Defending RIM Blackberry Against Productivity

Jasksk writes "Is Blackberry causing masses to lose productivity? This article on CoolTechZone.com clears the myth. The author writes, 'Ever since the patent litigation has settled between NTP and RIM, Blackberry has recaptured the headlines, but this time, it's because of the device itself. While numerous users, generally corporate executives, adore the device, the environment surrounding Blackberry isn't too positive. A number of recent reports and columns are portraying Blackberry (and similar solutions) as time wasting, productivity lowering behemoths that don't deserve to exist.'"

Lowering productivity?

[Spy der Mann]

I thought the Blackberry wasn't popular because it made you stay wired to your job even when you went out with your family and stuff.

Defence?

[onion2k]

The article basically says three things:

1. People use their Blackberrys too much.
2. People don't need to be on call 24/7.
3. People who do use the Blackberrys alot and are on call all day are workoholics.

So there we have it. *Clearly* a Blackberry makes me a more productive worker because .. err .. no, sorry, there were no reasons stated. It just does coz it's ace or something.

I really hope the author never has cause to defend me on anything.

It also breeds rudeness

[nurb432]

And if you thought cell phones caused people to be rude, blackberrys surpass that effect greatly.

They should be totally banned in situations like meetings, or at a grocery.

Re:Well

[amcdiarmid]

Blackberry (and Good) Devices are good for productivity - assuming you can prioritize.

1. Some things need to be answered in real time. For Example: Say you oversee Hazardous waste disposal & need to be notified about stuff. (Is it important to move a cleanup team, or is it a soda spill); Say you run a network with automated email for things going wrong. (server down & you need to call the right person)

2. Some things you just want to keep track of while you are out. You can check them in the taxi on the way back to work. (Client has problem X, if it gets big enough you may have to call - otherwise wait untill you are at the office.)

Not to say that the same dorks who IM everyone at work all day won't waste time on a crackberry, but there are whole classes of people (managers & consultants) who need to keep tabs on stuff when they are away from the office.

Personally, I get a lot of business from email referrals. If I wasn't too cheap to pay for the data line on the phone - it would probably help my business expand faster.

$.02 It's mine and I want it back.

Article Written On a BlackBerry?

[MojoRilla]

First, this is one of the worst written articles I have ever seen. Maybe it was typed on a BlackBerry?

The article says that having a BlackBerry means being on call 24/7, which surely must result in a dip in productivity, and annoy your family and friends. The article concludes by saying that people addicted to their BlackBerry are in the advanced stages of workaholism, and that isn't the tools fault.

I am a BlackBerry user, and I can say, without hesitation, that is is a great tool, and depends completely on how you use it. I used to carry a RIM pager and a phone, and am very happy to now have one device. I love having my outlook calendar available easily. It has helped me avoid missing many meetings. Having the ability to read email is nice, as well as get buzzed for high priority issues. Finally, I like the fact that contacts sync with my desktop, and that I can dial a number on the phone that was sent in an email or meeting request.

One major problem is the default configuration for BlackBerries, which buzzes every time a message is received. This invites users to constantly read messages, and become addicted to instantly replying. I turned that feature off in the first two or three days I had mine, and have been much happier since.

Another issue is that reading lots of text on a small screen can be difficult. Sometimes I have problems getting through an email, only to see it later at my desk, and discover it is much easier to read. But this is a convenience versus readability thing.

In all, the BlackBerry is pretty neat tool. It can help people who use it sensibly, and it can cause workaholics to turn into monsters.

Email vs. IM/PushEmail

[Britz]

Well, Pushemail is not email in the traditional sense. Email was like mail. When you wanted to your mail you started your Pine, queried your pop3 server and got your mail (this changed a bit with imap and instant notification I must admit, but many non technical people still fire up their email app whenever they feel like it and don't use notification stuff on their desktop).

IM on the other hand is much different, because you get the message (if you have your IM turned on) the instant someone sends it. Like a telephone call.

Pushemail is the same. It is more like SMS than email. Many mobile devices also have email now in the traditional sense.

Even though PushEmail is different you still get emails that people send with the email state of urgency in mind. When I need something now I would use a telephone call or an SMS text message or IM. When I write longer messages with lower urgency I use email. I think many people use that the same way. That is why I certainly can see why pushemail could reduce productivity with people on the receiving end that just can't get their priorities straight (I think I would have a hard time keeping myself doing what I was doing when the Blackberry just went off, but I don't own one).

Maybe people should just turn off the push feature.

Re:Defence?

[slofstra]

On the other hand, because of your BlackBerry you could: 1. Read the paper and have an extra coffee in the morning, because if there was an emergency at the office that morning it would be on your BlackBerry. 2. Program your Blackberry so it blacks out certain hours. 3. Buffer requests (compared to the telephone) - let it ring and look at it when you finish certain tasks. Notwithstanding all this, the article is not wrong, but the issue is more a matter of developing social norms and etiquette around Blackberry use, as around cell phone use, as around television use. For example, it's now considered improper in many social circles to have the television running while socializing - not so years ago. Some individuals have a social sensitivity and deal considerately and properly with new technology. For others, it takes social pressure to behave properly (boors and bosses, particularly). It's a learning process for society, and this has little to do with the BlackBerry technology per se. But discussion and articles of this nature are enormously valuable in establishing social etiquette.

Re:as a Blackberry admin...

[DerGeist]

Your comments on slavery are spot-on. In America we've become willingly enslaved to the Almighty Dollar. Vacation time is considered precious and isn't offered nor taken as much as it should be anymore. Some think it's a bad sign to take vacation since it will give the impression you're somehow "lazy." Holidays are rarely paid for any reasonable period of time, and there's never such a thing as a "hiatus" (except maybe at Intel) where you can spend a few months of your life actually enjoying the money you're driving yourself into a grave to make. It's sad, it seems like Americans forgot how to live a long time ago, and other countries are catching up.

Please note I am not saying this problem is localized entirely within America, it is just the country I'm most familiar with and hence most qualified to speak about.

(Note to all those who have the idea of a "lazy" American: Americans are not lazy. They work too much and then watch TV until they fall asleep because their energy is gone, eat fast food because they're working too hard to have time to cook, and are generally always in a rush to do everything. Just try driving next to one ;-) )

Re:Lowering productivity?

[kfg]

Increased time on the job does not innately translate into increased productivity.

The idea that it does is the single greatest idiocy of the modern business age, producing such braindead corollaries as thinking that saving half a second per mouse click actually means you spend 2 more minutes a day doing productive work.

Human productivity is entirely dependant on human factors, not machine factors, and humans are notoriously variable, even chaotic, in their behavior.

At best they get tired, at worst they have this shit called "feelings."

KFG

Blackberries: a management problem!

[vrochette]

Here's my view: People with blackberries get connected in such a way that they become part of the network, part of the enterprise hive mind. I can't believe that for any company, information is so critical that it needs 24/7 user awareness. I think this is becoming a management problem. Companies must be able to manage their human resources so they don't have to rely on just a few crackberry people to run the whole operation. You'll also find Blackberries--and other mobile devices and applications--cause people to concentrate less on issues. By being always available, the risk is to lose the ability to find time to focus hard on problems. You are swamped with a never ending flow of emails, to which you respond by quick-fix, short answers, not always effective.

Re:Blackberry is part of the problem

[murdocj]

Blackberries aren't the problem as much as it is the people who abuse them

But Blackberries seem to invite abuse. It's true that people who are jerks (such as my former uber-boss) would be a jerk with any technology, but there were other people who might have paid attention if they didn't have this device strapped to their hips that was constantly bothering them.

Article reads like a high school essay

[Animats]

Well, maybe college Freshman English. No justification, all opinion.

terse = good

[PMuse]

I'll say this for the blackberry: it has improved our email culture. Email messages from blackberry users are shorter no matter where they send them from. Where I used to get:

After considering your suggestion that you do a . . . [two paragraph redundant description of my proposal] . . . , I have decided that this is a necessary step, despite the associated expense. You should begin right away. This is a top priority item that should be done before the other tasks you are currently working on.

Now I get:

Yes. ASAP.

Re:Article Written On a BlackBerry?

[NeutronCowboy]

Here's how I deal with my Blackberry: Number one, it's always on buzz. Makes it easier to ignore. Number two, if I'm in a meeting, need to focus on something, or there is something that is a priority, the Blackberry is silent. Yes, I occasionally forget to turn it back on immediately, but that's very rarely a problem.

This leaves me with a device that notifies me of stuff when I want to, gives me the ability to always be in touch (when people pay 7 figures for your software, they expect to have someone they can bitch out if something goes wrong), and makes downtime actually productive (you'd be amazed how annoying the bus trips from the airport to the car lot become if you do it more than once a week).

Here's the important thing: I switch the damn thing off if it bugs me. I'm its master, not the other way around. Anybody who complains that the Blackberry doesn't let them focus has not grasped that concept.

Look at me! I'm important!

[Wilf_Brim]

The Blackberry has become the latest in a long line of technology devices that some use to prop up a threatened sense of self worth. First, we had the pager. Then, when every plumber's brother had a pager, we moved to big, huge, analog cell phones. Then smaller digital cell phones. Now we have Blackberries and SmartPhones with push email. Almost all the time when I recieve an email with the "Sent from my Blackberry...." it is in response to something quite inane, and easily could (and probably should) have waited until they were back at the office. But merely sending it fairly screams, "See, look at me! I'm so important that I can RSVP to the office party from my Blackberry!!" Taking the Blackberry out at a meeting is sort of the newest method of corporate dominance display. See, I'm dominant over you, so I can check my Blackberry in this meeting, which I (being the alpha geek) decreed to be blackberry free. Given the difficulties and limited appeal of push email, I don't think these will become as democratized as pagers (does anybody still use those anymore?) and cell phones have become. There will, however, become another item which will supplant the Blackberry as the corporate dominance display.