personalversusprofessional

Met with a couple of entrepreneurs this week who are developing an "Enterprise 2.0" application.  Without going into the details of what they are up to, I can share one point I raised with them.

At a DEMO conference I attended a couple of years ago, the distinction between consumer and enterprise applications was discussed, specifically as it related to product definition and features.  The distinction was blurring then, and that trend has only accelerated.  (For example, Chris Shipley's recent summary of DEMO 2008 continues, in a way, to touch upon this theme.)  Despite the best efforts of IT departments everywhere, consumers will use those tools that improve their professional productivity ... whether or not such applications are "allowed".  For example, there is apparently a well known investment bank which forbids its employees from using LinkedIn.  But the reality is, that over 300 of this bank's Managing Directors use the application anyway.  So IT policy be damned, this consumer application is a part of this company's day-to-day business processes.

In my opinion, there are a number of reasons why there is increasing convergence between consumer and enterprise applications:

• widespread adoption of portable hardware such as laptops and mobile phones
• globalization of workforces and project teams, requiring support through multiple time zones
• growth in workplace trends such as telecommuting and flex time
• increasing influence of Generations X and Y, who first developed workplace habits in high school and college (and used tools such as Instant Messaging and social networks to complete projects)

The so what for budding Enterprise 2.0 firms is that enterprise application marketing and sales processes may start to look less like an IBM or Oracle direct sales force backed by traditional marketing efforts ... and more like the low cost, viral model of Facebook or digg.

This blurring of lines between the personal and professional is not necessarily a bad thing.  However, I find myself needing to learn a type of self-discipline to separate the two.  To that end, I've recently begun to separate out my Facebook and LinkedIn contacts.  There will of course continue to be some overlap, but from this point forward ... I am going to try and keep my Facebook network focused on my personal relationships and my LinkedIn network focused on my professional connections.  So please don't be offended if I've ignored your Facebook friend request, if our connection is generally professional.  The truth is, I want a platform for expressing opinions that may not be appropriate among my professional colleagues, but that would be of value to my personal friends and family.

Technorati Tags: Enterprise 2.0, work life balance, LinkedIn, Facebook

Comments

[deb]

That is a really good point about keeping them separate but also the reality is that you still need to be mindful of that fact that both groups will still see both platforms. For example if a fresh college grad has some pretty crazy "party" photos on his/her myspace page or whatever then they need to know that employer X might be very tech savy and choose to search for that. In a increasing connected world where people are involved in online communities it sometimes surprises the level of detail they will post about themselves. Not to mention I am sure with all these sites and profiles floating around it is only a matter of time before someone creates an aggregator that allows you to create on profile to link into all other other sites.

I think keeping professional and personal is good in some cases but other cases it is those random personal connections on something like LinkedIn that soon become a business venture. I know a person I added as a personal contact had a connection to someone else that ended up contacting me for freelance work.

[Class V]

Deb: I agree that personal connections can often become professional ones, and vice versa. That's why I wrote there wouldn't be 100% separation. But I do want to try to keep the tone and focus of each of these networks a bit different. Maybe the whole effort is pointless; I guess time will tell! :-) Thanks for dropping by my blog ... have a great weekend!

[Ray]

I don't know if you can really separate your "presence" online, given the fact that web search capabilities have become incredibly sophisticated and far-reaching. I have found that the best way is to avoid being the "college grad [with] some pretty crazy "party" photos " and posting potentially harmful material on any web site, personal or professional. As you say, it does take some self-discipline. That's not to say that my personal blog, or my facebook account, doesn't have embarassing material (or material I may find embarrassing that my friends and family find entertaining). I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say here, except that I understand your predicament. And, much like yourself, I find my facebook profile, and more so my personal blog, is a creative outlet that I didn't have prior to the internet's command over such outlets.

I agree with your point regarding the need to keep separate a personal vs. professional "face". I also agree with deb's point regarding "the random personal connections", especially those made via any of the social/professional network sites. However, I don't agree with corporate America's over-paranoid guard against any and all liability -- presumptuous and intrusive Blackberry "policies", blocking of non-corporate e-mail, policies forbidding he use of certain sites, etc. I realize that any company has carte blanche in how it handles its affairs. But, I think it's just downright un-American (uh oh, the patriot in me comes out). Whatever happened to our "unalienable rights", including "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"? It's as if you give up your 1st amendment rights when you accept your first pay check. I have so much more to say on this topic, but, I'll stop here before it becomes the ramblings of the insane.

So, I say, Class V, do what you have to do! Express away! And, as someone once told me, "if they don't like it, screw 'em!"

Have a nice weekend....

[Ray]

One more thing...Gauley, baby!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself -- I went for the opening of Gauley season this past fall. What a rush. And, I noticed that you used to guide in W. Va. You have to miss it...I know you do.

[deb]

I personally do not think the blocking of sites or the restrictions has anything to do with liability and has everything to do with productivity. I know in the past I have read some studies (I do not have anything to link to right now) regarding the decrease in work productivity as the increase of non-work related traffic is noted.

As some one who freelances from home I can say the internet is a suck hole for time. I can not tell you the amount of wasted time on random sites of communities that have zero value add to my day.

[Steven]

I really enjoyed reading your post.
Your point about separating your "two lives" is very common especially in a day and age when the information is so accessible. I have often told people who email us for guidance on dealing with a VC, make sure their Facebook profiles or LinkedIn etc. all represent who they are and they are comfortable with not just their friends seeing it but potential colleagues as well.

Since we created a blog that is geared towards transactions and the VC's behind them, we have gotten an increasing number of emails about what VC's actually look for and can they expect any guidance.

[Moe]

I'm COMPLETELY in agreement with this, which is why I removed work info out of my Facebook account. That being said, I do have some work contacts in my Facebook account, and sometimes I'm somewhat embarrassed that they have access to some pictures of my wild and crazy times in college, etc.... (Meh, they're not that crazy, but ... eh). That being said, those colleagues are usually people I also consort with during my social life, so...

And I fully admit that I understood nothing that you said regarding the business side of it. Too much jargon!!! Hopefully I will, someday...

(is it bad that now I want to add you as a Facebook friend?)

[Stern Fisher]

Very relevant post. The heart of the problem lies in the fact that even if one tries to separate the "personal" and "professional" domains, both domains may be visible to both groups. In the entrepreneur-VC framework, a lot depends on reputation; it therefore becomes essential that professionals establish a "reasonable" separation between the two domains. Also, all expression of potentially controversial opinion, on a universally visible platform, should be done with care.