How many people work here?

Of course, the joke goes... "How many people work here? About half."

The launch of YouTube EDU is big news today, and I am thrilled for people like Vicki Davis, who have previously found the list of related videos listed beside her students' work included some inappropriate material.

But this post from Rich Hoeg touches on one of my soapbox points. He talks about YouTube entering the land of relevancy with this launch, and mentions that "companies are worried that employees will waste time watching dumb videos".

My response to this is twofold.

Firstly, YouTube has boasted relevent material pretty much from the get go. Think CommonCraft. Think MIT. Think countless individuals posting tutorials on anything from kip ups to quadratic equations. Give me a break! Every time one of my sons complains that there is something they don't understand about a part of their school work, I say "YouTube!" We have yet to be disappointed.

Secondly, why did you recruit these goof off artists? If an organisation is staffed by people who have to be treated like naughty children with all sorts of bars and blocks, surely the recruitment process is flawed? Do we or do we not employ adults? Do they or do they not want to be here? Are they or are they not delivering results? Do they or do they not often work overtime, staying late to get a project finished? If they do, then what's the harm if they spend a morning now and then watching 'dumb videos'?

Can we not move on from this corralling, forcing, coercing, compelling mentality that is also responsible for the development of so-called learning resources that are fashioned as a tunnel of back and next buttons from which the user can't escape? I have found that when you accord people trust and respect, and start from the assumption that they actually want to do their jobs and do them well, they usually step up to the oche. When you treat them like a flock of sheeple they become demotivated passengers faster than you can say "Baa-aa!"

Stated crassly, if you have a load of freeloading ingrates on your staff, it's probably your own fault.... and I'd be more than happy to help you look into your recruitment and performance management processes ;o)

Okay. Soapbox moment over.