IT Department Blocking Access to YouTube? Facebook?

I understand that I live in a world, and in a business space, that demands I “play on the internet all day”. But what confounds me is when I’m asked to consult with companies on their online marketing strategy, and those companies are blocking their staff’s access to social media sites like YouTube and Facebook.

Left hand. Meet the right hand. Social media marketing, online marketing, interactive marketing, whatever you want to call it, happens on the internet. In order to create an online marketing strategy, in order to listen to what your customers are saying, in order to react and interact, your staff need to access these sites on company time.

Mitch Joel has a great business column in the Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun on Digital Natives and blocking access. I really like this article for its commentary on the changing face of new employees and how businesses need to adapt: http://tinyurl.com/68hzpp