CIO published an article summarizing some companies that have implemented their own “twitter-like” technology and some guidelines. Click on this link: Twitter Alternatives That Are All Business (last page summary)
Some benefits from the technology are:
- The 140 characters forces the sender to be clear and concise.
- It’s possible to sift through a lot of information in a short time.
- Due to the elective nature of this media, those who are interested will be the participants.
- As Followers and Following lists grow, virtual communities will become defined and can be leveraged for research within the company.
Communities exist within companies by the mere nature of having people in different “departments.” These communities can frequently become insular and miss out on opportunities to learn from one another. When people find places of common interest they develop relationships of trust and increase the potential for cross functional collaboration and innovation.
The hype of this new technology, like email, portals and IM, will eventually pass and find a long term position in the business. The users of this technology are developing skills that will change the way we do business tomorrow. Companies may not be in a position to release their employees “wholesale” on Twitter, but I believe they can make the most of this by staying alert, learning, and facilitating the change that will bring long term value to the organization.
