebook account earlier this year, so I needed to make a dummy account just to talk with my clients.
     
  7. Thejamal

    ThejamalActive Member

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    I don't use it often during work or school, but I don't see any problem with using Facebook in order to get in touch with people if you have a question about something and need it answered right away. But most of the time, I just use Facebook as a social tool and use it as a 5-10 minute break from doing work things. I find I'd just get too distracted if I tried to actively work on Facebook and do anything productive.
     
  8. Squigly

    SquiglyActive Member

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    There's plenty of media on which workers can use to communicate, be it Facebook, Skype or Whatsapp. I think one of the biggest reasons for using Facebook is that almost everyone owns a Facebook account, hence I think it would be a good means to spread non-vital information to as many co-workers as possible.
     
  9. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    Some employers insist on seeing your FB page before hiring someone. Since they think FB is that important and make it a prerequisite to see what you've been posting then there's absolutely no reason why it should be used for work-related chat, messages, updates, etc. In any case there's no easier and faster way to reach someone — [statistics show that most people check their FB 14 times a day] .
     
  10. Theo

    TheoWell-Known Member

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    It's a quick and easy way to communicate and allows for multiple conversations and users. I don't see an issue with it, some people keep more than one account for this reason so they can have work friend separate from family. It's much quicker as emails bounce and then everyone in the conversation can see what was said/decided. I used it for study groups and people can leave the conversation and you can see who has seen the message too.
     
  11. DesignerMum

    DesignerMumActive Member

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    Collaboration Tool

    Some companies just ban Facebook upfront without any explanation. I am not a chatter anyways, so I don't see any reason to have to use the Facebook messenger. I could see how it's an easy way to communicate with team members. That's the concern, though, that Facebook is not only used for work friends, but all friends, and not friends. It's better to have an online collaboration tool for team, like

    Log In

    or other tools that includes chatting, task management, group chats, flow charts, and a hangout feature like Google. A one-stop workspace that has it all is hard to find.
     
  12. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

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    You can create work groups on facebook, and have any and everybody who has anything to do with that place of work join it, in order to discuss all things work related. many companies have begun to do this. Gym groups do it. They will post pictures, lost items and such. I find that these groups are very useful. Most of them are private. I also like and dislike - at the same time - how future employees are not hiring people based off of their facebook conduct. If you are racist and an employee finds out from facebook you can be fired, which I like. But at the same time facebook should be private.
     
  13. ExpertAdvice

    ExpertAdviceActive Member

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    I am a Realtor, and I use Facebook to promote my listing, in fact, I use all my social media to promote my listings. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest..you name it. So from that perspective, I think Facebook as a work tool is a good thing, although I'm quite aware that I do not get enough "sales" from Facebook, because I'm building my catalog, I can safely say that Facebook has given me some sales, so Facebook is good!
     
  14. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

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    When I was going through my affiliate internet marketing phase online, I would try to use my Facebook in order to get a few conversions, according to my friends' and family's interests, but at the same time I really felt like I was spamming and or pestering them. So that didn't last very long at all. Trying to use Facebook for online work can help with a few conversions, but it is better if you create a fake facebook to do so.
     
  15. Dora M

    Dora MWell-Known Member

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    I have friends who discuss absolutely everything on facebook, and that includes their work, their colleagues, their most personal thoughts about everything and nothing. And then they are are surprised and outraged if something "leaks out". I don't know when it started that people got the illusion that they are "safe" on the internet, and that whatever they post there is "private". Even though they perfectly know that it isn't, they still keep posting private details on social websites.
     
  16. DesignerMum

    DesignerMumActive Member

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    I suppose since we are now receiving offers from Facebook, and there has been Facebook cards circulating around for purchases online and other purposes, the social media has become a necessary hiring tool. I have not been very proud of the way some major companies are hiring through the social media.

    Except for blogging and online brands, which is the kind of thing that the UK is doing to support small businesses. Campaigns and programmes are targeted at supporting small businesses, but they do not encourage business owners to waste money or resources on things that won't matter in a year.
     
    #16Dec 2, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2014
  17. maryannballeras

    maryannballerasMember

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    I personally don't like using Facebook when I'm working. Because honestly, it can really be a great source of distraction. You can just start browsing down through the news feed and find yourself laughing over the funny memes, and the next thing you know, you've already spent an hour doing just that. I've experienced that first hand, so I should know.
     
  18. Peninha

    PeninhaWell-Known Member

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    At my work it's not a problem luckily. The policy here is, as long as we get our work done it doesn't really matter what's going on in our browser and I'm fine with that, I mean, I have my work to do and I do it, so no problem if I have Facebook open.
     
  19. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

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    I would avoid mixing work with leisure, particularly on Facebook. That's just asking for trouble, really. Why would you want your supervisors seeing all of your private activity on there with friends and family? Even with the most strict privacy settings, your connections can still see stuff that you've liked or commented on if the person/page you are interacting with has their pages set to be visible to everyone.

    People have been fired for their Facebook activity, especially if your employer feels that you are giving their company a bad name. In fact, some employers have even gone so far as to demand their employees hand over their login information - which I cannot imagine is legal at all. I would never work for a place that demanded that from me.

    I would suspect if your employer is using Facebook to transfer work documents, that their intentions are two-fold. They are probably doing it so they can have an excuse to spy on your Facebook activity as well.
     
  20. Victor Leigh

    Victor LeighActive Member

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    The first question is, why do you have anything on your Facebook account that you wouldn't want certain people to see? There is no such thing as privacy in cyberspace. Anything you put into cyberspace is in the public domain. You may post something in a closed group. That doesn't guarantee that anyone cannot copy that and re-post it for all the world to see.