productivity

Who would have guessed that we, yeah, me and you, go online to pass time. Huh. I always thought I went online because of the business I was in - internet consulting - business development - web content management - social media.

Cisco System has figured out how to improve business prosesses and productivity using social media tools. Thier CIO, Rebecca Jacoby has led the charge. "...

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

I've been using del.icio.us (social bookmarking site) for the last three years to bookmark and share what I find interesting on the net. Also, I use it as my primary search tool. Google/Yahoo are great for the generic stuff but for the meaningful stuff I use del.icio.us. Why? Easy, most of the bookmarks to web pages are intelligently filtered, noted, and tagged. Plus, I can find and make connections with others.

"The growing number of companies offering private-label social network solutions, as well as IBM's recent entry into the field with its Lotus Connections social software platform for business, is a sure sign of increased demand. Other companies, like LinkedIn and Ryze, have social networking at the core of product offerings that generate revenue by bringing offline business networking practices into the online world. And corporations are continuing to incorporate advertising on affinity networks in their campaigns to reach highly targeted audiences with measurable response rates.

But companies aren't replicating the free-flowing exchange that has been a hallmark of the broader blogosphere. Rather, companies are trying to harness that freedom and conform it to business needs, with forward-thinking companies using strategic planning and formal policies to shape the use of blogs and other Web 2.0 tools to drive more communication and collaboration among workers.

Bringing on the blogs

Business development idea - the growing market for business social networking software and community solutions as a new communications tool. That's right. Email is dying and knowledge workers really want to work together - collaborate - to get their work done.

The industry analyst firm IDC has released a new report that indicates that the enterprise social networking market (demo) is ready for ignition and liftoff.

I've been using del.icio.us for the last three years as my primary search tool. Google/Yahool are great for the generic stuff but for the meaningful stuff I use del.icio.us. Why? Easy, most of the bookmarks to web pages are intelligently filtered, noted, and tagged.

Hey, would you put crappy music on your ipod?

In the workplace, leveraging information in new ways improves decision making, customer service, and how people get work done. Business managers, team leaders, and customer facing employees will be amazed with the power and flexibility of social networking software.

"Connecting the Corporate Dots: Social Networks Reveal How Employees and Companies Operate" from Wharton.