I got a note from someone who read my last post wanting more details about what we talked about in that impromptu session last week in Vegas. First, I have to say it’s really funny to me that I hear more from people about my blog posts in e-mail and on Twitter than in actual blog comments. As long as they are reading.
Here are some of the really cool ideas we either uncovered or just came up with on our own during our research. Let me know what you think about these.
- Use a GPS social networking tool so I can see if the co-worker I want to meet with is even in town today.
- Import a bunch of my profile information from the Active Directory or the HRIS so I don’t have to do it all. And, don’t wait for me, the employee, to decide to create my personal page. Just create it for me. Peer pressure will take care of the rest.
- Team leaders use a personal blog to update their teams about team projects and initiatives. I can engage with my boss around specifics, helping the newbies on the team along the way.
- Use a blog template/tool to create project news feeds. Got an SAP implementation with 40 different individual projects? Since not every employee cares about all 40, do separate news feeds so employees subscribe to what they really care about. A simple blog tool will suffice. An RSS reader is crucial.
- Let employees create and share their podcasts about how to do things: how to keep track of your expense items; how to do a cool new macro in Excel; how to plan for your upcoming doctor visit. Then, use ranking or voting so the best stuff rises to the top. Give visibility to the very best stuff.
- Show employees, through social networking tools, what contributions I’ve made recently and how those rank. The more I engage, the more posts and comments people see and rank. Over time, I become a subject matter expert, because I am engaged in the network and willing to share. My reputation grows and trust grows too.
- When I search for and find someone with specific skills, give me ways to connect immediately: instant messaging (tell me if they are online); VOIP; e-mail, micro-blogging, etc.
- Let me follow the micro-blogging updates from subject matter experts so I know what they are working on and know when to engage them in my own work.
Here are several interesting case studies we ran across:
- A law firm uses blogging to capture intellectual property and collaborate because it is more searchable, retrievable and can be archived.
- A software company puts the corporate-provided content right next to the community-provided content. Users decide which is most helpful.
- A research and consulting firm puts predefined metadata tags into every application, so when I create a new document, I can tag it as I save it.
- A petroleum company provides executive bloggers with an editor who gives them readability and usability counsel, as well as strategic insight into topics and approach.
- A telecommunications company delivers 30-second messages from the CEO directly to the employee handset (wireless phone). (may need to sign in to get the full story)
Some of this is out there for a lot of you. But, if it helps you dream or aspire to something greater, then my work here is nearly done!
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