Gregorious V 2.0

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Enterprise 2.0

Enterprise 2.0

Have you noticed how 2 of the arguably largest (in terms of user base and activity) social networks have had an increasing business presence? Think of 'Fan of...' pages on Facebook and companies setting up business Twitter accounts. What was once a consumer focused technology has been adopted by companies as another front to run their business.

Enterprise 2.0 is the idea of creating and using an open ecosystem of tools in a business setting that encourages a culture of learning and sharing ideas. It's about access to real time data through inter-connected applications, services and devices. Though there are many different facets, I'm mainly going to concentrate on those aspects that we have covered in our course, mainly social software. With the way that the interwebs have weaved itself into our daily lives, it's becoming increasingly important to be cognizant of the current environment. Think about how Google and Microsoft have now included Twitter tweets and trending topics in real time search results.

The gambit of Enterprise 2.0 can run from internal corporate settings out to every 'connected' person on earth. It is about providing a 2 way channel of communication and stepping away from the structured settings of the past. Is it to allow collaboration to increase innovation, productivity, and flexibility. Two heads are better than one, many heads are better than two! Imagine collaborating on a project through email.

Email is a very linear structured format and is essentially displayed as such. One respondent may answer one question but miss the next and responses to questions get mixed up and lost within the sea of emails. It is like starting at the top of the ladder with a question and then stepping down each rung to find the corresponding answer. Now take a program like google wave and consider what it does to email. It provides real time updates to conversations (or waves as they like to call it). You no longer have a ladder structure of conversations. Each wave can be responded to separately and flows more naturally like a real conversation. Links, polls, and embedded web content all make Google Wave a much more usable collaboration tool as opposed to email. This extension also applies to blogs and wikis which allow a collaborative effort in an unstructured environment. Using a multiauthor system, people can easily contribute all types of content-text, video, pictures. Participants can continue the conversation, challenge each other and push ideas forward in a collaborative network.

Let's return to the topic of Facebook and Twitter. The use of social networks and social media is having a major impact on how companies learn and share information in a business setting. It used to be where the only time a customer visited a site is if they needed something. A very one way street type of travel. Then came RSS feeds, Facebook, and Twitter. A customer subscribing to a companies RSS feed can be kept up to date about current happenings. A nice idea, but feeds only goes to subscribers. How do companies reach a broader audience? Enter social networks. Twitter allows companies to reach out to consumers, but in a different fashion. A personal RSS feed is more private compared to a Twitter account who has followers. These followers are public. And friends of followers can see who all they follow. This allows a wider audience potential and allows for a more public yet personal interaction. I complain about Comcast on Twitter and what happens? I get a tweet from @ComcastMelissa asking if she can do something to help.

What about Facebook? Create a Fan page on Facebook. Get people to become 'Fans' of your company page. Friends of friends are able to see this new friendship and can become fans/friends as well. Updates show up on fans/friends news feed. The more a company updates its page, the more a fan/friend is reminded of that company. And that's what they want, to be in the minds of consumers and use the power of social networks to spread the brand recognition. Facebook is not as powerful a tool as Twitter is in terms of customer engagement, but these social networks are all linked. LinkedIn is another social network with a focus on business and networking. They provide links that enable you to follow them on each major network. And this is what the impetus is all about, utilizing the ubiquitous environment of the interwebs social realms.

Though Enterprise 2.0 is composed of much more than just social software, social software does encompass much of what Enterprise 2.0 is about. We are just now entering in a new era where rich Internet applications, providing software as a service, and using the web as a general platform, are coming to the forefront of the business space. Only time will tell how the business landscape will adapt and change in this rapid web centric environment.

Wordia

Wordia

Wordia is a compelling new way to learn about words. Imagine those calendars that teaches you a new word everyday, now plaster that onto a website with user generated videos and you have Wordia. They have an existing Wordia corpus so only those words are allowed at the moment. They are working on a feature that would allow the submission of new words. Be it as it may, our group, consisting of Chris Thorn and Keith Manthey shot a total of 3 videos.

1. Findability.

Though it's not in the Wordia corpus, it is in actuality a real word and an imperative aspect of website design.



2. Massage

This video was submitted to Wordia and we were the first group to submit a video for this word. As a prize, we get a red ribbon place upon our video for all the world to see. I haven't figured out how to embed the video straight from Wordia so I've place the YouTube video instead.




3. Wordia

And our final attempt was the word Wordia itself. We found it ironic that Wordia was not in Wordia's corpus. We are waiting anxiously for the day where we can submit a request to have Wordia added to the corpus and our video added to the site. Until that day comes, you may see my ugly mug in the YouTube video below. Enjoy it while you can because it will be coming down very shortly.