I wonder where they are in the tech world today? Do they allow their salespeople unlimited access to the internet? Do they frown on blog-reading? Is management still promoting a completely inward-looking organization?
The post that sparked this thought-thread was about an email and the spontaneous conversations that email sparked among the recipients. Stowe Boyd commented on the '"Hey, I'm an important business person; leave me out of this childish fooling around" attitude of a few of the participants.
Networking and information flow can take place informally - and the informal nature of the contact can jump start ideas and get the creative juices flowing. If I were still controller at my former company I would advocate for an open internet connection and encourage a certain amount of informal knowledge sharing.
