A Longitudinal Study of Facebook, Linkedin, & Twitter Use
A Longitudinal Study of Facebook, LinkedIn, & Twitter Use
Anne Archambault Microsoft Corporation Redmond, Washington USA annea@microsoft.com
ABSTRACT
Jonathan Grudin Microsoft Research Redmond, Washington USA jgrudin@microsoft.com messaging, and employee blogging were first used mainly by students and consumers to support informal interaction. Managers, who focus more on formal communication channels, often viewed them as potential distractions [4]. A new communication channel initially disrupts existing channels and creates management challenges until usage conventions and a new collaboration ecosystem emerges. Email was not embraced by many large organizations until the late 1990s. Instant messaging was not generally considered a productivity tool in the early 2000s. Slowly, employees familiar with these technologies found ways to use them to work more effectively. Organizational acceptance was aided by new features that managers appreciated, such as email attachments and integration with calendaring. Many organizations are now wrestling with social networking. About half of U.S. companies reportedly block sites or have restrictive policies [9, 17]. Echoes of past email and IM debates rage in the trade press [6]. Change could come more quickly this time: People are accustomed to using new technologies, adoption is less expensive, work-life boundaries are eroding, and the use of these technologies by successful people in government and entertainment is discussed in the media. In 2008, two years after Facebook became available, the size of its Microsoft “group” indicated that it was used by over one-third of all employees. How were they using it? How much if any was for work purposes? How did use or attitudes vary with role or age? Whether using such sites at home or work, employees are learning what they can provide and are developing skills in using them. Different social networking sites have been popular at different times and in different countries [16].
Anne Archambault Microsoft Corporation Redmond, Washington USA annea@microsoft.com
ABSTRACT
Jonathan Grudin Microsoft Research Redmond, Washington USA jgrudin@microsoft.com messaging, and employee blogging were first used mainly by students and consumers to support informal interaction. Managers, who focus more on formal communication channels, often viewed them as potential distractions [4]. A new communication channel initially disrupts existing channels and creates management challenges until usage conventions and a new collaboration ecosystem emerges. Email was not embraced by many large organizations until the late 1990s. Instant messaging was not generally considered a productivity tool in the early 2000s. Slowly, employees familiar with these technologies found ways to use them to work more effectively. Organizational acceptance was aided by new features that managers appreciated, such as email attachments and integration with calendaring. Many organizations are now wrestling with social networking. About half of U.S. companies reportedly block sites or have restrictive policies [9, 17]. Echoes of past email and IM debates rage in the trade press [6]. Change could come more quickly this time: People are accustomed to using new technologies, adoption is less expensive, work-life boundaries are eroding, and the use of these technologies by successful people in government and entertainment is discussed in the media. In 2008, two years after Facebook became available, the size of its Microsoft “group” indicated that it was used by over one-third of all employees. How were they using it? How much if any was for work purposes? How did use or attitudes vary with role or age? Whether using such sites at home or work, employees are learning what they can provide and are developing skills in using them. Different social networking sites have been popular at different times and in different countries [16].
References: 1. Burke, M., Kraut, R. & Marlow, C. 2011. Social capital on Facebook: Differentiating uses and users. Proc. CHI 2011, 571-580. ACM. 2. Carr, A. July 8, 2010. Twitter now the world‘s fastest growing search engine. Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/1667617/twitterisworlds-fastest-growing-search-engine 3. DiMicco, J.M., Millen, D.R., Geyer, W., Dugan, C., Brownholtz, B. & Muller, M. 2008. Motivations for social networking at work. Proc. CSCW 2008, 711-720. 4. Efimova, L. & Grudin, J. 2008. Crossing boundaries: Digital literacy in enterprises. In C. Lankshear & M. Knobel (eds.). Digital Literacies: Concepts, policies, practices. New York: Peter Lang. 5. Ehrlich, K. & Shami, N. S. 2010. Microblogging inside and outside the workplace. Proc. ICWSM 2010. IEEE. 6. Finley, K. 2010. To block or not to block Facebook and social media in the workplace. ReadWrite Enterprise. 18. Turner, T., Qvarfordt, P., Biehl, J.Y., Golovchinsky, G., & Back, M. 2010. Exploring the workplace communication ecology. Proc. CHI 2010, 841-850. 19. Wu, A., DiMicco, J. & Millen, D.R. 2010. Detecting professional versus personal closeness using an enterprise social network site. Proc. CHI 2010, 1955-1964. 20. Zhang, J., Qu, Y., Cody, J. & Wu, Y. 2010. A case study of micro-blogging in the enterprise: Use, value, and related issues. Proc. CHI 2010, 123-132. ACM. 21. Zhao, D. & Rosson, M.B. 2009. How and why people Twitter: The role that micro-blogging plays in informal communication at work. Proc. GROUP 2009, 243-252.