Face it..Facebook, MySpace and the like are here to stay and the wave of the future.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8v56MxdtHYg
The young worker of today (the Internet Generation) almost definitely has a social networking account and most have more than one. So what does this mean to business besides keeping an eye on younger workers to make sure they don't spend all day updating their personal profiles?
The saying - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em - might apply here. Rather than shun these sites, perhaps we should look at how companies can apply these tools to increase team productivity using the functionality that already resonates with the younger worker.
Let's take a tour and see how the applications might apply, with some customization and regulation, to the workplace:
- Messaging: essentially e-mailing capability with similar functionality of an everyday e-mail program.
- Profiles: this is where a user tells a little about him/herself. In today's work environment this can be quite helpful as teams are often in a variety of places and do not always have face-to-face contact. A profile allows workers to share details about themselves that make them more personable to one another. A user may also list a skill, experience or interest that may be of value in the work environment but not commonly known by the team as a whole. And profiles are searchable. Looking for someone on the team who has a special skill needed for a particular project - search it!
- News Feed: This is a feed like Reuters but for a person. There are some interesting applications to the workplace here. Everything from project updates (workers can advise on their latest project updates) to in office status (on the road, out sick).
- Event notifications: similar to any calendar program. Particularly useful for group updates. Project meetings, etc.
- File sharing: photos, documents, audio files, video files. Done in business all the time! But what if you film or audio record important meetings, training sessions and teleconference/video conference calls and post them for later reference or for those who were unable to attend or those who join the team later?
- Pokes: fun recognition tools to let people know they've done a good job that get posted on a persona's profile for all to see.
The functionality of social networking sites is powerful. With some customization and regulation, the functionality of many popular social networking sites could translated to the workplace with positive results
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