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Jan 27, 2009

Top communication executives also misunderstand risks of online messages

On Internet there is not "inocent" business messages. But it is incredible how proffesionals espcialized on corporative communications make big mistakes as a rookie.

This is the James Andrews's story, a vice president at Ketchum, PR agency in Atlanta.

Andrews flew to Memphis to visit FedEx, one of the agency’s biggest clients, to talk with the corporate communications team about social media.

Upon landing in Memphis, Andrews posted this message on Twitter: "True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, ‘I would die if I had to live here."

Do you want to know what FedEx people did after finding the Andrews's post? Read here...

Jan 23, 2009

Are you honest trough e-mail?

People are far more likely to lie in e-mail communication than in pen-and-paper communication, despite the fact that e-mails are harder to erase or keep from being distributed.

According to study set out to determine whether people felt more or less accountable for information shared in different forms of text communication.

The authors asked a group of 48 MBA students to divide US$89 among themselves and a fictional party, where the fictional party did not know the amount of the payout and had to accept whatever was offered to him or her.

An astounding 92 percent of the MBA students using e-mail misreported the size of the pot in order to keep more of the payout for themselves, versus less than 64 percent of students using pen and paper.

In a subsequent experiment, the authors tested to see whether students would lie as frequently to people they know. Their findings suggest that students would lie with the same frequency, but the magnitude of their lies would decrease.

Findings looks like people are more comfortable lying via e-mail than in pen-and-paper communication, despite the ease with which e-mails can be stored and searched.

Managers should pay close attention to workers who use e-mail to negotiate with partners or ensure that both forms of text communication are used for important negotiations.

Jan 14, 2009

Email productivity paradox

Americans largely hold positive views about the role of information and communications technology (ICT) in their lives.

They cite the benefits of increased connectivity and flexibility that the internet and all of their various gadgets afford them at work.

However, many workers say these tools have added stress and new demands to their lives.

On the upside, workers note big improvements in their work lives due to the influence of technologies such as the internet, email, cell phones and instant messaging:

* 80% say these technologies have improved their ability to do their job.

* 73% say these technologies have improved their ability to share ideas with coworkers.

* 58% say these tools have allowed them more flexibility in the hours they work.

At the same time, workers also note various negative impacts of communications technology on their work life:

* 46% say ICTs increase demands that they work more hours.

* 49% say ICTs increase the level of stress in their job.

* 49% say ICTs make it harder for them to disconnect from their work when they are
at home and on the weekends.

Perhaps, this paradox explains partially why the workers are not aware of what are the risks for not use properly tools of written communication.

Jan 7, 2009

Are you an emailaholic?

Check these ten symptoms out:

1. Do you check your email every 10-15 minutes (or less)?

2. Do you constantly postpone important things in your life and work to look over your email inbox "just for 2 minutes more"?

3. In the middle of doing something else, do you repeatedly "refresh" your inbox to see if someone has something to say?

4. Do you have your email program running automatically to alert you new arrivals?

5. Do you have more than 2 personal email accounts actives?

6. Do you wake up to go pee in the middle of the night and "take advantage" to check your email?

7. Do you feel an unstoppable need to check yor email when you visit friends or relatives, or before going to bed?

8. Do you frequently fall asleep on your computer keyword because the amount of emails you have to check?

9. Do you feel that you have a kind of relationship with your inbox?

10. Do you yhe need start going to "EA" meetings?

Please, let me know if you have other symptoms... And, maybe you need to read this...

Jan 3, 2009

New-Generation workers don’t adhere to IT policies

Generation students and employees aged 14 to 27 expect to use their own technology and mobile devices for work, according to a survey released today by Accenture.

60 percent of them are either unaware of their companies’ information technology policies, or are not inclined to follow them.

Perhaps it is about a generation of disrespect and anarchy?... What are companies doing to promote their IT policies among employees?

Some survey’s findings are very shocking because its implications: Lack of workplace education on corporate policy:

• Only 40 percent of all respondents said that their employers have published detailed policies related to posting work or client information on public websites.

• One-third of respondents said they don’t know if their company has such a policy.

• 17 percent said their employer hasn’t published such a policy.

• 6 percent said that whatever policy their company has published is too complex to understand.

• 6 percent said they will post work or client information on public sites regardless of any policy, at least when communicating with colleagues.

What do you think this situation impact the e-mail productivity ate the workplace?