Stop Blocking site launched

I'm late to this story. The ever-ambitious (and incredibly prolific) Shel Holtz has started a campaign to fight back against companies that seek to block access to social media sites like Facebook.

The campaign is called Stop Blocking and features a blog and a Wiki where people can start adding to the storehouse of examples and information he wants to create.

Here's a snip from his campaign intro:

For years, I have opposed the business practice of blocking employee access to online content. Any online content. It’s not that I believe employees should spend worktime perusing Web porn. But I don’t believe that blocking access for any and every employee is the best way to address abuse. Additionally, a lot of the content companies are blocking — Facebook is a good example — can actually produce business value.

Hear, hear, Shel.

Shel's argument is that employees must be treated with trust:

Trust builds commitment, which leads to engagement. It is nearly impossible to build a highly engaged workforce when the message is clear: “We don’t trust any of you as far as we can throw you.”

This seems so much like common sense, it's hard to see how companies get off-track. But boy, do they ever, and I'm sure that Shel's new blog will point out a lot of those examples.

I think this is a terrific idea and Shel deserves a ton of congrats for putting his money where his mouth is. Hats off to him. And I encourage you to visit the site and take part.

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Shel Holtz, Stop Blocking