On Facebook I was recently trying out several different video service formats for the videos I post on my ‘fan’ page. YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv and so on. Ultimately I decided to go with having Facebook itself host the videos. While true you don’t get as many features, the speed is there and the video serves without issue.
I asked my audience to test each service I was posting videos on and give me feedback on it. One comment stuck out more than the rest:
This is good. Facebook and YouTube are the only video delivery methods *not* blocked at the office.
I totally forgot that whatever service used means absolutely nothing if it’s not accessible from everywhere – including office environments. This gives me a very good reason to stick with using Facebook video for content delivery.
Corporate office environments vary wildly from office to office concerning what they allow and disallow on their networks, but it’s generally true that the permissions are best described as "selectively restricted".
For many, what the office allows on the network more often than not will dictate what they’ll also use at home since it’s accessible from both places.
If, for example:
- Gmail is allowed but not Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail.
- Facebook is allowed but not Twitter.
- Instant messaging clients are expressly forbidden to be installed other than what the company provides (such as Lotus SameTime), but chatting through the browser, such as with Facebook or Gmail Google Talk chat, is OK.
…this will most likely result in someone purposely choosing to go with Gmail for email, Facebook for status updates and Google Talk/AIM (both of which work inside Gmail) and Facebook chat for chatting.
One could say, "Just use a smartphone and use whatever you want". That’s not always the best idea for two reasons. First, depending on your physical location in the office, the phone might not even be able to get a signal. Secondly, it can prove to be inconvenient as it’s easier to fly out quick replies from the office computer you’re working on rather than to stop what you’re doing, drag out the phone and punch out replies that way.
In ultra-restrictive office environments, smartphone use while at the desk is frowned upon, meaning sometimes you can’t even use a smartphone because it goes against corporate policy. Whether it’s due to high security reasons or if the manager is just an ass that likes to spy on everyone to make himself or herself feel important, sometimes it’s just not an option to use the smartphone in the office.
Does where you work dictate what you also use at home concerning things like email and chat?
If your answer is, "Yes, absolutely", that wouldn’t be a surprising answer at all.
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