Social Networking @ Work?

So Twitter and Facebook are the new 'time-wasters' at work. Remember when any browsing of the web was considered a time waster? I remember wasting time in the office before the web was even invented.

But then, some people argue that Twitter and Facebook at work actually help the creativity flow. All the social-media types believe this, as well as some others (journalists and assorted pundits). The thinking goes like this: when you're under pressure or have some mental block, redirecting your brain to Twitter or Facebook allows it to do some creative association which ends up helping your performance at work.

Sounds good, and likely true in some cases. Who among us hasn't stared out the window (or at our cube wall) and zoned out for a while, only to come back to task with some new ideas? The same can be said for reading a few blogs at work, or browsing Amazon.com, reading a book, or just about any other distraction we have at our disposal.

The point is that there have always been time-wasters at work, and some of that has always led to creative associations. People are not machines, capable of performing endless rote tasks in an emotional vacuum. People are naturally, well, human. We can work for quite a while, but sooner or later we're going to need a break. Stare out the window, read a blog, catch-up on Facebook or go Tweet something. A year from now there will be some other new distraction to add to the list. It's just part of human resources function.