I was caught trying to go to those sites again at work. I felt so dirty when my attempt to satisfy myself resulted in the stern company “ACCESS DENIED” page filling my computer screen. What if anyone saw that I was trying to reach these nefarious sites?
- http://blog.holtz.com/ — The oh-so-tempting site operated by the “infamous” Shel Holtz. Why would I even THINK that my IT Department would consider an IABC and PRSA Fellow and long-time communications expert worthy of visitation?
- http://www.nevillehobson.com/ — This one is my “guilty pleasure.” Neville Hobson’s sound judgments and real-world solutions to communications challenges—the stuff that makes a communicator’s blood boil! But he is often seen in the company of Shel Holtz, so what was I thinking?
- http://trafcom.typepad.com/ — Oh, don’t despise me, I can’t help myself. Donna Papacosta almost forces me to frequent her site. The smart advice and tips about podcasting, the links to helpful resources…how could I resist?
But that is the situation I face now at work. I suppose that I should thank my IT Department for making me go “cold turkey” and avoid these sites–and so many others. What reason does IT offer, to comfort me? Security concerns with blogs and streaming audio/video. That’s what I learned when my craving to have at Shel’s, Neville’s and Donna’s sites made me temporarily insane. How insane? Insane enought to try to reason with IT. Stop laughing. I suggested that blocking these kinds of sites gives the appearance that IT doesn’t “trust” employees. But this has nothing to do with trust, my colleagues assure me. It is about security.
Can anyone point me to information concerning the security issues with blogs? I searched Technorati and Yahoo!, and could only find a reference to one security flaw in one blogging software: WordPress, when someone would (foolishly) allow any commentor to log on as a guest user. Hmm…is that the nightmare that IT is helping me to avoid?
Note to Shel, Donna and Neville: Although I won’t be able to read your thoughts on this at work, I can still access your sites at home. But I have to wait until the wife and kids are asleep, so that no one is watching.
Entries (RSS)
February 13th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
OK, Tom, your secret is safe with me. Sheesh, those IT guys are a bit strict eh?
All kidding aside, I do wonder about the wisdom of preventing employees from accessing sites that could be viewed as helpful. Of course I’m taking about Shel’s blog and Neville’s blog!
(Thanks for including me.)
February 13th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Thanks for weighing in, Donna.
I had to tread lightly when writing the post, although my frustration at the situation made me want to stomp my foot. I just hope that I’m not on thin ice at work–stomping would be a very bad thing, in that case.
I try not to talk shop here, or air internal matters. But someone else who has gone through this already may have some good ideas for how to convince management (not IT) that this is too restrictive.
February 18th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Ton,
We all know that IT trusts our employees, it’s YOU that they don’t trust.
If it makes you feel any better, I’ve had IT come over to my desk and unplug my computer because I was hogging up the company’s bandwith. This happens once every couple of months.
I’m also waiting for some of my favorite blogs to be cut. My fave message boards have been cut, and I understand some of our co-workers can no longer view a blog that I created so my friends and family who aren’t in a 20 mile radius can see her grow-up virtually before their eyes.
Someone tell me the difference between “security” and “trust.”