APPENDIX 1 - comments from survey

Views from the social services workforce

• My difficulty is enabling students and other learners in the workplace to join me in use of social media. I have been told I will need to present 'a business case' to a local authority so that their employees can access Ning or similar. This particular LA now allows its staff access to the Learning Network website so we are able to use their portal for student learning - this feels like a big step forward!
• Lack of training in the use and application of the tools means that the majority are still seen as for 'personal' use.
• Networking sites and Youtube are blocked by our IT Dept. I was aware of a viral campaign to increase interest in social work as a profession through Face Book, and attempted to subscribe to Facebook at work, but it was blocked and I was warned that my attempt to access it would be reported.
• There is an issue about control of the amount of time staff spend on the internet, and a monthly report of the highest internet users is provided to each Director.
• There needs to be a balance - finding reputable sources and also just finding time to learn to use these sites ( for those of us brought up in a non digital age) as well as finding time to actually use them.
• Council X is currently looking to revise its Acceptable Use Policy. However there are 2 major obstacles to having the policy widened to include social media and these are: 1) impact on networks and IT infrastructure (we already experience very slow download times at peak usage times for internet access such as over lunch period) and 2) ongoing security concerns not helped by "scare" stories in media about council staff misusing these tools.
• The international domain becomes increasingly important. UK is not the sole [nor even a particularly good] source of new ideas. Ways of disseminating ideas -- particularly emerging ones that are still in gestation - that allow input from others at various stages can be facilitated enormously by such systems. We need to use them. To do that we need to be supported and even trained in their use.
• It sounds exciting with lots of potential but I have little info about and am not confident about accessing it in or out of the workplace yet
• It is still very time consuming to access e-learning and sharing sites. Using the telephone and referencing a text book still seems quicker and easier to me!
• Some services tend to send too much e-mail (more than 2 per day) which puts pressure on the inbox, and tends to encourage me to delete without reading.
• We understand the need for standard IT policies around computer use, but it does hinder our work given the very specific nature of the work we do.
• I think Facebook etc could be really useful in communicating and gaining the views of young people - these are sites which are used regularly and are more inviting to gain feedback from. Other sites such as Flickr and YouTube have great resources for using in learning and development which we cannot make use of.
• My organisation installed a learning portal, but I am finding it very difficult to put interesting and innovative training material on the portal due to the blocks in place by the IT department.
• Some managers are very narrow minded and suspect all staff of stealing time from the workplace.
• Some staff steal time from the workplace. But. More staff are dedicated and hard working, putting in more hours than they are paid for.
• These "new media" facilities are excellent business tools.
• It would help if there was a separation between work and social sites - same tools and facilities but different purpose.
• These innovations are potentially democratising. I personally support open source methods for developing practice and the knowledge base. I resist standardisation and regulation which in my view limit creativity and the opportunity to explore other possible worlds. Open source offers the option to resist the technical rational new managerial approaches that plague the services provided for vulnerable groups in society.
• Problem for voluntary organisations who feel protective of their 'expertise' and not engaging unless it brings early results and / or resources.
• Although we are not yet in a position to integrate these into the workplace, I think organisations need to have a specific purpose for using the relevant media and social media resources and shouldn't "jump on the bandwagon" for whatever is the latest craze. However i do think that this will slowly help increase collaborative working both internally across departments and help consult with the right people across similar organisations.
• The need to use it increases my workload and forces or encourages me to spend many hours in front of a computer screen - the pressure to use also increases my stress levels. What's more I am not convinced that there is robust evidence to indicate it effectiveness.
• With the reduction in public sector spending it's really important that we are able to find new price neutral ways of communicating, building networks, coalitions and sharing information. Social media are a key to this and we seem to be missing the point with a 'control' culture. One of the key challenges facing organisations isn't technical - it's about developing a culture that allows ownership of discussion groups to become diffused and therefore out of the control of the organisation itself. Social media require an understanding that a forum is an equal platform for people to discuss and share. Lots of organisations are going to find that difficult to manage, even if it is essential.
• I am uncomfortable with the idea of social networking helping to "increase efficiencies". My understanding of increased efficiency is "do more with less" due to budget constraints stemming in large part from years of reckless financial management. If new media can be used to make the working lives of practitioners more rewarding and productive, great. If however people see in new media an opportunity to make further cutbacks and erosion of services, that would not be beneficial.
• I am enthusiastic about using social media for work as I have set up many social networks to use with my classes and community groups. I also run one for local tutors. I think it's a great way to share information and help reduce working in isolation.
• I set up [a community] using Ning as there is a great need to help people to connect and share information. It's taken off and going really well with many benefits in the community… I believe the network is a positive example of how well social media can work.
• In an educational context they can be a very useful addition to the toolkit of working with students. It is very encouraging for our students to view materials produced by service users such as recent developments in advocacy work and mental health issues.
• Being able to access material from interested parties such as Scottish Government and the like such as Flickr and You Tube is a real benefit. It's good thing, embrace the new and be experimental, the risks are so low but the benefits are many.
• As Child Protection Coordinator I have also had to make use of and access Social Media sites for purposes of investigative enquiry ... digital media and social media sites are increasingly used by children and young people for a variety of purposes. The generational gap in understanding social media means that there is an increasing lack of professional insight to and understanding of the world of children and young people, how it operates, its opportunities and threats.
• A minority of workers have abused internet access therefore we are all penalised. I am sure if there was a procedure where we were to detail the site accessed and for what reason this would be a welcomed means of communication.
• If we could access sites then this would be beneficial to our clients, save time on footing it to the library to find out what is going on and therefore reduce to cost of travel and time to the organisation. A more productive use of clients' time too.