This isn't about facebook sharing with you it's millions and you're instantly BFFs (best friends forever, duh).  Until then, add Mark Zuckerberg to the list of enemies of the state because he is young and filthy rich and would not even spare me a dime.

Well, apart from that obvious part, many are up in arms because if facebook negatively affects productivity then surely he's up to no good!

I thought this was old news but what the heck, nothing like putting a 'recent study' stamp to certainly drive the nail to the coffin and incite ire not just from companies but I guess, parents as well. Coming in with a strong belief in the power of social relationships, I could not readily accept such claims because of the simple fact that productivity is really more of a personal matter that can best be addressed by common goal-setting and not through simple scare tactics.

But then facebook as a disruption to focus may be more digestible for my  taste.  Though, It isn't solely a facebook matter.  When you're suddenly faced with a web that can offer you a lot of things, individuals and companies are sure to find out the full meaning of 'disruptive' - both good and bad.

Now, what type of employees would likely spend 2 hours on facebook while on company hours, may I ask?  I guess, it's not the people who need to take the occasional break from drudgery but more like 'social network' addicts.  Let us try to put some on a list?

1. Those with too much spare time, either fast work finishers or un-motivated, and both would rather not do anything else till told to do so.

2. Those who find personal value using it.  Unfortunately, cannot directly be linked to company-defined productivity. Others will argue that it is still value just the same.

3. Those who find company value in it.  For example,  instant messaging because facebook does support it.  I do recall companies back in the early days who refuse to let employees use YM but I'm sure you get the point.  Valid defense wouldn't you say so?

In general, it is useless to mandate such use because the fact is, technology exists ultimately to be put to the test by users and not to be slaves to  hierarchies such as IT departments.  It's even fair to say that successfully efficient enterprise applications adoption is more user-driven than management-pushed. 

So is facebook any different?  Contrarian to corporate IT?  Or is it a matter of just thinking out of the box and leverage the technology for something that both companies and staff can embrace?

Quite simply, the answer lies at the core of facebook itself.  Nurturing Relationships.  Ever wonder why some corporate teams work better, even if not comparatively smarter individually?  We haven't tried out using facebook extensively but I guess it's worth trying and one already did (and I do believe it's not just feasible but innovative, as well).  More here.

If they can, don't you think your company and staff can be facebook friends as well?