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Facebook at Work officially launches as 'Workplace'
Right on schedule, Facebook's private social networks for companies officially launched today. After several years in private beta, the company's Slack and Yammer competitor is now known simply as "Workplace," and is available to companies, non-profits and educational institutions of any size.
Jawbone wants to help companies keep employees healthy
There's never a bad time for a little friendly competition between co-workers, especially if it means working together to accomplish certain health-related goals. With its new Up for Groups initiative, Jawbone is looking to start just that in the workplace. The company's new ecosystem, revealed earlier today, aims to give employers a set of tools that can help keep their team motivated and reach different fitness achievements -- all while using trackers such as the Up24 and Up Move. There are a bunch of features within Up for Groups, like leaderboards, activity logs and detailed performance ratings from group members. Jawbone says the goal is to take corporate wellness beyond the typical 9-5 hours, but that the end results of the teams will, ultimately, depend on each individual's willingness to stay active.
LinkedIn gives all of its employees iPad minis
LinkedIn is most known for being a website that helps users get jobs, but it turns out working there is probably pretty nice as well: The CEO of the company today handed out 3,500 iPad minis, to every one of the company's employees. That's right: If you work at LinkedIn, you got an iPad mini today, as CEO Jeff Wiener (seen above) passed them out to everyone in the office. That's pretty great, and these probably won't just be used to play Angry Birds or Super Hexagon: The iPad is well-documented to help out in the workplace, and with every employee having an iPad mini, LinkedIn can now distribute documents digitally on the Apple devices, or possibly even come to rely on an iOS app for some office functions. LinkedIn isn't the only company that has done this, either -- Weiner used to work at Yahoo! with Brad Garlinghouse, who's now the current CEO of YouSendIt. And Garlinghouse had the same idea: He gave iPad minis to every one of his employees over last year's holidays as well.
Breakfast Topic: Does your employer know you play WoW?
Recently I talked about WoW skills being useful in the workplace. My stance is that they are. Skills are skills. The whole "WoW has nothing to do with real life" viewpoint baffles me. Are you a real person gaining knowledge you didn't have before? Are you teaming up with real people in game? Then it's real life. But I digress. Regardless of whether or not you utilize some of your Azerothian skills at work, you may not be open about where you got them. Many people believe that all video games are a waste of time -- even people who play them (particularly those who believe WoW has nothing to do with real life). And the number of people who think everyone who plays is addicted doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. World of Warcraft? More like World of Warcrack! AmIrite? /sigh
World of Warcraft skills in the workplace
WoW players usually spend a large amount of their leisure time in game. It's a shame that so much of what we do in Azeroth doesn't translate well on Earth. I spend a few hours a week farming herbs while digging for artifacts. If I were writing a performance review for myself (I can't stand those), how could I list that? Ability to perform tedious tasks patiently. I don't think my supervisor would be impressed. But most people agree that quite a few skills we acquire and hone in WoW are useful into the workplace. Recently, Neri at Neri Approves! blogged about how being a guild master helps her outside of the game. Warcraft Street's Frinka tackled the same topic, but her angle is gold earning.
British broadcaster ITV makes the move to Mac
Another major company has made the switch to the Mac. This time it's British broadcaster ITV, which is currently in the middle of a five-year technology transition. The company will switch out its employees' PCs with Macs and include Google Apps in the deal, installing Google's software on hardware for 7,000 different employees in the system. Not all of the company's employees will get Macs, as apparently different roles may still need PCs for certain types of software (Boot Camp, anyone?). Still, given the choice, I think plenty of the employees will probably elect to go Mac if they can. There's no mention of using iPads or iPhones in the workplace, but that seems a given; we've already seen in the past just how much using these devices at work can help everything from productivity to innovation. Welcome aboard, ITV. We're glad to see another big company making the switch over to the Mac platform at work.
Compact Stress Meter provides checkups from the comfort of your cubicle (video)
Chances are you don't need a machine to know that the office stresses you out, but if you've ever felt an urge to actually quantify the toll your boss takes on your body, the Compact Stress Meter could be your new best buddy. Developed by researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University, this system uses a pulse wave sensor and infrared reflective probe to measure the blood flowing through a user's fingertips, which serves as a relatively accurate stress index. All you have to do is place your finger on the sensor for ten seconds, and an accompanying computer program will automatically display your stress levels in real-time by analyzing variations in blood flow. At this point, the software and sensor are still separate, though the meter's developers have already completed a new prototype with the sensor built in to a mouse, allowing users to continuously gauge their stress while diligently working in front of their computers, or while furiously searching for a new job. Click past the break to see the meter in action for yourself.
Judge rules in favor of employees fired over Facebook post, orders them back to work
The National Labor Relations Board has weighed in on the role of social networking at the office, determining that employees can't be fired for what they post on Facebook -- as long as they use the platform to talk about improving their workplace. The NLRB's ruling, announced on Wednesday, stems from an incident last year, when an employee at the Hispanics United of Buffalo non-profit organization went on Facebook to complain about a co-worker who accused her of slacking off at the office. Other colleagues soon chimed in on the woman's wall post with a slew of profanity-laced comments, before the targeted employee noticed the thread and reported it to a supervisor. Citing the agency's zero-tolerance policy on cyber harassment, the boss fired the five employees who participated in the online discussion -- including one who went on to file a complaint with the NLRB. Last week, administrative law Judge Arthur Amchan finally issued a verdict in the case, determining that the employees retained the right to talk about "their terms and conditions of employment," as stipulated under the National Labor Relations Act. Because this particular Facebook thread involved discussion of "job performance and staffing levels," Amchan ordered Hispanics United to reinstate the employees. The decision marks the first time that an administrative judge has ruled on a Facebook-related workplace case, though the NLRB says it's received "an increasing number of charges related to social media in the past year" -- so it likely won't be the last. You can read the Board's statement in full, after the break.
Microsoft says 74 percent of work PCs still use Windows XP, extends downgrade rights (update 2)
The latest Microsoft operating system may be selling seven copies a second, but it's no match for the behemoth Windows XP, still the most popular OS in the world despite recent nefarious attempts (we kid) to invoke spontaneous shutdowns, slow hard drives and trigger blue screens. In fact, a Microsoft exec admitted today that practically three-quarters of business computers still run the nine-year-old OS on hardware averaging 4.4 years old, and Computerworld's now reporting Microsoft will extend XP's lifespan through 2020 as a result. "Going forward, businesses can continue to purchase new PCs and utilize end user downgrade rights to Windows XP or Windows Vista until they are ready to use Windows 7," an official Windows blog post reads. We've heard the reluctance to upgrade is due to a reliance on older software and the cost of additional IT, but it probably doesn't hurt that Microsoft doggedly keeps distributing the OS despite the other choices on offer. Perhaps the futuristic Windows 8 will finally win the workplace over, but it seems Redmond's hedging its bets on this one. Look on the bright side: this way, when intelligent robots battle for control of the moon, at least the wrathful victors will still be vulnerable to the blue screen of doom. Update: So it seems as if that 2020 date is incorrect, according to Microsoft's PR team. We're presently waiting for an official update of some sort, and will let you know if / when we get it. Don't worry about the robots -- we've got top men working on Plan B. Update 2: The official Windows Team Blog has stepped forward to reduce the confusion, but they've only toned it down a tad. Microsoft won't commit to an exact date for Windows XP downgrade availability, saying instead that you can trade in your OEM copy of Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate until the company stops selling it... which is presently slated to be two years after Windows 8 ships... whenever that is. Find the complete non-committal statement at the more coverage link.
MMOs as team building exercise?
It's not the first time we've heard that MMO gamers might be a force in the workplace, but the American Society of Training and Development's webzine, Training + Development, has added to the viability of the MMO gamer in the workforce.Their article, "Slash, Burn, and Learn", focuses on how MMOs closely mimic team building exercises through their game design. Players are encouraged to progress through the game by solving challenges, only to be presented with harder challenges to solve as the game continues onwards. Certainly rewards provide incentive to keep plugging away at hard challenges, but players also learn how to manage personnel and look for diversity in the team to make sure all aspects of combat are accounted for. Players even submit to optional performance reviews just to see how much they've improved over time.The article provides an interesting read and shows many of the parallels between raid management and workplace skills. While not every MMO player will gain all of these benefits, it is amusing to see how much our games sometimes parallel our lives in more ways than one.
Computerworld on Blizzard's Warden at work
We've covered the topic of Warden in the past, and you've probably already got an opinion on what it does to your computer system. Blizzard runs the Warden program alongside your WoW client, and while it runs it examines what else is running on your system -- if there are any third party programs (either hacks or cheat programs) interfering with the client, it lets Blizzard know, and shuts down the client. The obvious privacy concern here, of course, is that Warden is basically watching what you do outside of the game. And while Blizzard has maintained that the program is simply meant to check for hacks and cheats (they also say that no personally identifiable information is sent back to them, though IPs and other network information definitely are), there's always a chance that Warden could see you doing something you don't want it to. Computerworld's Security section has a nice long article on all of the implications of Warden, especially in one of the more sensitive areas of security: the workplace. While most of us probably won't ever play World of Warcraft at work, there are certainly companies where installing and playing the game at certain times is appropriate. And it's probably in those situations where Warden could be its most dangerous. If you trust Blizzard with your information, then you'll have nothing to worry about. But if you don't know what Warden is sending back, there's always a chance that it could be something more sensitive than you'd like. Of course, there is a hard and fast solution to this: don't play World of Warcraft on computers that have anything you wouldn't want shared with Blizzard or anyone else. As Computerworld concludes, it's a choice-and-consequences kind of thing. Warden is up and running every time you play WoW, for better or worse -- if you don't want it watching what you're doing, the only guaranteed way out is to not play World of Warcraft.
Learning your leadership skills from World of Warcraft
We've covered the IBM/Seriosity study before -- that's the one that said players who are able to organize and lead guilds can use those same skills to succeed in the workplace. Just recently, Computerworld sat down to chat with Seriosity co-founder Byron Reeves, who's since used his research to actually develop ways for companies to use MMO-style gameplay in the workplace, including creating a currency system to develop and manage interactions between employees.It's very interesting stuff. Reeves says that MMO games and the leaders in them are a prime example of the environment creating the leader, not necessarily the talents of the person themselves -- when a game gives you the tools and influences necessary to have you leading a guild, you'll do a good job at it. He also says that the speed of online games can be a huge benefit to workers -- when you need to organize groups fast ingame, those skills will directly translate to running groups in real life.Not everything is the same -- Reeves admits that the risks are much smaller when running around a virtual world (no one loses their livelihood if you don't down a boss), and there's a lot more transparency in games -- you can know characters' levels and specs, but you can't really know exactly how much experience your employees have or what they're really good at just by looking them up in the Armory. The interview is definitely an interesting read for anyone who's ever lead a guild or a workplace -- it's becoming more and more apparently that there are many lessons to be learned across both.
Linden Lab honored as top democratic workplace
The face of business is changing daily. Long past are the days of the ego-driven business model, as organizational democracy rises up through the ashes of the last five years in business. So WorldBlu, Inc., an Atlanta-based business specializing in organizational democracy and freedom-centered leadership, recently compiled an unranked list of the "Top 25 Most Democratic Workplaces". Among those on this list is Second Life's Linden Lab.It is reported that employees of Linden Lab are encouraged to choose their own work based on company objectives, which can be changed weekly. In addition, employees can show appreciation for each other by "sending love" through their Love Machine software application. Important company data is openly shared among all employees throughout the company in real-time, allowing a more open environment for sharing ideas and concepts.
Playing virtual games in the workplace
We've heard before about how different activities in World of Warcraft can actually help you be better at your job, but now the BBC has posted an article examining how game mechanics from games like WoW can actually help your company help you work better. According to the ESRB, the average gamer isn't a teen after school any more-- he's 33 and has been gaming for 10 years. And because so many more professionals nowadays know the basics of gaming, employers are starting to apply those rules to the workplace to make everyone more productive.One mechanic used is a form of "virtual currency" in terms of emails and meeting time-- send an email or hold a 15 minute meeting, and it costs you a token, while tokens can be earned in all kinds of ways. Not only does it keep employees on task, but it adds an extra layer of strategy and thought to the normal workday. Another game mechanic used by employers, says the BBC, is the idea of guilds and leveling rewards. "Guilds" in the workplace are tracked along a point system, and the best guilds get the best projects and rewards.Very interesting stuff. While it sounds like good news for employers, I'm not sure how successful ideas like this would actually be among non-gamer employees-- at some point, how good you are at your job would be determined not by your industry ability, but by your game-playing ability, and that doesn't seem like a good outcome. But if employers find employees are willing to use these mechanics to make themselves more productive, everyone could benefit.Thanks, Lienn!
Break room games help office morale, productivity
We at Joystiq understand that not everyone is lucky enough to have a job that allows, nay, requires them to play games on the job. The folks at Entrepreneur Magazine know this too, and are helping out by singing the praises of video games in the employee break room.It's not that surprising that places like Popcap Games encourage their employees to learn from the competition, but even non-game related business like law firms and automotive websites are finding that games improve office morale and productivity. Employers also note that game rooms help attract younger employees and makes a hell of an impression during an applicant interview.Still, aren't office game rooms an invitation for employees to goof off all day? Apparently not -- none of the businesses Entrepreneur found needed to impose any limits on play. As one employer paraphrased, "the only employees who might have trouble in this type of environment are the ones that can't regulate themselves." And those people are probably playing Minesweeper all day anyway.
Lying and gadgetry go hand in hand
We've certainly seen our fair share of broken promises when dealing with gadget producers, but a recent UK-based survey claims that "nearly 75-percent of people say gadgets, like Blackberrys for instance, made it easier to fib." While this might not come as any surprise to you, that figure is at least somewhat worrisome, as just over half of the respondents noted that using gadgets to bend the truth made them feel "less guilty" versus pulling the shades face to face. As expected, the workplace was the most favored locale to bust out a techno-fib, with "67-percent" saying they had using technology to fake sick, announce completed work they hadn't even started, or to "cover up a big mistake." Moreover, digitized communication has seemingly made it easier to lie to our very families, as "just over 40-percent" of those surveyed admitted to fibbing to loved ones with the help of their mobile / email. Of course, most folks claimed that their primary intentions were to "spare others' feelings," but we're not so sure these tricksters didn't start lying to the surveyors. Regardless, saving face has never been easier thanks to handheld / wireless communications, but at least someone's already thinking about curbing this purportedly growing problem -- at least, that's what we've been told.[Via TechDirt]
Blocking business targets gaming at the workplace
Sophos PLC is in the business of security. For years the company has designed software to protect business networks from viruses and spyware. But a recent survey determined a need to extend security concerns to another productivity inhibitor: games. And so, a January upgrade to Sophos's application will quietly erect a wall, blocking mischievous employees from their secret workplace obsessions, like The Sims 2, Need For Speed Carbon, and Guild Wars: Nightfall.Of course, blocking games does more than just thwart slackerdom, it protects networks against malware (often hidden in game installations); programs that could potentially compromise a business's security. We're all for playing it safe too -- just keep an ear out for big boss as you sneak some Portable Ops in under the desk.[Via VH1 Game Break]
Konica Minolta's coffee-making "bizhub of the future"
There's really not a whole lot the workplace can offer (or that corporate will allow) to make us want to roll into the office day after day, but Konica Minolta's "bizhub of the future" just might change all that. Besides being the typical "prone to jamming" mega printer that has become a staple of workplaces everywhere, it touts an integrated screen, DVD player, built-in speakers, and even an espresso machine to keep our eyelids peeled. Of course, you can also scan, copy, and fax while you're sipping sucking down that caffeinated goodness, but we don't envision much work getting done with Mike Judge's Office Space rolling on the LCD. Currently, the machine is simply a prototype waiting for production, but if the Michael Scott's of the world all band together, surely we can make the mundane work week seem a bit less humdrum.[Via Pocket-Lint]
Koei Canada is uncomfortably Japanese
Today's Wall Street Journal includes a story by Phred Dvorak on the subject of corporate culture and the ways in which companies that straddle multiple continents must decide how much of their home company's culture to bring into non-native markets where they also conduct operations. The meat of the article is about Koei's insistence that Canadian employees follow Japanese rituals in the workplace, from a thrice-weekly "Good Morning" call-and-response chant with the boss, to a tendency to ask female employees "to serve tea to top executives' guests," to an annual cleaning ritual in which everyone must scrub office equipment clean, regardless of his or her rank. Game companies mentioned in the article include Koei, Sega, Konami, Electronic Arts, Activision, and Microsoft.
MacWindows.com - OS X and Windows integration resource
As we Mac fans and users must concede, we do still live in a Windows world. For those of who also work in a Windows world (including banging your heads against a wall), I've found a site that could help Windows and OS X shake hands and (dare I say it) work together better: MacWindows.com. Need to learn about using a Mac with Active Directory? How about using Mac OS X Server with Windows clients? Cross-platform file sharing, Exchange server and applescripts for converting file names - it's all here. This site gets pretty in-depth on a lot of these topics, and it looks like the best one-stop resource I've seen to help with all those OS X Windows-related headaches.
