Job Vacancies And Jobs Search In Malaysia : Allyhunt

“Are you in facebook or not?” For those who do not know what I am talking about, you do not know what you have been missing. No, it is not about a certain book or cover of a magazine. It is a social networking site that was set up in Feb 2004 and for the past one year has caught on to the Malaysian shore.

Technology is moving so fast that some of us have literally given up on getting to know the latest hype in town. “No, I am not going to be bothered by all this so-called technology” and sure enough, you will not be bothered if you are not hooked up. Social networking sites are the extension of the email technology but are conceptually and emotionally different because instead of looking for an address, the way it is being done is as though you are sending it to a person. It has features such as “News Feed” that generates bulletins about what your friends are doing all day long. Isn’t that fun as it allows you to keep track of your friends’ activities?

That is why one of my friends in Facebook said, “This is addictive!” From an employer’s point of view, I wonder how it will affect productivity at work. The employees may seem to be busy working with their computers when, in fact, they are actually “poking” their friends and “buying them a round of beer”.

Perhaps not many Malaysian employers have caught up with the hype or are aware that their employees are surfing such sites but sooner or later, this is a phenomena that you need to recognize as the membership is growing very fast. Will you ban such sites (including MySpace, Friendster, etc.) or will you draw up some policies for the acceptable use of such sites in the workplace?

And it is not just about “cyberslacking”. Another concern that had the companies in America and Europe cracking their heads is the information that is being posted by employees. How can you prevent trade secrets from leaking out unknowingly? A scary thought indeed.

Whether you like it or not, it seems that we cannot avoid the fact that the use of social networking sites is likely to become the norm or way of life especially among people of the younger generation.

What say you, ride the wave with the rest or not?