2. Questions to Answer How can social network enterprises improve company communication and collaboration? How can social network enterprises help a company build its brand? What dangers does a company face when implementing a social network enterprise? How can company employees benefit from a social network enterprise?
3. Improve Communication/Collaboration It allows information to flow more freely within the company as opposed to being constrained within a certain group of people through scattered emails. Social network enterprises also allows you to get to know others you may not have otherwise, which creates stronger relationships thus resulting in better knowledge sharing and management, problem solving, innovation, and collaboration.
4. Build the Company Brand A company's true brand is built by its own people, and through social network enterprises, there will be more powerful connections that will, in turn, raise company morale and create a positive workflow. The brand will be made by the employees, not just the head honchos.
5. Employee Benefits It will fuel a burst of productivity as employees get to know each other better, socially and professionally. Not only will it connect employees to one another, but it will also create a stronger connection to the company itself, raising company loyalty and morale. Because of this, employees will feel more positive about their work and thus increase productivity. Employees will feel like they contribute more to the company rather than fulfilling the rudimentary tasks of their job description. Having a social network enterprise will be to create a family of the employees and build a solid foundation on which the company can grow enormously. Employees will be more open to sharing ideas and helping one another on projects. As they get more comfortable, they'll more freely express their ideas and expound upon others’ ideas, as well, to continually fuel innovation for the company.
6. Possible Dangers of Enterprise 2.0 Many fear Enterprise 2.0 will reveal too much information; it is also a concern that there may be too little information since it requires active participation. For those who are active, it may be a distraction from the real work that needs to be done. It's a catch-22. There are also concerns about confidentiality and hierarchical structures. When once only the most senior people could have access to certain information, now, a wider range of people can obtain it. Because of this, too, information can fall into the wrong hands. Lastly, there are also corporate and legal issues that accompany this newfound freedom of speech within the workplace. Employees may get too comfortable and end up saying something that infringes upon employee rights laws.
7. Social Software Examples Jive Lotus Connections CubeTree SelectMinds Conenza IGLOO NewsGator Socialtext GroupSwim Gemini Systems
8. Jive Software-as-a-Service means not having to deal with system operations, maintenance, and security. Self-hosting is also available. Jive Express makes creating and launching your own team site easy for collaboration. Has the most secure certification possible to attain so that you know your information is safe. Strategic consulting is available to help companies get trained and started quickly.
9. Lotus Connections Create, find, join, and work with communities of people. It’s customizable, stats can be seen on forum usage, and important topics can be highlighted. Profiles allow you to quickly find the people and expertise you need. Mobile access is available for those on the go. Other features: blogs, social bookmarking, network updates, tags, and subscriptions.
10. CubeTree Micro-blogging keeps everyone up-to-date on what’s going on with fellow employees and increases interaction. You can track your own personal tasks as well as those assigned to you from co-workers, or to co-workers. Integration with third-party systems, such as Twitter and Salesforce, is available, allowing companies to more specifically tailor CubeTree to their needs.
11. SelectMinds SelectMinds is prepackaged to rapidly configure your social network enterprise. The strategic consulting and program helps companies effectively launch their social network and includes best practices. It has enterprise-class security, flexibility, and control for easy compliance.
12. Conenza With Conenza, you can create networks of trusted personal and professional connections that enable enhanced dialogue and active tracking of people and topics of interest. Via groups, gather, compare notes, post resources, and collaborate around shared interests. Document and rich media sharing enhance the depth of information exchange and collaboration within the community.
13. IGLOO The Workplace Community is like an intranet that empowers an organization and connects its workforce. Marketplace Communities extend the companies network beyond the firewall, like extranets, deepening outside relationships and building trust and loyalty. IGLOO appears minimal, absent of the superfluous features found on other social software.
14. NewsGator Corporate collaboration software lets users interact around specific content. The secure enterprise RSS allows various important information to reach others through various outlets. NewsGator emphasizes its notification tools to ensure that people are getting and being updated on the information they need.
15. Socialtext Connectors to Microsoft SharePoint and Lotus Connections are available, giving users a unified experience. With SocialCal, interlink spreadsheet information so that spreadsheets are now distributed and dynamic. It can include info from other spreadsheets or workspace pages and inherit all the social features of Socialtext.
16. GroupSwim Companies can build customer communities and internal collaboration sites for teams. It automatically tags and connects disparate content, making it easier to search and find the relevant answer instantly. You can email in files and discussions. Customized CSS and branding is available.
17. Gemini Systems Crowd sourcing tools encourage employee opinions. Gemini offers internal and external deployment. Gemini also offers a pluggable architecture that extends to existing investments, can be easily tailored to reflect branding, and integrates to business catalogs for social network profiles. The network can be up and running in just a few days.
