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Facebook at Work

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Re: Facebook at Work

#271

Post by Justsignedup »

kriro wrote: post #165

I've seen a couple of the "let's bring social networks to the workplace" products and quite frankly none have impressed me so far. The real problem is not providing great technology but actually getting people in corporate environments to use it in a meaningful way. These projects usually end in the same manner...network is rolled out, used for a couple of weeks and fades into obscurity rarely used (and often leaving…

I work in a small company where we wanted to use these actively. Reasons they fail:

- Nobody is sitting there waiting for their news feed to update.

- Nobody is posting information there as they would with friends because THEY ARE AT WORK, they worry their boss will see something stupid. This is why memes and other things rarely get posted on work networks.

- Nobody wants to seem like they are slacking off talking on social networks instead of working (even on the work one).

- No memes and other fun related things, nobody cares and nobody checks.

Slack on the other hand was a huge hit. We have a few groups of like minded people who just chat it up. Usually for short bursts. Everyone prefers it over the social network tools. And everyone stays active in it.

A major feature is the notification that someone sent you a direct message (might be important) or sent a message to a room (meh) or sent a message to a muted room (probably not important).

Re: Facebook at Work

#272

Post by k33n »

Swizec wrote: post #205
bambax wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upvoted for the positioning part: brand extension is almost always a mistake. In this case maybe they want to leverage the fact that almost everyone has fb, but in the mind of users fb is not associated with "work". And it's likely to hurt their main brand because it will drain more "coolness" out of it.

Or, as is already the case with a lot of us millenials: We have fb. Everyone we know has fb. Everyone we get to know is added to fb. There is no distinction between private life and work life. Fb is where we keep track of who we know. Fb is where we ask around if anyone knows of a company looking for a person. Fb is where we ask around if any person is looking for a company. Fb is where we group text. Fb is where we…

Off topic: "Millenial" is usually used as a borderline epithet. Don't call yourself that.

Re: Facebook at Work

#273

Post by jenscow »

nrivadeneira wrote: post #220
Swizec wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True. That part probably depends on how big are the companies you work for. It seems very customary to add at least everyone on your direct team to Fb though.

I don't find that to be the case either. Anecdotal, obviously, but I've worked for companies that range in size and I never add anyone from work on Facebook. Same goes for my wife. We joined Facebook in the early days when you needed a .edu email address to join, so I've got a lot of college partying photos up there. I've always seen it more of a private space. Not sure if the time you join and your original percepti…

> I never add anyone from work on Facebook. Same goes for my wife.

Wise choice, although I'm sure she has other ways of seeing what you get up to.

Re: Facebook at Work

#274

Post by joefarish »

droopybuns wrote: post #108

This is a product I would actively shun. For better of worse, my prejudice of facebook is that it is an outstanding source of the following types of content: Humblebrag b.s. instagram photos passive aggressive shitposting about politics I can use social networks at work- but if they actually brought facebook in and demanded that we used it, I might consider quitting. I'd probably write a python script to repost rando…

Sounds like you might need to unfollow a few people

Re: Facebook at Work

#275

Post by softawre »

Nicholas_C wrote: post #265
nocman wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I would say that "One of the best productivity hacks is to never log into Facebook" -- EVER! :-D

Not logging into HN is also a good one.

Yet here we are :) I do it to feel a little better about my productivity waste compared to reddit (and if I want to feel OK about reddit, it's /r/programming which is basically a crappier version of HN)

Re: Facebook at Work

#276

Post by Torn »

djhn wrote: post #214
fs111 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make it sound like this was some sort of heroic effort. It is (probably well paid) developers doing their job. That's it. No need for a parade.

Do UK engineers command salaries anywhere near SV level though?

London software engineers can command higher salaries than elsewhere in the UK.

I hear the salaries are less than in SF though. Cost of living (rent) may be a little lower to match.

Re: Facebook at Work

#277

Post by Jordrok »

Swizec wrote: post #205
bambax wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upvoted for the positioning part: brand extension is almost always a mistake. In this case maybe they want to leverage the fact that almost everyone has fb, but in the mind of users fb is not associated with "work". And it's likely to hurt their main brand because it will drain more "coolness" out of it.

Or, as is already the case with a lot of us millenials: We have fb. Everyone we know has fb. Everyone we get to know is added to fb. There is no distinction between private life and work life. Fb is where we keep track of who we know. Fb is where we ask around if anyone knows of a company looking for a person. Fb is where we ask around if any person is looking for a company. Fb is where we group text. Fb is where we…

Ugh, speak for yourself. The idea of having my work and personal identities become that interconnected just makes my skin crawl.

That said, I've long since resigned myself to the fact that I'm probably a rather poor representative of this generational group in which my birthday happens to fall.

Re: Facebook at Work

#278

Post by scott_s »

encoderer wrote: post #72
jdoliner wrote: post #11

I clicked this hopeful that Facebook had made a new product tailored to the needs of an office. Instead it seems like they recently decided that their existing product just happens to already be the perfect product for the office and rebranded it. I don't buy this at all, teams don't actually collaborate by sending each other green giraffe stickers.

Facebook actually uses Facebook heavily internally. Groups, calendars, etc. It's certainly not a mandate, it's used because it works for them.

I can see that working wonderfully for Facebook, because it's all internal. But other companies can't really do that, because it's not okay for most other employees at most other companies to do all of their work-related coordination through a third-party.

Re: Facebook at Work

#279

Post by scott_s »

wyclif wrote: post #239
jnpatel wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue that they consciously make it work for them internally, despite lots of pain points solved by other tools better suited for the job. For example, Zuck says he runs the company via Messenger - but a chat tool without selective muting/@mentions (or equivalent) is bound to be messy at the scale at which he's working. Similarly, Facebook's group chat isn't the best archival tool, nor does it support features li…

You're assuming that Facebook internal is the same, feature by feature, as commercial Facebook. I promise you it isn't.

If they turned that version into a service that could run on-premises, inside a company's network, then I think they could have a real chance at becoming the communication and coordination medium for most companies.

Re: Facebook at Work

#280

Post by bertil »

Swinx43 wrote: post #197
oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slack's been incredibly successful of late. You might not think of it as a 'social network', but it does most of what Facebook at Work is advertising itself as.

Slack is definitely a better option than Facebook at Work in my opinion. Social networks are a time suck at best and marketing one to an enterprise is simply inviting cynicism and negativity from those people that actually have work to do (obviously almost everyone except HR). Slack is not positioned as a social network but as a productivity and collaboration tool, a role it fulfils really well. If I had to choose I…

I have used both options quite intensively for more than six months each (both Facebook internal tools at Facebook, and Facebook at Work at Facebook; I am probably one of the very few who has and has no direct financial interest in either company) and Facebook at Work is significantly richer in features than Slack — notably longer posts that allow to explain, argue, compare. It is useful up to the point where meeting (outside of creative explorations) become non-essential.

Slack is great for quick-reaction and coordinated team org, but not suggest features, walk people through non-trivial decision, structure posts and comments.

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