The Social Media Account Password Question

There have been several articles in the last couple of weeks questioning whether or not businesses have the right to ask for an employee’s or potential employee’s social media account passwords.  Most notably Facebook as well as Twitter, etc.

My opinion on this is that other than a very few exceptions (top security positions), the answer is an absolute no.  I feel that it’s the same as asking to open their personal mail or requiring that we interview their personal friends.  It’s just plain not right.  And for those businesses that think otherwise, good luck with getting and keeping employees.

We are in the hiring process at the moment and while I would never ask for anyone’s social passwords, I do make it a habit to do a quick scan on the potential applicants social footprint.  If they have a Facebook page or Twitter account I do look at it.  My feeling is that whatever someone makes public is fair game.  But whatever they choose to keep private is not. Again with some exceptions.  In fact, in our business if someone is not involved with social media in some fashion it could be a negative.

Social Media is a new thing.  We all still have to figure out how to use it.  For individuals, having a sense that whatever they post can and will be found now and in the future.  For businesses, having a sense that people’s private lives are just that, their private lives.  And social media does not change that just because of the format it’s in.

The SSGI Team Is Awesome!

I know we have great team here at SSGI. But, you never know what to expect when a disaster occurs. As everyone knows, Connecticut had one of the worst October storms in its history on Saturday, October 29th. The storm dropped over 12" of snow and caused power outages for 87% of the state. By Saturday night most of the state and most of the SSGI team was in the dark. Kim was the only one to not lose power. Today, November 8th, 30000 homes in the state are still without power and unfortunately for some, it may still be a couple of days before it comes back on.

On Sunday I checked our office and found it too was without power. In fact, 97% of Torrington was without power. I checked in with our staff via very spotty cell service. Everyone was ok but looking forward to the power coming back on. At home I got our generator up and running and got some Internet access via my Verizon MiFi device. Most of my family moved into our house where we at least had heat, water and a DVD player.

On Monday power was still out in most areas. However, East Main street in Torrington was now live. That meant several gas stations and DUNKIN DONUTS were open. I started contacting Clients that I could get through to. It was not looking good. Still over 80% power outage in the state. By now Northeast Utilities was indicating the power would be out for an extended period in many areas of the state. Dunkin Donuts and the gas stations were total chaos. A trip to the office verified we still had no power.

On Tuesday power was getting restored to a few more areas. I worked with several Clients helping them get their servers back up and running. None of our staff had power back yet. In the afternoon power came on at home, but the office was still down. I contacted the guys and scheduled a meeting at our office on Wednesday morning so we could get to Clients that needed us. Around 5:00pm Gayle and I took a ride to the office. Power was still out. But within about a half hour it came on. I got our servers up and running and verified we had Internet as well. We were back in business!

On Wednesday morning everyone arrived at the office. I was the only one with power at home. But we started working on tickets immediately. As power was coming on our Clients needed us and we were there. We had a Client that was told they would not have power for at least a week. Because of the nature of their business, they needed to get on-line to process orders. We made plans to move their servers and some staff to our offices. The guys went home that evening to homes still in the dark.

Thursday came and still no power for any of the guys. We proceeded to move our desperate Client to our office. And the guys continued to handle tickets. Sometimes they had to improvise routes to the Clients because of trees down in roads. The state was still over 50% without power,

Over the weekend we saw lots of power come on although the guys still had none. Everyone of them showed up for work on Monday. These guys worked their butts off during this event. Other than stopping home to fill generators and check on their families, they were there for our Clients.

I'm proud of our team and what we accomplished during this disaster. As I write this, John is still without power. He is also on the road taking care of our Clients.

This has been a tough experience. There is a lot to be learned from it. One thing I learned is that we have an awesome team. I thank every one of them for their extraordinary efforts. Because of them, our Clients were able to get back up and running as soon as possible after power was restored to them. Let's hope we don't see anything like this again any time too soon. But if it does, rest assured this awesome team will be there to take care of our Clients.

Connecticut Power Outage Update

SSGI has had power and Internet fully restored as of 5:00pm on 11/1/11. Phones, email and the Client Portal are fully operational. 46% of Connecticut remains without power. Several cities and towns are still at 100% outage. Many side roads remain blocked by downed trees and/or wires. Some locations are expected to be without power for at least another 7 days. The Northeast Utilities Outage map can be found here.

Urgent Message

Due to the storm, SSGI has no power at this time. Currently, about 67% of Connecticut is without power, including 97% of Torrington. Because of the scope of power outages in Connecticut, it is expected that power outages will continue for up to 1 week or more. This outage is also affecting cell phones. However, you can call or text Ed's cell phone. We will also have an alternative support email account on-line by Monday morning. On Monday we will attempt to contact each of our Clients to access their status and update ours. We will update our status regularly here and on our Client Portal as well as our Twitter account @ssgisupport. UPDATE 11/1/11 Still no power at the office. 46% of Torrington and 54% of Connecticut without power. Support requests can be made at 800-897-7002. We are responding to calls . Please be patient. Phones are being routed through cellular service which is not in the best of shape either. Clients are beginning to get power back. Unfortunately there are still many cities and towns it CT with 100% outage

“After the storm” a roundtable discussion of disaster planning

While all of us have some type of disaster plan in place, even if it’s in our head, it’s a rare occasion that we can evaluate our plans with the fresh hindsight of an actual disaster.  Hurricane Irene has provided us when one of those rare opportunities.  Systems Support Group, Inc. will be presenting 2 roundtable discussions that will enable us all to be better prepared should another disaster occur.

These roundtables will bring together businesses that lived through power outages, internet outages, flood damage etc.  We will have an open discussion on how well existing disaster plans worked and what can be done better.  Bring your hurricane Irene stories and questions.

The first roundtable will be held at the Waterbury Courtyard Marriot on Thursday September 29th at 8:30am to 10:00am.  Reservations can be made by calling our office at 860-496-8684.

The second roundtable will be held at the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce in Torrington on Wednesday October 12th at 8:30am to 10:00am.  Limited reservations for non-chamber members are available by contacting our office at 860-496-8684.