Jeremy Burton is my new hero. The guy deserves a medal. At least some recognition.

Burton is CEO of Serena Software, a 800-employee company not too far from here in San Mateo, California. Serena provides a platform that lets businesses create application mashups without writing code or relying on IT. On November 2, Serena issued press release introducing “Facebook Fridays, which encourages employees to find fun and personal connections in the workplace. Each Friday, employees are granted one hour of personal time to spend on their Facebook profiles and connect with co-workers, customers, family and friends.”

I commented on this enlighted approach over on the Stop Blocking blog, which drew a response from Serena CorpComm VP Kyle Arteaga directing me to an article Burton wrote for ZDNet Asia. In it, he makes the case for encouraging employee interaction on social networks instead of blocking them.

For most people, the human drive to connect and share is stronger than the duty to spend every possible moment “being productive”. No matter what, people will find ways to socialize and share during work hours. It might be best to treat this like sex education: If your employees are going to “do it” anyway, why not encourage them to channel their social-media impulses in smart, safe ways that can potentially help your business?

Burton provides concrete examples of how employees can help the business through their social networking activities and suggests that even though some problems are likely to arise, they’re minor compared to the benefits to the company.

I’ve put in a request to interview Burton for FIR. In the meantime, read this article. Print it out and pass it along. Email the link to people. If we can spread the smarts of enlightened people like this, maybe we can turn the tide on the current trend of blocking access, building employee resentment, curtailing trust and squashing employee engagement.