Facebook inserts ads into your Newsfeed. Here’s what it means
21 Mar 2010 - Weekly Wrap-Up #7
- Myspace back? Almost
- Apple + social networking = iGroups
- You should wait to get your iPad
- Build your brand on Twitter
MS Outlook to incorporate social media
When Microsoft announced new features for the 2010 suite of Office products; we were told of a partnership with LinkedIn and the ability to incorporate feeds into Outlook. Well that product is finally rolled out and available for use. LinkedIn, for those who don’t know is social media for the professional. Forget glittery layouts of Myspace and the games and apps of Facebook. LinkedIn serves one main purpose - promote yourself professionally. They do this by allowing users to create a resume, connect with business associates, have recommendations written, join professional groups, etc.
This morning, however, it was announced that this same functionality in Outlook will be applied to Myspace and Facebook. You will now be able to get your newsfeeds and status updates pushed, a la RSS style, to your inbox in Outlook.
The immediate reaction of people on the web is not favorable. The major question that is being asked, is “What employer would not have that information blocked?” and that is a great question to be asking. If Outlook is primarily used in the enterprise via an Exchange server, then there is a strong chance that the same users will not be able to reach Myspace and Facebook, or even possibly LinkedIn, from work. (Many employers blocked LinkedIn to keep employees from hunting for new job opportunities on company time).
Microsoft can’t possibly be adding this ability solely for the Outlook at home users connecting to Yahoo and Gmail from POP3 or IMAP connections. If employers don’t have this blocked, will they start? Will productivity drop? Is it even really an issue? It is clear that social media is not going anywhere but up and I think it was smart of Microsoft to implement this feature. It will now be up to network administrators to enable/disable as needed and configure their networks responsibly.
