On this episode of The Decentralists, we examine Facebook’s attempt to conquer the Enterprise. Mike, Henry, and Chris discuss the pitfalls of Facebook's corporate communications platform:
Facebook is pitching Workplace to employers as a way to suppress words like "unionize". What else are they looking to suppress?
On this episode of The Decentralists, we examine Facebook’s attempt to conquer the Enterprise. Mike, Henry, and Chris discuss the pitfalls of Facebook's corporate communications platform:
Facebook is pitching Workplace to employers as a way to suppress words like "unionize". What else are they looking to suppress?
Henry: Hey everyone. It's Henry Mike and Chris of the decentralized hot topic time again and this one's a great one. It's all about Facebook's service called workplace and I know that Mike has been, and I jumping at the bit to talk about this. So, Mike, please start us off.
Mike: Oh boy, Henry, this is a big one. I read this one, I really lost my nut, frankly, in June. So, for those of you who don't, who aren't familiar with the Facebook workplace. The Facebook workplace is a collaborative messenger chat tool, something slack for, but made by Facebook. So, the idea is you basically install it, and it kind of runs a Facebook feed, but it's a private Facebook feed for the company and the theory is that you've got a bunch of young employees, especially in tech companies and you want them to collaborate in a more natural environment. You use this basically personal version of Facebook.
Henry: At the office.
Mike: Yeah, and frankly it hasn't, from what I understand, it hasn't really had a lot of pickups. It hasn't really been very popular. I know people who've tried it and didn't like it or whatever, but one of the things that really kind of fried my bacon this week. So, a reporter named Lee Fang from the intercept reported on the 11th of June. An internal Facebook marketing kind of meeting, where they were introducing a new update to the workplace. Where what they were going to do was give employers kind of what I call, Facebook's God, power of content control over the workplace platform. So, the example they use, I'm going to quote this from the intercept itself where Facebook, apparently in this meeting offered one example of a topic employers might find useful is to blacklist the word unionize. So, let's just take that a little bit further.
Henry: Whoa, I mean, that's undemocratic it's unethical.
Mike: There's been enough and Henry and Chris, you guys both know that this just, that the fact that, Facebook exercises, this type of control of content on the platform itself is one of my biggest problems with this thing. But the fact that you could, you would go into an organization that's, let's say operates, that's a non-union organization that operates in a typically unionized environment, transportation, manufacturing, education, healthcare, and you go in and your sales guys and girls walk in, and what they're touting is your ability to blacklist or whitelist the content on the actual chat. So, this doesn't mean you're spying on people. This means that the moment that you will not even let them type the word union or unionize, that's what blacklist means. You type in unionize and you press send, nobody gets it and that is not only an egregious, violation of people's rights to organize. Okay. It is, it's a violation of the ability for people to communicate within their own organizations and so this is something that really got me off this week, and Chris, I know you had a couple of interesting perspectives on this.
Chris: I've actually used Facebook workplace in a previous job. I can tell you that it is a terrible platform for corporate communications. No company that seeks to communicate with its staff should ever use the workplace because as it turns out, likes and emojis are a terrible way to make decisions.
Henry: Gee, really?
Chris: So, when I was using workplace. What would happen if Facebook would, how do I put it? If you have companies that need to be innovative, and they need to hear dissenting voices and they need to understand basically the truth. If you're a boss, you need to hear the truth from your employees because your employees, they're the ones dealing with customers on a day-to-day basis. They understand what's going on, they understand the friction that happens on a daily basis for more than managers and bosses do. So, they need a space where they can basically walk up to their boss and say, hey, I love you, man, but the customer says the product is not up to snuff and we need to change because if we don't change now, somebody else is going to eat our lunch, and Facebook doesn't allow that Facebook.
Henry: Do you mean workplace.
Chris: Workplace run by Facebook. So, basically Henry, I should say that functionally speaking workplace is not that different from everyday Facebook except it's run, it's when for corporate communications workplace is not the slack workplace is not Microsoft teams. The workplace is basically just Facebook.
Henry: Oh, because I'm familiar with slack, but then again, if you've got these employees who are now aware of this article and aware of what they're trying to do and content control, well, then there's a simple way to get around that and that is nobody use it.
Chris: Well. if people wanted to unionize, you're bringing up a good point. Henry, if employees wanted to unionize, they would get off the workplace, they would all install, signal or telegram on their phones and they would organize that way. So, this whole notion in the first place that somebody would unionize through the workplace is ridiculous.
Well, but guys, let's kind of dumb this down a little bit. hey, I mean, what we're talking about here is in effect, the extension to its most logical endpoint of this idea of tracking employees, especially mobile workforces. Because that's in effect what this is. So, essentially, you think about it. I mean, back in the days when people went, to the coal mine or worked in the factory. The tracking of them was simple, you had your punch card, you punched it then a little clock, and then if you wanted to get paid, you had to punch out and that was basically how they would track you. But what you did from when you were in there was kind of just up to the regular bossy kind of things.
Then, but back, let's say what laptops probably been in the, in the real world for maybe 20, 25 years now and back in the days when people started to kind of get laptops and smartphones. They started to issue these two employees under the guys and Henry, you remember this because we used to sell software for this under the guy of increasing, kind of out product because the theory is if you gave your employees a laptop and a mobile phone, they might answer some emails or do some work. While they're on the train commuting or whatever the case may be or at home. So, we got used to this idea as employees of being tracked, or at least we got used to the idea of being mobile.
I remember distinctly, and at the very early stages of this kind of mobile workforce, what this tracking was intended to, and you talk to the, to the corporations and it was all about the security of the corporate data. That was always their number one concern because you basically said, okay, well now you've got, say five employees who are carrying laptops home and they all have your data on it. That's so the guys would say, well, we need some way the guys and girls in, IT would say we need some way to track that those laptops have authenticated with the domain on some kind of schedule in order to get the security patches so that we know that the security stuff is all up to speed.
Henry: Yep. I remember it.
Mike: So, then it transitions into things like Chris's story that I heard earlier to the other day about a key-logger.
Chris: I worked for a company about, 15, 20 years ago. We're, basically my boss, in installed to a key log run to my computer.
Henry: What's a key logger, Chris.
Mike: What's a key logger?
Chris: So, a key logger, basically monitors, everything you type on your keyboard.
Mike: Isn't that kind of like also basically like a hacker tool.
Chris: It can be, I mean, you could discover things passwords and other, bank card numbers and all that. You could discover that.
Mike: So, what would your boss want with a key logger on your computer?
Chris: So, my boss about a long time ago brought me into his office and he said to me, Chris, we have a problem. I'm like what's the problem. He said, at certain points, you're typing 170 words per minute and at certain parts of the hour, you're not typing at all and he said to me, is there a way for us to bring up 170 words per minute to a consistent, basis for the bulk of the hour?
Mike: What!
Henry: So, he was concerned with speed and not content activity.
Chris: Absolutely, so what he basically wanted me to do is type 170 words per minute, 60 minutes, 24/7. Now I'm creative, I think most of us are creatives. I think most of us can agree that when we type, we often have to think about what we type before we type it.
Mike: No time for thinking Chris.
Chris: That's so when I type, I tend to type in births and it takes me a long time to put something up because I want to be quality. I want people to read it and I want them to like what they read. In the same way but when you're asking me to do 170 words per minute, over the course of an hour, that all you're going to get is junk. So, that's what my boss got out of the key logger and what I got out of that is, well, there's good ways to measure productivity and there's, not so good ways to measure productivity, and that that's one of those ways.
Henry: Exactly so, and I thought with the story, you were going to talk about your boss, questioning the content of what you were actually creating. So, going back to the workplace, that is the fear because they're going to be watching and perhaps controlling the content of what people are conversing it.
Mike: But think of it, hey, what we're talking about is Chris is talking about a keylogger, are you kidding me? There's a really, big stretch between saying that I need to track my mobile workers to ensure that the laptops and the phones are secure so that my corporate data is protected and I'm going to put key loggers on people's machines.
Henry: Yeah, of course. That's crazy.
Mike: One of them to me has at least a little bit of a legitimate bent and when people got issued these mobile devices, they would often have you write out something that said, here we go. Whereas now all of a sudden, this isn't about security. It's about productivity, but it's known it's not even about productivity now. It's about control.
Chris: So, one of the questions I have is since when has Facebook ever been good at measuring productivity. Don't most people come to Facebook to waste time?
Henry: That's exactly right.
Chris: So, I have a hard time believing that anybody would be using the Facebook workplace to be more productive. Trust me, I've used it. The workplace has never made anybody more productive in the entirety of its existence.
Henry: Well, hopefully then it won't be terribly successful and people will realize. What it is and how it can be used. I mean, I'm no expert, but I have used slack and I honestly thought that it wouldn't add anything to my workplace experience, but it actually did and I kind of got used to it and I'm good with it.
Mike: But I mean, but I think there's a difference though, between enabling interactions and communications and things like this, and what we're talking about now? What we're talking about now is proactive control by your boss over what you can say and do on that device that they gave you, because, let's face it, how many people and some people do this, do you see it sometimes, but most people, when they have a job where they get issued a work-issued laptop and a work-issued phone. Don't also go out and buy their own phone and their own laptop. They use that working device for personal use and so, same with the work phone so any of these things that these, taking this workplace thing to the level where now we're not talking about tracking, even for productivity or security, we're talking about proactive control of the content you post. This is the power.
Chris: I'm in agreement with you.
Mike: This is the power that Zuckerberg has and he's basically now offering this power to companies to do this.
Chris: Mike, you are exactly correct. The Facebook workplace is not about productivity. The Facebook workplace is about control. It's about trying to control what your employees think about, what your employees say. In fact, I know from the past one of Facebook's core value propositions for selling workplace is they go to companies and they say, hey, your employees use Facebook anyways. Why don't you just get them to use your own corporate siloed version of Facebook called workplace and that's what they do? The workplace is not about productivity it's about surveillance.
Henry: Exactly.
Mike: Correct and that's what I mean, when I say this is kind of the logical end game of the idea of surveilling employees right on, or off-network is every one of these things that we've talked through is like a little more of a power grab. Oh, I just need to know about updates. Well, now I need to know if they're on the network or not. Well, now I need to know if they go out of the country or not. Well, now I need to know what they're thinking. Oh, now I need to control what they think and can say.
Chris: Mike, there's a very good reason why most companies don't get work Facebook workplace, why they don't use it.
Henry: And that is?
Chris: The reason is most thinking corporate executives. They go, well, if Facebook can monitor what my employees are thinking, then they can monitor what I'm thinking.
Mike: Very interesting. I'd be interesting to see if the bosses actually use the Facebook workplace. I betcha. They don't.
Chris: There, a reason why most corporate executives, they'd rather use Microsoft teams and slack, and well, let's move back for a moment. If Facebook can monitor the word unionize. For example. They can monitor when your employees say the word unionize. Is it possible for Facebook to monitor when corporate executives say the word patent?
Henry: Oh, patent.
Mike: For sure. That's a very interesting point, Chris.
Henry: Also, Chris, you did mention when you were describing its own, siloed version of Facebook, but is it truly a silo that only the company has access to or can fast Facebook also monitor or access that workplace silo that is in the name of the company?
Chris: So, you can't run Facebook workplace on your own server. It has to be run on Facebook's private server.
Henry: So, bingo, there you go. Thank you.
Mike: Answers that question exactly.
Henry: Check.
Chris: Now if I'm a corporate executive, I would be paranoid that Facebook was monitoring things like not just patent, but also lawsuits. Also accounts receivable, also quarter porch.
Henry: Hey, how about this one? How about this one guy? I walk in I'm the corporate executive and I blacklist the word sexual harassment or just harassment.
Mike: Black lives matter.
Henry: Exactly.
Mike: By the way, I don't know if we mention it, but certainly pure social. We are so supportive of the black lives, matter movement and we've got a few ideas how we can show that in the future, but we're with you.
Chris: Absolutely.
Henry: So, just because somebody's writing you a paycheck does not mean that they own you and this type of move is a move we're are now what we're doing with what Zuckerberg is trying to do and what Facebook's trying to do with the workplace is enable employers to own and control their employees lives, It's that simple
Chris: Let's, look at how Facebook, treats their own employees who happen to be people recently, people of color who work at Facebook. They walked off the job because mark Zuckerberg was not protecting them from hate speech and what is the result? Well, Facebook just fired a person of color for exercising their rights.
Henry: Wow. How did that happen, the details?
Chris: Well, the details are that employee said something Facebook didn't like to hear and as a result, they got rid of him.
Henry: Let's face it Henry that's the power that you have. By having a message solution or any other kind of collaboration solution where the employer can set the parameters of who's being monitored for what, how long, and for any of these things. So, as we said, if you just don't want to deal with any sexual harassment lawsuits at work, you just make it so that nobody can type in the word harassment or sexual harassment. If you want to make sure that you don't have a union at your office, you just make sure they can't type in the word unionize.
Henry: Well, of course, they can use other tools, but it's a good start. It's a little bit more to control every little bit will help the employer. That's right.
Mike: Well, you're right, Henry and I think this is a very important topic that I think is going to get probably even more attention as we go because a lot more people are concerned and I think that employees should be concerned as well.
Chris: Everybody should be concerned about any service that tries to act to exercise control over their lives.
Henry: No question about it, guys and this is obviously a topic that we're going to have a lot more to say about in the future, and there's going to be a lot more news and issues about it. So, guys, again, thank you very much. It was illuminating.
Mike: Thanks, Henry.
Chris: Thank you, Henry.