Social computing for business

gallery

There is no denying the impact that social networking sites, as typified by the likes of MySpace, have had on the way we use the Internet today. The big 10 such services have, according to recent Nielsen/NetRatings figures, a combined unique audience of an astonishing 68.8m users. That equates to something in the region of 45 per cent of all active users of the web.

Of course, the vast majority of this social networking is, well, social by nature. Yet is there an opportunity for business to benefit from the same resources? Certainly the business model has not escaped certain social sites such as LinkedIn, a leading example of business social networking with a global membership in excess of 6.7m, and other long established players such as the smaller (but subscription only, which perhaps explains why) Ecadamy with a modest 100,000 or so. There is no doubt that all but the most backward of business is aware of the tools available within the social computing space, so why are the majority not being more forward in adopting them?

Concern over control

"Control and legislative concerns are perhaps the most obvious" says Stewart Manley, chief technology officer of content management software provider Mediasurface, adding "but I would actually suggest that management fear of those things is the biggest weakness, for they are barriers to adoption." Certainly the lack of control is a recurring theme amongst the people we spoke to.

Roger Greene, chief executive of FTP and messaging software provider Ipswitch argues that anything proprietary to the business "won't be shared unless the social network is very small, with membership restricted to trusted colleagues with whom the participant already has a relationship."

Social computing, the new recruitment agency

But it's not all bad news, there is plenty for business to get excited about as well. David Gurle, vice president of Reuters Collaboration Services is convinced that the social computing concept stands up within the business environment, and significantly so. Although agreeing that it is used today mainly for recruiting scenarios, telling us that "publishing your job advertisement through LinkedIn is far more effective than just posting a job at Monster.com" Gurle is also convinced that it will also bring better and faster knowledge sharing and the ability to reach people who would otherwise be missed. "The current corporate environment is very inward focused. With social computing we are going to open things up and create a new era of productivity."

Others argue that employers waste a lot of time trying to find the right person with the right fit, and appropriate knowledge, expertise and experience. "Services such as LinkedIn can help cut down on the time wasted and aid people to find the most qualified person to fit the purpose" said Matt Goode, marketing director for web content management vendor Immediacy. What's more, Goode reckons that businesses can take the lead from social networking sites such as the Friend of a friend (FOAF) project which includes pages describing people, the links between them and the things they create and do. "An organisation can replicate this on a local level to improve inter-departmental relations, encourage greater collaboration and cut out information duplication" he says.

Security issues

ScanSafe analysed more than five billion web requests in a one month period and found, that on average, up to one in 600 profile pages on social-networking sites hosted some form of malware. Social-networking sites used for business tended to be more secure than more open social-networking sites. ScanSafe found no instances of malware on LinkedIn, for example.

Email to a friend

Print this page