Andrew McAfee at the Enterprise 2.0 Conference
The main one they get out of it so far has been the ability to find not so much other pieces of information but other brains all the way across the community. When I started my research on Intellipedia, the U.S. intelligence community's equivalent of Wikipedia, I thought that the benefits would be like what we see with Wikipedia itself. When we're looking for information, the most readily accessible good resource about topic X is there in Wikipedia, and it's where we go to start our research.
What I learned instead was that, although there are good articles in Intellipedia, more fundamentally, because everyone's contributions to Intellipedia are attributed rather than anonymous, if you've done something smart, I can find not only what you've done, but I can find you. The point is, I would never have found you within the intelligence community without the new tools.
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One of the things I have come to understand in my work in social network analysis is that being able to make sense of the connections -- the lines among us -- gives us access to questions and insights we might not otherwise have.
The decade ahead will see the emergence of the Next Generation Collaborative Enterprise that will leverage innovation and operational excellence without boundaries.
Now picture this. Priorities are set by clusters of experts that make decisions. Decisions are communicated real-time through social media applications. Work is shared on a secure collaboration technology platform. Individuals are able to apply themselves to the work based on their skills and availability, regardless of their geographic location. Expertise outside the Enterprise is included ‘on-demand’ to bring necessary knowledge to bear. Funding is directed based on milestones. Direct accountability is embedded into the social network. Finally, organizational functions become less relevant and ‘Re-orgs’ become obsolete. Leadership is defined as the ability to influence, envision and execute ― rather than the authority to command and control.
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This quote from Mike Gotta tells you some of what's on the minds of execs trying to figure out the new media landscape.
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"Identity and security aspects of social media and social networking has become the most active research area I have right now - including topics such as brand monitoring and reputation. Social media inquiries have dominated by inquiry load since May - primarily driven by interest in Twitter and how to leverage that particular environment in a manner that satisfies risk concerns.."
I liked how Euan framed this one:
"Understanding that the technology is an enabler for exposing the value which can emerge from broader cultural shifts should help business better grasp the values which can be unlocked"
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Technology as the enabler is something often lost in the discussion. If you rush to tech, you're digging a deep hole that most companies never get out of. With definable business reasons backing up your web strategy, it's a helluva lot easier to see when and where things are breaking down.