The increasing use of Social Software

Description

Enterprise 2.0 is a system of web-based technologies that provide rapid and agile collaboration, information sharing, emergence and integration capabilities in the extended enterprise. It is highly based on social software with functionality such as searching, linking, authoring (blogs and wikis), tagging, extending and signaling (subscribing i.e. feeds). The software must be easy to use, free from restrictions, network-oriented, social (stressing transparency, diversity and openness) and capable of emergence (leveraging the collective wisdom of the community). The most common Enterprise 2.0 tools are the ones linked to the concept of Web 2.0, namely blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, podcasts, social bookmarks, collaborative filters, social networks, mashups and agents.

One of the most essential collaboration tools of Enterprise 2.0 is social networking. The so-called Social Network Analysis, emerging from the field of sociology, points out a significant influence of social networks on economics nowadays. The collaborative aspect of social networks strengthens business opportunities within as well as between corporate organizations, presenting a significant influence on the development of Enterprise IT.

The presence of wikis, blogs and other Web 2.0 tools support the concept of information sharing and agile collaboration for the benefits of businesses and global corporations. Continuous development in the social knowledge sharing over the internet will not only represent an essential aspect of Enterprise IT, but will shape the future of the economic system.

A network economy is one in which value is created and shared by all members of a network rather than by individuals or individual corporations, and thus economies of scale stem from the size of the network, not the enterprise by itself. Development of the network economy presents significant future influence in the development of Enterprise IT, making social networking of higher importance to corporate organizations.

It is the openness, authenticity and transparency of the World Wide Web that wins over the traditional closed approach to doing business. The value creation of information sharing and collaboration over the internet is an advantage most corporations need to take into account nowadays, as it is known that most unexploited talent resides outside organizations than inside. Therefore, the future Enterprise IT would be expected to focus on taking full advantage of discovery and utilization of such emerging talent.

Enablers

1. Research & Development: The World Wide Web Consortium, big software corporations
2. Highly popular small business and user applications using social networks and Web 2.0 tools
3. Emergence of a new economy based on networking and value creation through collaboration
4. New technologies in the area of social software

Inhibitors

1. Privacy concerns related to the emergence of a new, network economy
2. Legal concerns related to copyrights
3. Lack of trust from the enterprises regarding allowance of external collaborations

Paradigms

1. More and more people will be Internet driven and engaged in using Web 2.0 tools of collaboration
2. Enterprises will benefit from collaborations reaching beyond their institutional boundaries

Web Resources

1. http://www.aiim.org/What-is-Enterprise-2.0-E2.0.aspx
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_2.0
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network#Social_network_analysis
4. http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Item/Entopia-Introduces-Enterprise-Social-Networks-Analysis-For-K-Bus-5643.htm
5. http://www.cmswatch.com/Feature/145-Wikis-in-the-enterprise
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Economy
8. http://socialcomputingjournal.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=722