Worksheet

Facebook
Would you accept your bosss invitation to online friendship? Is technology changing the rules of office
etiquette?
1 Are you on Facebook? Which answer (ae) is closest to your own? Compare your answer with a partner.
(a) Of course!

(b) Absolutely not!

(c) Not yet!

(d) Whats Facebook?

(e) No, but Im on MySpace

2 Put the paragraph headings (ad) in the correct order by skimming the article.
(a) Company history

(b) Socialising with colleagues (c) New office rules

(d) An offer you cannot refuse

[3]Facebookbeganin2004.Itwasoriginallyasocialsitefor
studentsatHarvardUniversity,butitgrewquicklyand
today,employsaround500people.In2006,Facebookwas
openeduptoeveryoneandnowadayshasover70million
usersworldwide.14millionphotographsareuploadedevery
day.Thesiteisnotwithoutcontroversy,especiallyconcerns
aboutprivacyandidentitytheft.Dousersactuallypostup
toomuchinformationaboutthemselves?

[4]Facebookisjustoneexampleofhowtechnologyis
changingrelationshipetiquetteintheoffice.Theriseof
emailhasledtofewerfacetofacemeetingsandwhile
communicationbyIM(Instantmessenger)andemailis
effective,ithasbroughtanewsetofproblems.Humourand
ironydontworkwellinemails.Somepeopleuseemailto
expressthingstheywouldntdaretosaytoaperson.The
rulesofremoteconversation,tobebriefandbusinesslike,are
constantlybeingbroken.Maybeweshouldgobacktousing
thetelephonemoretosharpenupourcommunicationskills.
No,sorry;theregoesmymobileagain

Facebookorfacetoface?[1]Yourbossinvites
youtobecomehisfriendonFacebook.Wouldyouaccept?
Alternatively,wouldyouinviteyourbosstobecomeyour
onlinefriend?Doyoureallywanthimorhertoseeyourwild
partyphotos?Bloggershaverecentlybeendiscussingthe
problemofwhathappenswhenprofessionalandpersonal
worldscollide.Somesayitiswisetorejectthebosssofferof
friendship,whileothersthinkrejectingtheofferisasureway
ofdecreasingyourchancesofpromotion.Onebossclaimshe
wouldbehappytoacceptanemployeesofferofonline
friendship,butwouldneverinitiatethatfriendshiphimself.

[2]Evenifyoubelievethatthereisaclearlinebetweenyour
workandprivatelife,thatlineisbecomingmoreblurred.
Once,thebossinvitedasubordinatetodinner.Nowadays,
therearemoreopportunitiesforoutofworkencounters.
Facebookuserscanclassifypeopleindifferentgroups,such
asfriends,relativesandcoworkers,andgiveeachgroupa
differentlevelofaccess.Maybethiscouldbetheanswerif
youwanttomakesurethebossdoesntseethosephotos.

3 Read the whole article. In what ways is technology changing the office environment?
4 Decide if these words are red (three-star, two-star, one star) or black words in MED.
blogger
access (n)

promotion
controversy

initiate
etiquette

subordinate
mobile (n)

collide
irony

*** Very common words

** Common words
*Fairly common words
Less common words in black
(Macmillan English Dictionary
2nd Ed. 2007)

5 Look at the blog posts. In small groups, discuss how you would answer them and report your ideas to the class.
(A)Help!Mybosshasinvitedmetobecomehisfriendon
Facebook.DoyouthinkIshouldaccept?

(B)Mybossonlyeveremailsme.Ishescaredtodealwith
problemsfacetoface?ShouldIspeaktohimaboutthis?

This page has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net.

It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages.
Copyright Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008.

(C)IwouldliketoinvitemybosstobemyfriendonFacebook?
Isitagoodidea?Iamafraidhemightmisinterpretmyrequest.

(D)ShouldIletmystaffuseMSNatwork?Ithinkthattheymay
bejustwastingtimecommunicatingwithfriends.