A few years ago, companies regularly blocked access to Amazon, Facebook, eBay, World of Warcraft and other sites , which they claimed distracted employees and wasted time. Some people indeed overdid Internet usage or abused social media privileges (remember Goldman Sachs' Charlie ?), and many organizations severely restricted Web access.
Today, most organizations block malicious or inappropriate sites but realize that denying employees access to the rest of the Web is futile. Too many employees have smart phones or iPads that foil restrictions anyway.
Nevertheless, CIOs from a number of major companies recently admitted that they still block access to widely used sites. But such restrictions are ill advised, because they:
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