Filed under: Collaboration and social
Collaboration tools are now being deployed widely within organisations, with a particular focus on team and project collaboration.
What is all too often forgotten, however, is that there are potential collaborators outside the organisation as well.
Two worlds of collaboration
Most of us are now involved in some form of collaboration on the web, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or any one of the dozens of other tools.
Gathered under the banner of ‘web 2.0’, this type of interaction has become widespread, and is driving a change in our attitudes and behaviours regarding collaboration.
Within organisations, collaboration has also become a hot topic. Team spaces, wikis and blogs are spreading rapidly. The impetus for these tools is a recognition of the importance of supporting ‘local’ activities within teams and projects, as well as a broader focus on innovation in organisations as a whole.
To a large extent, these two worlds are kept entirely separate. Many organisations are still nervous about having staff use collaboration tools on the web, and internal tools are only available to internal staff.
What has been overlooked, however, is the frequent need for internal collaboration activities to include external collaborators.
(CM Briefing 2008-17, read the full article)