Enterprise Social Networking Software

"The whole Web 2.0 explosion has moved from the consumer and college student world to professionals in the business world," says Amy Shuen, author of Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide. (O'Reilly Media, 2008).

Customer facing employees using social networking software are improving customer services. Employees are able to collaborate and share what they know with other employees and learn what they don't know about customers.

The open-source software movement developed because people had an "itch to scratch". One that "off-the-shelf" software did not support or was too costly to use. In the open source community people want to contribute, learn and share their knowledge and experience. They want to participate in a rich learning environment.

The following three posts have a wealth of information, ideas and tips for business managers and CIO's about social media, web 2.0, social networking, and online communities. The fact is, this stuff, social software has to be used to be fully appreciated. It takes time to grasp its power and usefulness.

Wow - Check out this article, "Mobile Social Networking Revenues Could Reach Us$52 Billion by 2012", from Cellular News.

I pulled this post from Conversation starter, "Why Social Applications Will Thrive In A Recession". It was posted by Josh Bernoff .

From CW, "Are You Obsolete? How to stay relevant in the world of Web 2.0, Wii and other wonders. According to a growing chorus of IT leaders, consultants and bloggers, IT needs to shift into a new role.

Danah Boyd, apophenia, has taken up the discussion on defining social networking technology. Be sure to check out the comments.

Here's one more how-to book on using the wisdom of crowds or "the global brain" to harness creativity and innovation. I haven't read it but the amount of academic research has florished the last two yeas so this new book probably has some new ideas for business development managers.

"There are clear signs that momentum is building for an enterprise implementation of social networks as tools to improve internal communication and to deepen customer relationships.