* What are your policies for multimedia-based training vs. watching TV on the company net?
Last time, we discussed the non-event of streaming multimedia of the NCAA basketball tournament causing corporate nets to suffer significant degradation. However, the issue does deserve serious consideration and planning. The problem is simple. How do you determine what type of multimedia content is appropriate, and what type isn’t?
Steve first encountered this issue several years ago when he was working with a Webtorials sponsor to produce a tutorial with streaming audio and video using RealAudio. The sponsor ran into a significant issue, though, in that its company blocked (or at least tried to block) RealAudio traffic, so all edits and proofing had to be done from home.
The problem continues to surface from time to time as we encounter new technologies, and companies struggle to keep policies and procedures – and performance management strategies – in line with new content.
Certainly, the availability of the latest episode of “Ugly Betty” and “Grey’s Anatomy” online gives one the ability to spend an entertaining lunch hour. And it’s easy. The www.abc.com site even says: “ABC uses a plug-in you don’t currently have. It will give you stunning video quality, full-screen and mini-mode. We could go on, but it gets technical and boring from here.” (And the quality is indeed amazing.)
So how do you tell the difference between TV shows and excellent online tutorials? Do you simply block everything? Maybe you can try, but there will always be a new challenge. Trying to block Skype? Forget it.
Further, there are bigger challenges. For instance, we believe that a major challenge to *responsible* use of multimedia comes from the fact that many office PCs aren’t equipped with speakers, headset, and/or microphones. Further, the “cubicle environment” isn’t exactly conducive to serious training via multimedia.
So we’d like to hear how your company is dealing with this issue. Are you giving free rein to employees to watch and listen to whatever they want? Are you trying to restrict usage, and, if so, are you successful?
Our prediction? A return to some more traditional, lower tech methods of communication. But that’s a subject for a later newsletter.
