FINAL BLOG!

ACCELERATION OF TRANQUILITY
As the name implies, instant messaging (IM) used in the business world of the 2016 director leads to even faster means of communication beyond faxes and emails. With IM, we can make an offer instantaneously or respond on the spot beating out our competition every single time. There is no excuse whatsoever for passing up or neglecting an opportunity. But yet there are dangers of the convenience and lightning speed of IM. As the author points out, convenience can be destructive. On the other hand, the 1906 British statesman was allowed time for reflection. In this he could see both objectives and principles (the details as well as the big picture). He was afforded the time to contemplate on his decisions because his tranquility was unaccelerated. He was not relegated to rushed and impulsive decision-making that can expose a company to greater risks and larger problems in the long-term.
DIGITAL CAPITAL
As mentioned on pages 6 and 7 of the article, in our world today, attention has become a scarce commodity as we are constantly bombarded and overwhelmed by information overload. Who do we pay attention to? Therefore, in order to “To capture and retain customer experience, a business must provide a pertinent, attractive and convenient total experience.” A prime example of how instant or text messaging helped increase viewership and popularity of a television program has been in the tremendous success of American Idol. Season after season, American Idol has undoubtedly been one of the most watched programs (repeatedly No. 1 in the Nielson ratings). The decision to add IM voting has also resulted in geometric increase in voting. Allowing viewers to vote by IM opened up a convenient means to participate in selecting the next American Idol. This also allowed them a positive “customer” experience because they avoided the frustrations of busy signals. In the show’s fourth season, more than double the wireless subscribers from previous year have the ability to text message their votes (50 million in 2005 vs. 21 million in 2004). In its most recent season, there were 178 million text votes. American Idol has introduced millions of people to the phenomenon of text messaging which will undoubtedly transform business strategies afforded by internetworking.

Overseeing Instant Messaging Usage

I found an article online about monitoring IM usage-a tool that could be useful for businesses that incorporate IM into their daily lives. Now, there are a variety of software that allow for businesses to oversee employee IM usage. Some examples are IMlogic, Akonix L7 Enterprise, and Facetime's IM Auditor. With these softwares, companies can allow certain conversations, search for specific keywords, or even disable specific file transfers. IM use can be restricted to certain times of the day, or even certain days of the week with these software. As I mentioned in my previous blog, one of the challenges businesses face with IM usage, a tool capable of great communication, is employee abuse. But with one of these monitoring software, employees would feel a need to be more productive at work and are less likely to abuse IM. These software could be a great contribution to companies who are concerned about employee IM abuse.

One of the cons of these software is that it is very costly. The article estimates the cost of installing this software on a midsized companies hardware at $30,000-$50,000. Again, this depends on the size of the company, but as you can see, this software is not cheap. In the end, companies must decide whether the IM abuse outweighs the cost of the software download. I just thought it was interesting that companies now have the power to secure, control and manage employee IM use. Sure it takes away from employee privacy, but IM should not be used for personal use in a business setting.

Lastly, one of the controversies about installing security software is that social networking sites, like Facebook, now have pop up chat features embedded on their websites. Because Facebook is a website, not an instant messaging software, employees are now being found on these kind of social networking sites rather than signing onto AIM. This type of IM abuse is difficult to track, and perhaps I'll look into it a little more in my next blog. Stay tuned!