When social means business: the potential of social computing tools to support collaborative work as part of the organisational information infrastructure

When social means business: the
potential of social computing tools to
support collaborative work as part of
the organisational information
infrastructure
Dr Hazel Hall
Reader in Social Informatics
Centre for Social Informatics
School of Computing
Edinburgh Napier University

Room demographics
Who uses what for purposes of collaborative work?

 Blogs?
 Wikis?
 Social networking?
 Instant messaging?
 Microblogging?

Purposes of the TFPL-Napier study
Establish main opportunities and risks of social
computing tools within organisations for collaborative
work purposes, as perceived by information and
knowledge management professionals

 Meet general interest of TFPL’s client base
 Inform TFPL’s training and consultancy portfolio
 Serve as pilot for larger, externally-funded piece of work

Focus on social computing tools

 Licensed collaborative work platforms, e.g. SharePoint (Microsoft),
Lotus Notes and Quickplace (IBM), E-rooms (Documentum)
 “Mature” social software applications, e.g. instant messaging,
blogs, wikis
 Newer Web 2.0 applications, e.g. social networking, microblogging

Focus on collaborative work purposes

 Focus to date
 Freely available social software for personal use
 Academic studies that treat “older” applications in non-corporate
environments, e.g. educational settings
 Few studies on internal social computing environments
 Lack of extant literature on newer tools, e.g. social networking and
microblogging applications

Focus on perceptions of I&KM community

 Rather than:
 Journalists, e.g. concern over vulnerable groups
 Educational researchers, e.g. goal of enhancement of classroom
environment
 Public relations professionals, e.g. efforts to improve corporate
communications

Research focus 1: scale of implementation
Organisational uptake of social computing
 Levels of adoption
 Degree of access to tools
 In general
 By tool
 By tool function

Attitudes of IM/KM staff to social computing
 In general
 By tool

Research foci 2 & 3: opportunity & risk
Anticipated & actual, feared & realised (literature review)
Themes Opportunities Risks
Productivity Improved productivity Time-wasting
through increased
collaboration
Practices Enhanced IM practice Erosion of IM practice, e.g.
archiving & accessing
exchanges, compromised
security
Behaviours Positive cultural change Antisocial behaviour, e.g.
bullying

Research activities: 12 weeks 2008
Weeks 1-2 Weeks 3-8 Weeks 8-12 Weeks 10-12
Literature Design of data collection Data analysis Writing up
reviewing tools and data collection
Preface to Web-based survey Quantitative – Excel 14,500 word
study Focus groups Qualitative - manual report
Interviews

Hazel Hall and Shooresh
Focus group held at Golzari based at Napier in
IDOX offices in Glasgow Edinburgh
(31/07/08)

Respondents to web- Melanie Goody and Belinda
based survey (07- Blaswick based at TFPL in
14/07/08) and London
participants in telephone
interviews (28/07 Focus group held at
-01/08/08) based across IDOX/TFPL offices in London
the UK (23/07/08)

Data subjects
Population
 TFPL contacts
 Direct, e.g. clients, attendees at SharePoint Summits
 Indirect, e.g. through the Scottish Information Network

Invitation to participate
 Face-to-face at TFPL Connect meeting June 2008
 Survey and focus groups: by e-mail invitation
 Possible to attend focus group, but not complete survey
 Interviews: volunteers left contact details on survey

Study contributions
Data set Data derived from Number of
contributions
1 Web-based survey 57 Survey majority
from public sector
2 London focus group 13 organisations.

Organisation size =
3 Glasgow focus group 12
median 725
employees.
4 Interviews 14
96*

*It was possible to make more than one contribution to the research, e.g. all who
were interviewed completed the survey (96-14=82); similarly it was possible to
complete the survey anonymously and attend a focus group .

Data collected, recorded & analysed
Set Data collected Recording and analysis
1 Tool uptake within organisation; Excel for analysis of quantitative data.
governance of tools; attitudes to Qualitative data coded up and analysed
opportunity and risk; challenges; manually.
demographic data
2&3 Participant reactions to, and Recorded as Word files and content
discussions of, preliminary results integrated into report under main themes as
of web-based survey. derived from analysis of survey data. Also
posted to TFPL blog, e.g.
http://blog.tfpl.com/tfpl/2008/07/index.html

3 Participant experience of Recorded as Word files and content
implementation: as executed, integrated into report under main themes as
planned or not yet undertaken derived from analysis of survey data.

Uptake of social computing for
collaborative work
Range in levels of adoption
Sophisticated implementations
with integrated “consumer” &
licensed applications

Non-provision

Uptake of social computing for
collaborative work
Range in levels of adoption
Sophisticated implementations
with integrated “consumer” &
licensed applications
Sense that the study came “too early”
Sense that the study came “too early”

High number of “don’t know” and “neutral”
High number of “don’t know” and “neutral”
responses to survey questions
responses to survey questions

Two thirds of respondents who provided additional
Two thirds of respondents who provided additional
free text comments at end of survey noted that the
free text comments at end of survey noted that the
impacts of social computing were yet to be felt
impacts of social computing were yet to be felt

Interviewees were cautious in drawing firm
Interviewees were cautious in drawing firm
conclusions
conclusions

Non-provision

Access and encouragement
Public sector
Public sector
Higher levels of access and
Higher levels of access and
encouragement
encouragement

Private sector
Private sector
Greater levels of actual usage
Greater levels of actual usage

Restricted use
Restricted use
Reported by 24% survey
Reported by 24% survey
respondents
respondents

Change management
Change management
investment concerns
investment concerns
Even/especially in cases of high
Even/especially in cases of high
financial outlay
financial outlay

Enthusiasm amongst IM and KM staff
Levels of enthusiasm for social computing for
collaborative work amongst IM and KM staff = high
 Increases collaboration and improves productivity in general
 Facilitates knowledge and information sharing
 Connects individuals and groups
 Widens communication channels
 Enhances IM practice
 More obvious and better organisation of resources
 Consolidation of material and reduction of silos
 24 hour access
 Induces positive cultural change, e.g. widened employee choice
 retention

The biggest risk?
Failure to capitalise on opportunities offered by social
computing tools due to poor implementation
management
 Respondents familiar with this risk from earlier experiences, e.g.
intranet developments from mid-90s onwards
 This risk is not considered in the literature
Like most things it’s about cultural change. A
Like most things it’s about cultural change. A
tool (however clever) can be used well/badly.
tool (however clever) can be used well/badly.
Therefore usual considerations apply around
Therefore usual considerations apply around
what purpose does it serve, selling it to the
what purpose does it serve, selling it to the
business, understanding business
business, understanding business
benefits/risks, giving staff skills to use [it/them]
benefits/risks, giving staff skills to use [it/them]
properly, providing standards and guidance
properly, providing standards and guidance
around use, encouraging good practice.
around use, encouraging good practice.

Less prominent risks
IM problems
 Information sprawl (but not overload); archiving; means of
accessing archives; (version control and information quality)
Compromised security
 (Legal infringement and disrepute theoretically valid, though not
realised in practice); some leakage of confidential information
Lowered productivity
 Coping with IM problems; failure to adopt social computing tools
 “If employees are going to waste time, they do not need social
computing tools to do it”
(Anti-social behaviour)

Top tools for IM and KM professionals
Rank Tool Opportunities Risks posed
1 Wikis Information sharing Information quality in
terms of wiki accuracy;
IM practice
Leakage of confidential
Productivity data
2 Blogs Connecting individuals & groups, e.g. Disrepute
unite separated team members
Leakage of confidential
Widening communication channels to data
large audiences, e.g. promotion of
work, opening up of conversations,
feedback

Tool availability & usefulness
Availability Usefulness
Wikis Wikis
Blogging Blogging
Social networking Instant messaging
Instant messaging Social networking
Microblogging Microblogging

Tool availability, usefulness & usage
Availability Usefulness Usage
Wikis Wikis Social networking
Blogging Blogging Instant messaging
Social networking Instant messaging Wikis
Instant messaging Social networking Blogging
Microblogging Microblogging Microblogging

Tool availability, usefulness & usage
Availability Usefulness Usage
Wikis Wikis Social networking
Blogging Blogging Instant messaging
Social networking Instant messaging Wikis
Instant messaging Social networking Blogging
Microblogging Microblogging Microblogging

 Ready availability of a tool does not guarantee popularity
 Under-exploitation of most valuable tools?
 Microblogging is barely on the radar, yet consider its features…

Microblogging
Elements of social networking
 End user determines source of information flow based on “social
network” that he/she builds
Elements of instant messaging
 Interactions are brief and to the point, real time, “familiar” format
Elements of wiki
 Public nature of conversations encourages collaborative building of
new knowledge
Elements of blogging
 Microblog, with easy linking to other resources

Microblogging
Elements of social networking
 End user determines source of information flow based on “social
Plus elements of
network” that Plus elements of
he/she builds
conversation, providing:
conversation, providing:
Elements of instant messaging
1. Meta-knowledge
1. brief and to the
 Interactions are Meta-knowledge point, real time, “familiar” format
2. Problem reformulation
2. Problem reformulation
Elements of wiki Validation
3. Validation
3.
4. Legitimisation
 Public nature 4. Legitimisation encourages collaborative building of
of conversations
new knowledge
Elements of blogging
 Microblog, with easy linking to other resources

5 stages of Twitter acceptance
http://www.slideshare.net/minxuan/how-
twitter-changed-my-life-presentation

Denial

II think Twitter sounds stupid.
think Twitter sounds stupid.
Why would anyone care
what other people are doing
right now?
right now?


Presence
OK, II don’t really get why
OK, don’t really get why
people love it, but II guess
people love it, but guess
Denial II should at least create an
should at least create an
account.
account.
right now?
right now?


Dumping
I’m on Twitter and use it for
pasting links to my blog
posts and pointing people to
Presence my press releases.
my press releases.
account.
account.
right now?
right now?

twitter-changed-my-life-presentation Conversing
II don’t always post useful
don’t always post useful
stuff, but II do use Twitter to
stuff, but do use Twitter to
have authentic 1x1
have authentic 1x1
Dumping conversations.
conversations.
Presence my press releases.
my press releases.
account.
account.
right now?
right now?

twitter-changed-my-life-presentation Conversing
Microblogging II don’t always post useful
don’t always post useful
stuff, but II do use Twitter to
stuff, but do use Twitter to
have authentic 1x1
have authentic 1x1
Dumping conversations.
conversations.
I’m using Twitter to publish
I’m using Twitter to publish
useful information that
useful information that
Presenceread, and to posts and pointing people to
people read, and to
people my press releases.
my press releases.
OK, II don’t really1x1 authentically.
conversebutget why
OK, don’t really why
conversebutgetguess
people love it,
people love it,
1x1 authentically.
II guess
account.
account.
right now?
right now?

Back to the biggest risk: “wrong”
implementation
Challenge of understanding changes in the environment
where social may mean business
 Organisational level
 Lack of investment/partial investment/restricted access
 Lack of investment in change management
 Personal level
 “Don’t know”/ “neutral”/caution
 Consider your own forays into social computing
 Work/social conversation
 Accounts and identities
 Microblogging issue today parallels e-mail 15-20 years ago?

… and parallels with the telephone
Illustrated with this clip from Topsy Turvy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z9cpzz6Cp0

Implications for information and
 Explore the value of social computing
 Sell “right” message on value to the organisation
 Play an active role in implementation planning
 Choice of tools
 Management of roll-out
 Design of governance guidelines
 Become mediators in social computing business environments
 Explore microblogging

More Gilbert & Sullivan
Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre explore
Facebook: our final conference treat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7RrHXNyONc

With thanks to Kev Sutherland

When social means business: the potential of social computing tools to support collaborative work as part of the organisational information infrastructure

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When social means business: the potential of social computing tools to support collaborative work as part of the organisational information infrastructure