Analyst Over Reacts To Camera Phones In The Workplace

Overhype

from the slow-down,-partner dept

There have been plenty of stories in the last few months about certain workplaces banning camera phones (including camera phone maker Samsung). While it’s definitely important to understand the issues that camera phones raise, there’s no reason to over react to them. Of course, you wouldn’t know that listening to Jack Gold at the Meta Group, who has gone with the knee-jerk reaction telling people that all companies should ban all camera phones outright. This is, of course, the typical response to anyone who doesn’t understand a technology and is afraid of it (just ban it!), but does little to help in real life. Of course, if companies believe this sort of thing, it could harm camera phone sales, as they will become much less valuable if you can’t even bring your own mobile phone to work. What is more likely to happen over time is that people will become accustomed to people owning camera-enabled phones, and will become much more aware of how others are using those phones in the work environment, and do their best to prevent espionage. However, completely banning the phones is an over reaction, a step backwards, and not (at all) a workable or reasonable response to the rise of such a tool.