Instant Messaging Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for Safe IM Communication [Paperback]

Nancy Flynn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2004

Instant Messaging is a powerful business communications tool, but it can get companies into a big mess - quickly. The "Instant Messaging Handbook" addresses the potentially costly legal, regulatory, productivity, security, training, and management challenges that IM brings to the workplace. This timely guide offers workable solutions for establishing and enforcing rules and policies, controlling IM content, deploying security and monitoring technology, maintaining employee productivity, and maximizing the business potential of IM technology. A best practices toolkit for workplace IM usage, the "Instant Messaging Handbook" will help employers keep their organizations out of harm's way, while giving employees access to a cutting-edge, productivity enhancing tool.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

"As instant messaging (IM) quickly gains popularity, organizations need to address the potentially costly challenges it brings to the workplace. Instant Messaging Rules helps you maximize the business potential of IM technology, while establishing and enforcing essential rules and policies to protect your company.

Because IM creates a written, legal record of what goes on in your organization—and its personal use can run the risk of negatively impacting office productivity— Instant Messaging Rules gives you sample policies and best practices for IM usage, covering essential areas like security, training, management, and legal issues. It is an essential, timely guide that will help you take control of this important, cutting-edge tool."

About the Author

Nancy Flynn is founder and executive director of The ePolicy Institute and the author of E-Mail Rules, The E-Policy Handbook, and several other books. She has been featured in US News & World Report, Fortune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and on CNBC and National Public Radio. She lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 17 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1st edition (July 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814472532
• ISBN-13: 978-0814472538
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More of the Same From This Author, July 26, 2005

By 

Christopher Byrne "The Business Controls Caddy" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Instant Messaging Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for Safe IM Communication (Paperback)

Previously, I have reviewed "The ePolicy Handbook: Designing and Implementing Effective E-Mail, Internet and Software Policies" and "E-Mail Rules - A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for E-Mail and Digital Communication", the first two books in a "trilogy" by Nancy Flynn of the ePolicy Institute. As I have mentioned in recent presentations on developing effective information technology policies, it is not realistic or recommended to adopt policies without taking a holistic view of the vulnerabilities, threats, and risk appetite of the organization.

From this viewpoint, Flynn's third book in the series, "Instant Messaging Rules - A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for Safe IM Communication" (210 Pages, The American Management Association, 2004, ISBN 0814472532), offers little more than a rehash of what has been written in the first two titles. However, this does not mean the book is totally without merit and should not be read.

The book borders on redundancy with the first two books with its discussions of threats and vulnerabilities, how to conduct risk assessments, etc. So we can skip any discussion of these topics. What the book excels in is making clear that Instant Messaging, while being a different, "newish" form of communication, is widely misunderstood in terms of the heightened levels of threats and vulnerabilities brought about because of its use. It is this misunderstanding that has many organizations not really realizing that their employees may be using public instant messaging networks at work, or that they are not treating instant messaging logs as possible business records.

So even if you have read one or both of the earlier titles, this one is worth picking up to complete the library. I am sure she will soon have a title on blogs and content will again be redundant, but sometimes this is what it takes to get a point across. And for once, the author has left of the appendix pushing her business and the business of her colleagues. Unfortunately, the only tiles under recommended reading are the books she has written. C'est la vie.

The Scorecard

Par on a Short Par 4

2.0 out of 5 stars Timely, but thin on content, July 23, 2004

By 

F. Scholl (Brentwood, TN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Instant Messaging Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for Safe IM Communication (Paperback)

This book is very timely given the growth of IM in the workplace. However, I found that it is very wordy, with minimal content. Could have been condensed into a short article. On the other hand, if you are new to IM or security, the book will be a good introduction.