As one of the first generations to enter the real world with a good grasp of Web 2.0, I decided to write my final paper in my Intro to Digital Age class on Instant Messaging (IM) in the Workplace.

I graduated in 2004 and at my first employer, we were required to use IM at work. It was how the company was set-up so you could communicate with your supervisors and colleagues that way. It was certainly a plus for me. All my friends were in AOL’s Instant Messaging at the time so I was able to keep in touch with my college friends easier.

However, I do realize that not everyone has had the opportunity to experience IM at work or not everyone who has experienced it had a positive outcome. I plan on researching by conducting interviews with my generation and older generations with their experience (or lack thereof) with this new communication tool.

Employees can not only be reached through their office phones, their mobile phones, their e-mail addresses, they can now also be hunted through IM. Is this necessarily a good thing? Is the public getting spoiled with getting what they want as soon as they want it? Or is this merely one of the conveniences that the public can enjoy from the digital age?

With that said, I plan on analyzing the pros and cons of Instant Messaging at the workplace and to answer my thesis question: Is Instant Messaging a positive/convenient or a negative/distracting tool in the workplace?

I will talk about how IM was introduced in the workplace, how older generations are coping, and what the younger generations are demanding. It will also touch on the privacy and legal issues between companies, their employees, and the public. I am currently looking for people in various levels of the corporate world to interview. Please do let me know if you would like to participate or if you can recommend an expert in the topic. I would really appreciate any help in this topic. Some questions I might ask are: Is Instant Messaging a good business tool or is it a distraction from doing real work? Should it be promoted to non-Instant Messaging workplaces or should it be blocked by those that currently allow Instant Messaging? If it should be allowed, should there be company rules and restrictions in regards to time, usage, and language? Should conversations be monitored by the companies?

I will also be handing out two different surveys, one for managers and the other for employees. I’d like to get an input from both sides. Is your company currently open to using IM at work? Or are you working at a more conservative company? Would you like your company to use IM if it is currently banned? Why or why not? These are only some of the questions that I plan on tackling in the surveys and interviews.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing back from some of you.

Years ago, when radio broadcasting was just starting out, Clear Channel, came in and swooped everyone out. They bought all the little radio people and decided to run localized radio shows halfway across the country. Years later, the same thing happened with cable TV. This time it was a company called Viacom. They decided to bundle the consumers’ TV channels together so if one wanted to get HBO, one would have to subscribe to ten other channels that one is not interested in. Clear Channel and Viacom are both part of the Big Media.

In our generation, the newest form of communication is the online world–the Internet. As everyone knows, Google is the most powerful search engine. It also has Gmail, Google Ad Words, Google Docs, etc. It seems to have everything.

Not only does it have everything, “Google knows where you live” according to John Battelle’s The Search. Type in one’s phone number and you’ll have access to their address and other sensitive information. What I want to know is.. is Google now part of the Big Media? They control what we see online. Are they regulated? No. I’m surprised how it has gotten this far and no one is saying anything. What if Google were to screen our search results? They are all too powerful and we are all too dependent on Google. I am in Google all day at work, searching for contact information for certain people in the government industry. That’s how I get speakers for my events. I am able, with no prior connection to any of these people, to get an office telephone number, an e-mail address, even a mobile phone.

Have you Googled yourself recently? What comes up? Probably your social media web site profiles, including your work information. I try to be very careful what I post online with my name. I’m a very private person and I don’t want any sensitive information floating in cyberspace.

Everything is open in Google. Everything is fair game. But is it really? Who does Google answer to? Google’s motto is “Do no evil.” But how do we know it really is doing no evil? How can we trust this giant? Should we trust Google to do everything for the betterment of the public? According to Battelle, Google’s privacy policy shares our personal information with the law if they are “required by law or have a good faith belief that access, preservation or disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Google, its users or to the public.” Where does “good faith” start and end? And to protect the rights of Google? Up to what extent or situation severity?

I don’t have the answers to these questions. It would be hard to regulate Google as it is not restricted to the United States alone. Who do you think should regulate Google and the other search engines? Do you think this is going to happen anytime soon? Or at all? It seems a pretty impossible feat.

What is it like to blog? How does a blogger live his life? How can one person hold a fulltime job, go to school at night, have a life on the weekends, and yet blog every single day?

What happens when you want to blog about your company and your company is putting a lid on it? How do you express what you want without making your employer unhappy? Is there a legal way to do this?

This things are discussed in Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel. In this book, the authors discuss the correct way of joining the blogosphere community.

Below are a few things to think about if you are thinking of starting your own blog. I’m not going to go in detail about each section.. you’ll just have to read the book J

Tip #1: What’s in a name? Search engine results. When thinking of writing a blog, think carefully what you are going to call yourself. Names go a long way if you would like to get more people to “discover” your blog. It must be something related to what you want to write about as well as something interesting.

Tip #2: Read a bunch of blogs before you start. Discover what other bloggers are writing about what you want to write about. What is hot, what isn’t. Who are the authority bloggers in that topic? One way to find out is to go to Technorati.com and find the high authority bloggers that write about your topic.

Tip #3: Keep it simple. Keep it focused. In essence, do not write about your pet if your blog is about the financial industry. No matter how important your pet is to you, your readers won’t appreciate the diversion from the topic. You have to remember, everyone is busy and is bombarded with information. Therefore, if you give your readers something they do not want to read, you will lose them.

Tip #4: Demonstrate passion. According to Scoble and Israel, the easiest way to show your passion to your online readers is to post often. Especially if you are just starting your blog. People want content. You have to give them a reason to visit your web site. Keep them interested.

Tip #5: Show your authority. Again, Technorati.com.

Tip #6: Add comments. When you have garnered enough attention to your blog, give your readers a chance to return back the favor by letting them have a conversation with you. Interaction is key to being a respectable blogger. Even if readers do not agree with your opinion, they appreciate the fact that they are able to voice out their own opinion.

Tip #7: Be accessible. Be able to at least give your readers a way to contact you. E-mail is sufficient if you do not want to give out your phone number.

Tip #8: Tell a story. This goes back to captivating your audience. Don’t give a lecture. Be animated, lively. Have a conversation with your online readers.

Tip #9: Be linky. This tip is also stressed by my professor, Nicco Mele. The more “linky” your web site is to other web sites, the more chances people will discover your blog.

Tip #10: Get out into the real world. This is common sense. Do not forget the real world paying close attention to the bloggers’ real world a.k.a. bloggers’ conferences. It is important that other bloggers know you in person.

Tip #11: Use your referrer log. In short, use all available resources.

By following these tips, you’re sure to have a successful online presence!