Social Networks as a Collaboration Tool for the Enterprise

We are collectively well past the buzz and hype of the social networking phenomenon, and enterprises are well underway in determining how best to leverage social computing technology to drive innovation, reduce costs, and identify new revenue streams. Enterprises that are serious about social-enabling their operations must be more demanding with the technology they use, for they need capabilities that go beyond those provided by public solutions like Facebook or LinkedIn. At the same time, enterprises should fully leverage these public channels as new markets and as complements to their internal social initiatives. In this discussion we will look at some of the considerations and mechanics of building out social computing infrastructure for both internal and mixed internal-external enterprise audiences. We will compare the specific considerations for each use case, including user permissioning; social publishing through RSS, bookmarking, and collaboration tools like blogs, message boards, and wikis; and explore the possibilities of leveraging external social networks to enhance your enterprise’s online presence.