Obama’s staff are not allowed to use Facebook or any instant messaging software, reports the Los Angeles Times.
This is not the latest in a series of executive orders issued by President Obama, but the legacy left by the Bush administration which had imposed strict beaurocratic rules on the use of social networking sites and the internet.
‘Hard adjustments for a staff that helped sweep Obama to power through, among other things, relentless online social networking’, comments Anne E. Kornblut from the Los Angeles Times.
“It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of his new digs in comments to the same journalist.
Would you work in a place where online interaction is strictly controlled?
Matthew Mizzi's Blog 
I already do, actually 🙂
It surprises me. I know some Maltese companies do not allow use of Facebook and other social networks as well however I believe that social networks are becoming essential for sectors as journalism and marketing. The formulation of public policy could also be made much easier and more transparent on social networks. Obama’s campaign is a case in point.
Then there are companies which encourage, rather than restrict, use of social networks. An example is IBM which has even published its Social Computing Guidelines
It seems that some sectors still haven’t found the right use of social networks for their markets. For example, do you think that use of social networks would aid your research?
I don’t think so, to be honest – simply because (for now, at least) there are better ways of discussing econometric analyses than a Facebook wall post, or a google chat.
Plus, there are still some privacy and confidentiality issues – particularly when handling sensitive data.
I’m quite sure things will change (they already have, as you alluded to when you mentioned marketing, journalism, HR, and other professions), but we’ll have to wait for that one.
I’ll probably have to stick to outlook – though I’m quite sure I’ll see the end of it before it does away with me…!