Let’s try something really trite. I’m going to take a famous phrase from history and completely alter it to fit my needs.

Mr. CEO, tear down this Firewall!

Ronald Reagan said something not really related to that, and his voice has been in my head lately as I’ve talked with businesses blocking sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube from employees. The decision is simple: Bottom line productivity is job No. 1, and we don’t want people off watching ‘Surprised Kitty’ when they should be following up with the Cincinnati rep.  

And yet I wonder: How much of an opportunity does a company miss when it closes its eyes and sticks fingers in its ears while these sites attract millions upon millions of engaged users?

 For today, let’s focus on YouTube, the video sharing site that originates tons of buzz with the under-30 market today. In an ideal world, companies wouldn’t block the site, they’d embrace it. I often ask well-intentioned leaders who block the site how they know if their competitors are using video. Ignoring YouTube for its negatives won’t make it go away, and the companies that get that are at a competitive advantage. Hip companies all over have realized that engaging the next generation requires finding them online.

One of my favorite companies in Cleveland, Hyland Software, has a huge presence on YouTube. Hyland uses the site to do everything from employee recruiting to basic company overviews, helping to add to its leather jacket-wearing, locker-leaning cool kid image.

The list of companies using YouTube grows every day, but companies like Google, Apple, Starbucks and (self promotional warning) Smart Business use the site for everything from training to teaching software applications to sharing new media content.

Embracing YouTube means understanding how it could enhance your business or, if nothing else, let you learn from others. Have I lost some time watching Baman & Piderman videos on YouTube? Sure. But a wise YouTuber can actually improve work flow. I can recall when I got my first external hard drive several years ago to back up old interviews stored in my iTunes library. New to that process, I typed it into YouTube and suddenly had hundreds of videos from people across the country showing me how it was done. I could have tinkered with the problem for an hour, but a four-minute video walked me right through something not found in a user manual.

That’s all.

Next time: Knocking down more firewalls: The possible value of wasting time on Twitter and Facebook.

Mike Cottrill is the manager for online operations at Smart Business. His blog posts are based on common objections and questions business leaders have about adapting to social media and Web technology. You can follow him on Twitter @mrcottrill or connect with him on his LinkedIn page, mentioning this blog.