Social Tools for the Office Worker: How to Subvert I.T. and Play at Work
We can't all eat, breathe, and live social media 24x7, as much as we might like to. Some of have day jobs that require a bit of our attention, too. And unlike the web-app embracing startups we read about, the policies at more traditional companies actually discourage mindless web surfing, tweeting, facebooking, and the like. However, there are still plenty of ways to fit in your social media addictions at work, without getting noticed by your nosy co-workers or getting blocked by I.T.
Problems & Solutions
For every roadblock to using social media at work, there is a workaround. Maybe you've been nervous to try these things because you're not sure of how much you're being monitored by I.T., your boss, or even your colleagues. You don't want to appear as if you're goofing off all day, do you? That being said, even the most diligent office drone deserves a break from time to time, and these days, those breaks often include a little brain candy in the form of social media.
If I.T. has your PC so locked down, you can't add or remove anything, you can't download anything from the internet, and you hit blocked pages all the time, then good! I.T.'s doing their job. But here's how to get around that.
Bring Your Own Browser
Just because your PC is locked down, your USB ports are probably still available. Only the most paranoid of companies use software to disable the optical drives and USB ports. If you can open files saved on a keychain USB drive, then you're in luck - you can use your ports.
At home, prepare a USB drive with the PortableApps suite. The standard edition offers a web office to go, featuring portable editions of OpenOffice, Sunbird, Thunderbird, and AV.
But most importantly, PortableApps offers portable Firefox, which we all know no social media lover can be without. Now, just like your were installing Firefox on a new computer, prepare your portable version with all the toolbars, bookmarklets, greasemonkey scripts, and add-ons that you can't live without. Once back at work, just pop in your USB drive and it will be like you've never left your home PC.
Dying for IM
If your I.T. department blocks you from installing IM, you can try Gaim Portable that came with the Portable apps you installed.
If that doesn't work, you might find that a web-based alternative like Meebo meets your needs. You can try their Firefox extension, too.
However, savvy I.T. personnel have heard of Meebo and block it on the firewall. But there are a few alternatives that they may not have blocked just yet. These include MSN Web Messenger, Yahoo! Web Messenger, AIM Express, Kool IM, ILoveIM, Mabber, Snimmer, Google Talk Gadget, ebuddy, and Robin Good lists a few more. Plus, you might want to check out Gmail's integrated Gtalk client to see if that works.
Just be warned, if your company policy states IM is not allowed, being caught doing so could be serious. For companies that deal in trade secrets or financial information, such a violation could even lead to termination. So for the uber-paranoid, just break out your phone. Most modern cell phones and PDAs ship with an IM client or two already installed. If not, go grab your favorites from the web: MSN Mobile, Mobile AIM, Google Talk (for some smartphones).
Sneaking in Your Tweets
Not comfortable with twitter.com loaded up on-screen for everyone to see? There are other ways to tweet undercover. Download Twhirl if you can. You may also want to check out OutTwit which lets you get your tweets via Outlook email.
If you can't download or install anything, just subscribe to your Twitter feeds via RSS instead, being sure to use an online reader.
Of course, for mobile users, tweeting by IM (see above section) is a possibility, as is tweeting via various mobile apps, like Blackberry's Twitterberry, ceTwit or Twobile for Windows Mobile, MoTwit for Palm OS, Tiny Twitter or jtwitter for Java-enabled phones, or, for anyone else, EmailTwitter, which lets you send tweets and retrieve your timeline via your phone.
Mindless Blog Surfing
RSS. RSS. RSS. If you're not already using an online feed reader, like Google Reader or Bloglines, now's the time to start. Too busy with that "work stuff" to do more than just scan articles? Set up a tag just for your "read it later" items or star them. Revisit them later when you're back at home.
Another option is to subscribe to blogs in Outlook. In many traditional companies, Microsoft Office is par for the course. If your company has revved to Outlook 2007, you can read your RSS feeds right there, no additional software needed. To kick it up a notch, Inbox 3.0 integrates with Outlook, too.
Want to actually go surfing outside of your feeds? Any web surfing at work has the possibility of interruptions. So save the things you come across for later reading at home. Using your portable Firefox, install Idea Shower's "Read It Later" extension for saving items you come across on the web.
Even better, the new ReadBag app built on Google's new apps engine, lets you save links for later reading too, but this tool also offers a daily digest that can be emailed to you at the time you specify. Readbag works via bookmarklet or Firefox extension and provides mobile access to your saved items.
Facebook at Work
What's that? Facebook's blocked? How could they? Proxy sites come to the rescue. If you desperately need MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, YouTube, Digg, Mixx, or any other restricted site, you can try a proxy like: Access Facebook, Facebook Firewall, or VisitSitesAtWork. You can also check out the list at Proxy.org. Just be sure to clear your cookies, your history, and your cache when done. The domain names pretty much give away what you were up to there.
Another idea is, again, mobile access. Blackberry users have their own mobile Facebook app, iPhone users can go here, and, for others, you can visit the Facebook Mobile web site.
Fight FriendFeed Withdrawl
If you successfully installed Twhirl for tweeting at work, then you're in luck since it also lets you access FriendFeed. Other FriendFeed AIR apps you can try are AlertThingy, Feedalizr, or bTT.
If you are prevented from installing programs, consider FriendFeed access via RSS feeds. Just subscribe in your online reader.
For mobile users, the moblf app can help. This app gives you access to FriendFeed, Twitter, Yelp, and LinkedIn updates via SMS on your mobile phone.
Other Tips
If you can't download files form the web but you can install them, just load the executables onto your USB key and bring them into the office. Another alternative is to zip them up and store them online at an online storage site like box.net or SkyDrive.
You also need to know how to quickly minimize your activities. On a Windows PC, Alt+Tab switches you from window to window. Have only two open - the web browser and the spreadsheet, for example. This way, you won't accidentally mess up and Alt+Tab too many times in haste as your boss approaches, and end up switching to yet another inappropriate window.
Why?
Having been in I.T. myself for years, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to subverting I.T. policy to goof off at work. Why would I share this with the world? Because any I.T. manager worth their salt should know all these things already and how to combat them (if that's what the company wants.)
And every company concerned with employee productivity needs to determine for themselves where they draw the line on non-worked related internet activities and take the appropriate measures they deem necessary for blocking, stopping, tracking, and monitoring employee web use.
Finally, remember: just because you can, doesn't mean you should. If you really are slacking at work, people know. I've honored more than one request throughout my years in I.T. to monitor an employee's activities on the DL and your I.T. guy probably will do the same. Proceed carefully.
Share
Comments
Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteWeb posts
Alternate title for this post: "How to blatantly violate your workplace's acceptable usage agreement and get yourself fired."
These kinds of applications are restricted for a reason, not just because the IT people are meanies.
@planetheidi yes, I agree, but I think I clarified my reasons for posting this in the last section.
When I asked people on Twitter how they get access to social media at work a huge percentage of them responded with the names of software programs they've downloaded to their computers. Either their companies are really cool or their IT managers need to step up and manage their network better.
Oh please, you all know you've got your bosses surfing ESPN and calling off during March madness. A little fun here and there isn't going to run the company into the ground, well - unless you work for yourself that is.
Kudos on the write-up!
Most every company has some IT policy like this and most everyone has their little ways of getting around it. Obviously we don't want to endanger our company but personally I would never work for a company that was incredibly strict about this kind of stuff.
These little tricks are helpful.
Companies are missing the viral boat and should clue in and start encouraging its employees to be active in social media.
It's very well know we are most influenced by our friends and family.
Reason: If my brother worked for Ford and every once-in-a-while he posted something about Ford asking for feedback on a project, or a video that gave insight to engineering the next car, or a charity function they are doing in my local area, I would participate because I'm following my brother, not Ford.
So companies just having a social media profiles are not the answer. Targeting just A-List blogs like RWW is not the answer either.
Imagine if companies took the time to encourage and even train employees how to effectively use social media.
Please post something else thats interesting.
If you worked on my network, this would get you fired. My employer has not invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in our network systems so people can Twitter when they should be working. Computers at work are work tools, not toys. Use your home computer for play, your work computer is for work.
Let's say you are a construction worker. You have figured out a way to play games with your drill. You go to work the next day, and instead of drilling holes in stuff, you spend the morning playing games with your drill. How long do you think you would have that job?
'Nuff said.
some of these just wont work if your IT department knows what it's doing.
GPO / Firewall / SNORT / Websense / DNS
if you can get away with it, go4it son.
But here's the rub... the people who know how to get around the IT controls usually aren't the ones who get infected with spyware. And let's not forget the bad guys are specifically targetting a lot of these web 2.0 sites for loading malware and drive-by scripts. Considering how much money my company has to pour into defenses against this kind of thing and yet we still are seeing a 5 to 10 percent infection rate amongst workstations because of user carelessness and policy violations. It's a serious problem and if there was a strong business case for a tool, IT is willing to listen and give you access to safe method of getting that tool. Case and point, we allow IM and have found a way to do it safely. The more people violate our trust, the more we have to clamp down on this sort of thing. Lastly, let's not forget just how much liability companies can be charged with in the event of a breach. IT really doesn't have a choice but to lock down and may not have a choice firing someone dor doing this.
Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with little breaks to check your Tweets or your RSS feeds. If you're completing your work on time and your employer is happy with your performance, then small things like that shouldn't matter. My last employer was always checking the news feed on TSN, so why shouldn't I see what's new on Facebook? Thanks for the tips!
Hi,
Very good article, as for the messenger part, i use Startforce - www.startforce.com, they offer a online multi messenger with support for MSN/Yahoo/gTalk/ICQ - i also find it nice that they offer 1gb free storage so i can bring any work documents with me home to continue work there.
Just a tip :)
- Thomas
Ps.
Keep up the good work.
The thing I hate about my standard operating environment (SOE) is that I am forced to continue to use IE 6. I can't use Portable Firefox because I don't have access to the proxy settings.
Everything else above would be nice (I wish there was a portable version of Twhirl for example) but I can survive just fine.
IE 6. *sigh* I would even settle for IE 7. At least then I would have tabs.
Somehow, I don't see the point in writing such a detailed article on how to subvert your IT deparment's best-laid plans and then giving a caveat saying that one needs to be careful about all these else one could get fired.
Sarah, please take a position. If you feel a little bit of fun is all right - and I'm sure most of us do feel so - then let's not do it surreptitiously. As you have pointed out, the IT department is not "them" but is also "us" with a lot of us geeks floating around on these influential blogs. So I think what is required is more of enlightenment all round that a balance of work controls and social networking freedom is best for the employee and the company.
My 1.5 c (I know mine is not even worth the customary 2 :-) )
I would also add the FireFox add on TwitterFox to get our Twitter fix.
This really isn't a big deal, but it does really depend on your job. Some people have jobs that you need to be constantly on task, where other jobs are more project based or request based. You know your job and how much time you may or may not have to slack off, so you need to take the responsibility.
8566546
Hi Friends,
I find great free dating sites:
http://www.mbn-cash.com/click.php?affid=1021
Only real and best women and girls, recommend this to you!
Your Friend,
John
WRT to RSS feeds, I find Instapaper is a very useful web-based means of building a list of sites to read later.
My usual routine is:
1. Subscribe to a heap of good stuff - including the del.icio.us hot list - via Google Reader.
2. Scan through all feeds in expanded view and open the ones I'm interested in, in new tabs.
3. Mark everything else as read in Google Reader and close the Google Reader tab.
4. Work my way through the newly opened tabs to read the articles I was interested in.
5. If I find a good article but am short of time to give it my full attention, I save it to my Instapaper reading list ("Save this page for later" is set up as a link in my del.icio.us sidebar).
6. Later - when I'm looking for something to read - I go to my Instapaper list (via another del.icio.us link).
Works for me!!
Tim