Writing in the Wall Street Journal about the ups and downsides of corporate networks, Michael Schrage of the Sloan Center for Co-ordination Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology notes the reduction in face-to-face interaction that results from heavy use of the company electronic mail system, and highlights the Bozo Filter, a facility that enables each individual to block the messages from anyone he or she considers to be trite, boring or a network nuisance, and the potential embarrassment when people learn that the boss has put a Bozo Filter on messages from the marketing vice-president; one advantage is that where bosses are now relying on the network to communicate with their staff, if you put a block on all messages from your boss, it could be weeks and weeks after the event before you discover that you’ve been fired…
