New Paradigm researcher Paul Artiuch points out that the Ontario government has announced that it is set to ban the popular social networking site Facebook from all government workplace computers. Users will receive the same “access denied†message they would get when trying to access pornographic or gambling sites. Treating Facebook the same way it treats those less reputable internet destinations demonstrates the government’s complete lack of understanding of the potential benefits of social networking.
The notion that Web 2.0 technologies could be used to enable employees to get the government’s work done more efficiently escapes the current leadership. The Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips said, “Here’s a website that’s going to be increasingly more popular for the OPS (Ontario public service). Is this an appropriate website to be spending time on? The staff determined it’s not as directly related to the workplace as we’d like it to be so we’re restricting access to it.” With this enlightened attitude towards technology, it’s a bit of a wonder the government is allowed to use computers at all.
The policy looks certain to impair the government’s ability to attract and retain young workers, a growing number of whom think that tools like Facebook can help them do their jobs.
Anyone with a problem can join the “Stop McGuinty’s Crusade Against Facebook†Facebook group.
