We are at a point of time where there are many choices of vendors who offer collaboration software suites for the enterprise. The choice is overwhelming at times. But the deeper I look, it seems to me that not one company has mastered the “we have it all” within their product. For example, there are some strong candidates that have tools such as forums and blogs but then fall short on wiki or repository. Or other vendors have tried to squeeze everything in but half of the tools lack basic functionality and are a work in progress.
But what do I mean by having it all? Below is what I think should be included:
I was chatting with someone yesterday in regards to giving people the ability to post information in anonymously within an enterprise.I have gone from one extreme to the other on this issue.When the first communities came out, I was in favour of allowing anonymous postings for the following reasons:
Wanted to encourage participation for everyone (not just members)
If your organization does not have single sign-on (thus administrator sets up new users), a bottleneck of new requests could hinder adoption and people up and losing their ‘current thoughts’
It could help those who might need some time to get comfortable with posting information publicly (anonymous at first)
But, as our community began to grow, I saw the disadvantages of this idea:
Not being able to connect to people
Accountability is weaker (which can lead to abuse)
Sense of community is diminished
Feedback/comments are not as “valued”
One of the advantages of rolling out social media in an organization is to help people connect.Anonymous postings take away this plus and in some instances, can make it a negative.
I have been too sick the past little while to blog. Is the downfall of social media is now I can everyone that I am sick…does anyone care…should I be back in bed getting better?
Yes, maybe this is a little bit crude. But after I read it the third time, the impact of this statement really sunk in. Go ahead. Read a few more times.
I think there are a number of people in the enterprise who need to read this statement. Maybe shirts or buttons can be made so others can see.
Because really, if you don’t know what I am talking about, and you need this explained to you; at this point you are already behind…and the time it takes to explain, you will be further.
My suggestion to get up to speed? If you want t adopt 2.0, then the time to begin acting that way is NOW! Don’t make your decisions the old way (steering committee, PowerPoint presentations, etc) and open up the doors to your bottom workers. Post a blog on what people think/know of web 2.0. Let the people tell you what it is, what they need, what is the value. Because ultimately, these are the people who will not only be using it…but the people who will create, build upon and drive value from these applications.
I have had some people ask me about this whole blogging thing. After having explained it to a number of people I thought to myself ‘Hey Mark, why don’t you take advantage of social media and write about it in your blog so it can be shared to everyone’. So, here it goes. Internal blogging:
What is it: your own on-line business journal (saying blog frightens some people)
Business uses: Tool for mass messaging, project updates, sharing knowledge, communication and to enage employees in discussion through comments
Business value created: Faster information sharing, an efficient and trackable feedback system, historical data available, search capabilities, employee recognition/engagement
How to use it internally:
Project Updates
Conference Learning’s
Idea/Innovation Sharing
Announcements/FYI’s
Knowledge Sharing
Again I am going to refer to a great video from the website Common Craft. It is only 3 minutes long, but it explains blogs it very well:
I have also included a great link from the folks over at Jive Software of how they use blogs internally. A great read (they have all new employees post an introduction blog – fantastic idea). You can find it here.
So, did I explain it well? Do you have more questions? Would you like to add to the post? Add you thoughts in the comments section below.
Hello and welcome. To start off, I will attempt to lay out what exactly is social media and what I mean by inside the firewall (note: the term social media inside the firewall was coined by blogger Chris brogan and can be found here – check out his blog as it is excellent).
From Wikipedia
Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.
Primarily, social media depend on interactions between people as the discussion and integration of words build shared-meaning, using technology as a conduit.
OK, that is a start.
There is a wonderful website call Common Craft that creates short videos explaining concepts in ‘Plain English’. Watch below:
Interesting eh? What is really interesting is that for me to try and explain social media, I referred to another blogger, I used a quote from wikipedia and embedded a video from Common Craft. For me, this is a great example as this shows social media is something:
Everyone can view
Everyone can comment on
Everyone can leverage/reuse/build upon (can be restrictions)
Everyone/Anyone can be recognized
Everyone can benefit
Let’s chat about technology for a moment. Social media can include the following: blogs, wikis, forums, shared calendars, vlogs, social networking (facebook), podcasts, photo sharing, virtual worlds, etc. These are all great tools that can accomplish my five points above. As I continue to blog, I will talk in more detail about the technology and it’s power.
So, though short and sweet, that is social media. Now, what about the firewall?
The firewall means social media within a corporation/organization/business.
Imagine if social media could be utilized within an organization.
Imagine a project manager could blog about their week, the fires they put out and what they learned.
Imagine how many people in the organization could learn from that (and not make the same mistake).
Imagine finding people who share similar interests…across the globe
Imagine being able to find internal policy/procedures quickly, connect with the publishers, and add you own knowledge for others to benefit
Imagine being recognized for sharing information
Imagine
Social media has so much potential to help organizations and people be more efficient and satisfied with their workplace. For some, it will be a long, cautious and possibly confusing journey. For others, it will be an awakening of the power within. Within my blogs, I will be talking about how to start the journey, the resistance, the successes and lessons learned. I look forward to your participation in the comments and any ideas/suggestions you may have to improve this blog.
Welcome to Inside Social Media. Here you will find blog posts on using social media within organizations to increase productivity, engagement and communication.
