When will companies that block employee access to social networks go through the same sort of revolution as Egypt?
I think it will be soon. These companies are ripe for uprising.
Last night on 60 Minutes, Wael Ghonim, Google's regional marketing manager for the Middle East, talked about how Egyptian people came together via a Facebook.
Watch the interview with Wael Ghonim and Egypt's New Age Revolution.
Here's a Ghonim quote that interested me:
One of the strategic mistakes of [the Mubarak] regime was blocking Facebook. One of the reasons why they are no longer in power now is that they blocked Facebook. Why? Because they have told four million people that they are scared like hell from the revolution.
I certainly understand that countries and companies are different. There is no doubt that when life and death are involved, the matters of a country are infinitely more important than a mere company. That being said:
We are now in a communications revolution. There are forward thinking companies that side with the people like IBM. And there are many repressive corporate regimes that block access to social networking just like Mubarak's did.
I wonder if any boards of directors have ousted CEOs who block Facebook and other social sites? I'm sure it has happened.
When will a corporate change agent like Ghonim lead a popular uprising among employees working under a backwards corporate regime and force change? I'd love to hear of an example.
I first started asking people around the world if their company blocks social networking sites like Facebook at work in 2007. The number was 25%! It has fallen a bit since then, but my guess is that 20% still block Facebook, YouTube, & Twitter in the office.
To backwards CEOs: I hope you've got some money squirreled away like Mubarak apparently does. Because at some point, you're going to get run out of town.