Block Facebook during Office Hours?
There are many people and organizations start to re-assess the Internet access for Facebook in the office, government service centre, and even in school or university. Their management are gathering from different parties for their concern and feedback and there might be the possibility of implementing new IT policy to block Facebook during office hours, just like a lot of organizations block the Instant Messaging access during office hours.
Why need to block Facebook during office hours?
Very simple answer, and you try to look around in your office or an area with Internet access, then you will notice a lot of people are using the Facebook to play online games which are free, or chat with their friends in Facebook.
Many online game developers or companies have designed and published a lot of great online flash games in Facebook, and time to time release the new features or upgrade for the existing game or introduce the new flash games. They make a lot of money through Facebook advertisement.
A lot of people has been addicted for those famous Facebook games!
Below few famous Facebook flash games that most of the users are playing during their working hours, and they have to spend a lot of time to play / keep it running (minimize the Internet browsers) to level up their game character by gain more experience / coins:-
Pet Society
Farmtown
Restaurant City
Fish World
Country Story
Barn Buddy
Mob Wars
Mafia Wars
Sorority
FarmVille
Mahjong
a lot more…
From management point of view, the employees are spending their paid times to play games without benefit to their organization. This is a serious situation, as people usually spread and influence their friends to join and play, show their achievement and publish it in Facebook wall. When you play too much games with long hours, then you will be getting tired, your mind always pop-up games screens, reduce your concentration, or even getting worse and fall sick or got eye diseases, and then indirectly impact to organization because of your health situation, decision making and customer services.
If people use the Facebook to build the relationship with their customers, and improve the company image or generate more sales, then is fine for them to use the Facebook during office hours. But recently, with the free Facebook games and applications, most of them no longer spend their time to use it in the right ways to help the organization. This is a bad image if someone from other departments or companies see their employees post their game info in Facebook wall during office hour! So free, nothing to do!
If a lot of organizations from different countries start block the Facebook.com during their office hours, then the main impact is the Facebook, as their one of the major income is from the advertisement through games and applications. Not much impact to Facebook users, as they just back to normal and still can play it after working hours. Not much impact to organization, as their employees can concentrate their work, and even it can free up their network bandwidth to use for other purposes, reduce the cost of bill as games utilize a lot of computer CPU power, and meet the GREEN concept.
Facebook better start think a good solution to assist those organization now! You save them, they save you! Win Win Situation!
For example, if Facebook doesn’t want those organizations block the whole domain name (facebook.com) from their web proxy system, then they can configure all the games or applications under the different sub-domain name based on various categories, and introduce the URL purpose and types to everyone. So that those organization can block certain Facebook sub-domain URL during their office hours like (games.facebook.com or apps.facebook.com) rather than block the whole Facebook domain name, if their web proxy has this capability.
Another option that Facebook can implement an intelligent service (session control) that allow the games to be played based on their age, occupation, location, country or state’s public holidays, and source of IP address. It may not 100% help for those organization, but at least they know and still save to use the Facebook for other purpose, rather for their employees to play Facebook online games during office hours. Facebook may be has better ideas then! :)
If you are one of the people who playing games during the office hours, then imagine if you are the boss or a management member, and would you like your employees to play game during office hours and you have to pay them at the same time! Unless you still can deliver and even more without impact organization, then may be you can discuss with your management for special approval! :)
Block Facebook Online Games & Applcations! Improve Organization Productivity & Services!
