Study says social networking Web sites increase worker productivity

Jennifer Butler might not have signed up for a Facebook page had her friends not talked her into it.

Throughout college, the Florence resident said she was just too busy to add one other thing to do, so when she finally got connected to the social networking site, Butler said she was pleasantly surprised.

"I use it because it helps me stay in contact with people who I might not see that often, who I might not pick up the phone to call," she said. "A lot of my cousins who live in other states joined, and that has been fun to have constant communication with them when, before, I might see them once a year."

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter have become some of the more popular social networking sites, an online means of reconnecting with old friends or making business connections. Research has already shown that there are educational benefits to being involved in these sites. More recent studies reveal they increase worker productivity by allowing for increased creativity, but experts say caution and professionalism are in order if logging on to these sites while at the workplace.

"There is always the hazard of posting something that shouldn't be there and that should be kept private," said Jerri Bullard, a sociology professor at the University of North Alabama. "If you are doing this at work, others there may have access to anything you post. Any time there is an abuse of a privilege, an organization will begin to put limitations in place to make sure their employees do their jobs."

By the same token, she said allowing employees access to their personal sites on company time can create a degree of job satisfaction.

"It's like casual Fridays when you get to wear jeans to work," Bullard said. "People are happier at work and at their jobs when they have something like this, and they're likely to have greater job satisfaction and productivity as a result."

In harnessing the power of these sites - 124 million people are on Facebook alone - Bullard said she's found them to be effective tools to stay in touch with her students.

Already, she's developed a personal page as well as groups for UNA's Sociology Club and one for alumni of the department.

"This is the way students communicate with each other," Bullard said. "Rarely do they check their mailbox, and they might check their university e-mail account. But we know they communicate via text messaging and Facebook, so we decided to take advantage of Facebook to create these groups."

In fact, she and others noticed attendance at Sociology Club meetings was down, but once the Facebook groups were posted, membership and involvement increased.

Nancy Sanford, director of the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, agrees that these sites allow for a level of up-to-the-minute communication that hasn't been accessible until recently. Because of it, she said she and Butler, who works in publicity and programs at the library, have developed groups to seek out people on Facebook and MySpace who may not otherwise know what's going on at the facility.

"We're in the business of being informed and keeping others informed," Sanford said. "We have to use it for that, and, sure, some employees do use it at work, but I see it as an information tool as well as a way to reconnect and stay in touch with others."

Sanford and her husband, Sheffield Mayor Ian Sanford, both established personal Facebook pages this summer as a way to help his mayoral campaign and encourage others to vote. Sanford said her children also have Facebook pages.

"They groaned when they heard their father and I would be on Facebook," she said. "But they soon realized we weren't on there to keep tabs on them."

Sanford said the library has promoted several events on Facebook and gotten positive feedback as a result.

"We know people are responding, so we know it works," she said. "If we're not keeping up with these things and how to stay in touch with our target audience, we'll get left behind."

In January, other events, including a Harry Potter reading group, will be posted to keep patrons informed. Butler said she's been surprised by the people who respond who don't live in the Shoals.

"I'll hear from people who say they've kept up with what we're doing even though they don't live here," she said.

"We've been working on getting a different demographic in here with college-age and high school students. Many of them are on Facebook, so this seems to be the way to get information about the library to them."

Michelle Rupe Eubanks can be reached at 740-5745 or michelle.eubanks@TimesDaily.com.