Facebook the biggest waste of time?…I don’t think so!
Posted by Victoria Carbone on November 16th, 2007 at 4:33pm
Facebook is the latest online social networking craze, mainly attracting older Generation Ys. However in August this year it was reported that Facebook is costing Australians $5 billion a year! An Internet security firm estimated that if one employee spent an hour a day on the website it could cost their company $6000 a year.
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Across Australia, employees have been banned from using Facebook. However a recent study also discovered that:
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$12 billion a year of employee time is wasted on cigarette breaks
$16 billion a year of employee time is wasted talking about sport
$45 billion a year of employee time is wasted reading pointless emails from bosses that could have been communicated more efficiently
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Facebook pales in comparison. Furthermore it has its benefits as oppose to cigarette breaks. The free website can be used as a useful tool for SME businesses. Facebook offers (i) branding opportunities; (ii) increased attention to your business; (iii) interaction with the public and future clients/customers; and (iv) networking opportunities. Many web companies are using Facebook to capitalise on the large and loyal user base and establishing a social networking platform whilst also using the website as a tool for recruiting and business development.
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For example, West Australian based business, TheBroth, which specializes in web publishing, software development, internet advertising and marketing solutions is strongly supporting the Facebook trend. TheBroth’s founder Markus Weichselbaum says Facebook was a chance to show the team’s intellectual property to many users, rather than attracting them to separate websites.
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“Our decision to enter this space was for commercial reasons,” Mr Weichselbaum says. “We’re lucky that we are working on applications that are fun to develop and fun for our users.”
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So before businesses brush off Facebook, consider its potential value. The only problem, it’s like any fad, the allure of Facebook will be over tomorrow.
Posted in Insight, Marketing Strategy
[...] Squareholes dubbed Facebook as the latest craze sweeping our mass online communities to date. Furthermore quoting an Australian Internet Firm: Facebook is costing Australians $5 billion a year! … If one employee spent an hour a day on the website it could cost their company $6000 a year! [...]
Posted by Phillip La Peyre | Facebook: The Next Fad? on January 3rd, 2008 at 6:32pm