It is not a policy issue, it is an educational one. A university has no
more right to censor what someone writes on a web site, than it has to
censor our e-mails to newspapers.
But there is a need to educate staff and students on both the benefits
and risks of social networking. Unfortunately, most of the publicity has
been about the risks (e.g. revealing too much about yourself) and little
on the business networking benefits, and its effects on collaborative work.
My students use Bebo in their practical classes to find out where their
project group members have got to, and when they are coming back with
their expert interviews.
But for presenting their projects, I have set up an Elgg site for them,
so that they have a place to show off their academic work to potential
employers, not mixed with the banter on their other sites.
E.g. http://ebus.mgt.qub.ac.uk/elgg/ and http://ebus.mgt.qub.ac.uk/
--
Dr. David R. Newman, Queen's University Management
School, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland (UK)
Tel. +44 28 9097 3643 FAX: +44 28 9097 5156
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.qub.ac.uk/mgt/
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