Knowledge Rocks! » Social networks

Another SLAW column – Social Networks

Joel Alleyne — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:01:11 +0000

You can find my piece on “Social Networks – Why Should You Care” on SLAW.

In this column I try to keep the language and terms distinct – social networks, social (knowledge) media, social networking.Ã‚Â This is also one of my areas of research as I try to understand the role of social networks in expertise management / location. If you come across any references in this area; I would be glad to hear from you.

Social Networks – Patti Ankram

Joel Alleyne — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:57:48 +0000

I had the opportunity to see Patti Anklam speak at the Conference Board KSEN session on Social Networking and Social / Organizational Network Analysis in September. The depth of her understanding and work in this area shows well when she presents. You can find Patti in Boston or through her website. I would also recommend her book, Net Work. You can find it on Google Books or Amazon. This is an excellent and practical guide to understanding the power of social networks in organizational settings.

Blocking social networking sites

Joel Alleyne — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 02:54:31 +0000

I continue to be curious about companies who block social networking sites. The common argument is that these sites reduce productivity as employees lolly-gag on company time checking their personal pages.

I found this post recently on Business Week that referred me to a survey done by Barracuda Networks (who sells tools for email and web security). In the survey, they asked customers (those with their security tools .. and not a random sample of businesses) whether they blocked social networking sites. Of 2400 customers surveyed, 50% said they block access to Facebook or MySpace.

Contrast that withÃ‚Â Serena Software in San Mateo, California. This company now promotes social networking Fridays for staff to keep their pages up to date.Ã‚Â It is also using Facebook as an alternative to a corporate intranet – a place for their staff to collaborate.

Seems to me that many companies are missing out opportunities to use these tools to their advantage.