E L S U A ~ A KM Blog Thinking Outside The Inbox by Luis Suarez

How IBM Uses Social Media to Spur Employee Innovation

I have mentioned already a couple of times how my first contact with social software tools inside IBM, my current employer, was around the year 2000, when one of the communities I still belong to (And still one of my favourite ones, too!) decided to put together a wiki where we could all contribute and share our knowledge across. From there onwards, the continuous learning experience of transitioning from traditional collaboration and knowledge sharing tools to these social tools has been quite exciting, to say the least. But I am sure you may be wondering when did IBM *really* got started with all things 2.0 on a wider scale, right? Well, this is a blog post where I will share some of those insights myself.

However, I am not going to start telling you all sorts of various different details on how IBM has been adopting social software tools over the last few years, starting probably on that landmark date of late 2003, when a blogging platform called BlogCentral  first became available through the Technology Adoption Program (a.k.a. TAP). No, I am not going to do that. Mainly, because I am not very fond of re-inventing the wheel myself, and, secondly, because there is a stunning online resource out there that has done a wonderful job in describing very thoroughly how everything got started and where we are now.

Check out the article put together by Casey Hibbard, over at Social Media Examiner, under the title: "How IBM Uses Social Media to Spur Employee Innovation". Casey has been working with my fellow IBM colleague, and good friend, Adam Christensen, putting together, perhaps, one of the most tremendously comprehensive and thorough articles / reports, available out there that clearly describes in very simple, effective and helpful terms what IBM’s Social Media strategy is at the moment, and how it all got started a few years back.

In a way, the article itself is a lovely trip down the memory lane on how things got started, not only from the perspective of what social tools there are out there available to us, from back then till today, but also how something so important as IBM’s own Social Computing Guidelines came about and how IBM made a conscious decision to not just have a single corporate social media voice, but instead have thousands of voices! making them all become *the* brand. I know that this may surprise a few folks, but if there would be a single word that I could use to describe it I would probably stick around with effective.

Another interesting part from the article itself that both Casey and Adam talked about is the section on "No Policing", which I am sure it is going to come about as a shocker, specially for those businesses out there that still live in a command-and-control world. Well, here is an interesting, and very relevant, quote from Adam on what IBM means with that "No Policing":

"We don’t police. The community’s largely self-regulating, and so there hasn’t really been a need to have someone go about and circuit these boards and blogs" Christensen said. "Employees sort of do that themselves… And that’s worked wonderfully well"

Indeed, again thanks, for the most part, to those Social Computing Guidelines I mentioned above. Thus, as you will see, it’s not unrealistic to have such policy. Yes, I am sure you would be thinking by now there is a lot to risk involved, but then again, there is plenty more to gain. And having had those guidelines for nearly five years now, and living by them quite dearly, I can assure you that the advantages have been much more numerous than the disadvantages. But you can read more about it on the article itself…

Finally, you will be able to see a couple of other very interesting, and revealing, sections around the subject of the key role from Jams in helping mature those efforts of social software adoption as well as how social media plays that paramount role within the Smarter Planet initiative. Rather fascinating read!

Before I let you go though, as I am wrapping up this blog post, I will tell you what’s my favourite part of the entire article; one that has always been in people’s minds with regards to their own social software adoption efforts (And initiatives): proving the business value of social software. Yes, the good old dilemma of figuring out the ROI of social networking. Now, if you have been reading this blog for a while already, you know what my ¢2 of the conversation are. So I’m going to finish this article with Adam’s take on it (Which, by the way, I wholeheartedly agree with 100%!!):

""I think if you d ask any senior executive at IBM, How important is it for our employees to be smarter? , inherently they understand that these tools can play in helping with that, Christensen said. "I don’t see myself rarely or ever having that hard conversation on the value of engaging employees in these spaces.""

Spot on, don’t you think? All the way coming down from the top! It’s all about how smart and productive you would want to be with these social tools as a knowledge worker. And next time that someone asks me what IBM is doing in this space of Social Computing or what my thoughts are on proving the business value of social software, I guess you folks know where I will be pointing people to, right? …

Exactly!

Tags: Social Media Strategy, BlogCentral, Technology Adoption Program, TAP, Casey Hibbard, Social Media Examiner, Adam Christensen, Social Computing Guidelines, Guidelines, Policy, Brands, Branding, Voices, Jams, Smarter Planet, Business Value, ROI, Return On Investment, Leadership, Smart Work, Enterprise 2.0, Social Software, Social Networking, Social Computing, Social Media, Collaboration, Communities, Learning, Knowledge Sharing, KM, Knowledge Management, Innovation, IBM, Social Networks

The Real Business Value of Social Networking

After the amazing reactions from yesterday’s blog post on Defining Knowledge Management and Enterprise 2.0 (Still catching up with some of the wonderful commentary, by the way, which I will certainly get back to shortly to keep adding further on to the various conversations) I thought I would put together a much shorter blog post where I will point out to you one of those follow up articles that I have found rather inspiring and incredibly accurate on how I myself perceive the power of social networking within the corporate environment, to say the least.

And very much along the lines of what I talked about yesterday, since it was put together as a reaction to that article I posted earlier on. The entry I would want to encourage you all to take a look at and read is one by Kevin Jones titled "I Finally Get It – Why Social Networking Is So Important". It’s one of those good reads that after going through it you won’t be the same person any longer. It’s all about a big ah-ha! moment that every now and then we all get to experience and get through, but that time and time again (Not sure why!) we keep hiding for ourselves. Well, Kevin didn’t and that’s why we can read, and enjoy!, what his ah-ha! moment was that inspired that post.

In fact, I’m going to say very little about it. And just include over here, as a teaser, one of the many little precious gems you will find in that article, so you can go ahead and read further on:

"Why Social Networking? To tell stories. To make sense of the information we share. To put it in context. THAT is the value of Social Networking. So many people dismiss the need to network in this way, yet again we see how critical it really is!"

Some pretty amazing stuff, I tell you! So much so, that while reading through it I just couldn’t help thinking about this short appearance from, the one and only, the always insightful Seth Godin, who, once again (Remember last time I talked about him on "The Second Coming of Blogging?"), nails it, as far as I can tell, on what the real challenge is for social networking to flourish in the enterprise world. Yes, it has got nothing to do with the well known Web 2.0 from the consumer space. Actually, quite the opposite.

In over the course of a little bit over two minutes, he gets to share some really good insights on what the real business value of social networking is all about. And guess what? He doesn’t do it through a definition, nor through stating hard facts none of us can (nor will!) relate to! Ever. Instead, he shares it through stories. Stories we can all relate to. Specially the main one on "going out of your way for your people, for your networks". But I guess, I better leave it to Seth himself to tell his story. He will do, for sure, a much better job than myself…

Oh, and if you didn’t have enough with those two precious minutes, here is another blog post that this whole conversation on finding the true business value of social networking really thrives on and, which, even though it was shared a little while ago, I still think it will have such an important relevance for the next few years, that it’s just mind-blowing… Yes, it is that good!

I am not going to explain much more about it. Instead, I would want encourage you to read through, pause for a little, savour, perhaps, a lovely cup of coffee (Or tea, if you would prefer) and read it again! It will change the whole concept you may have about social networking. In a way, in a very meaningful way, it changed mine. And I am certain it will change yours. Have a look and enjoy reading Friendship by the inimitable Euan Semple.

That, my friends, is where we need to head… That, my good friends, is where I shall keep treasuring you all for who you are and what you do. Day in, day out!

Ready to make the leap?

Tags: Definitions, Social Business, Kevin Jones, NASA, Seth Godin, Stories, Sharing Stories, Storytelling, Narrative, Euan Semple, Friendship, Friendships, Business Value, Value Add, Enterprise 2.0, Social Software, Social Networking, Social Computing, Social Media, Collaboration, Communities, Learning, Knowledge Sharing, KM, Knowledge Management, Remote Collaboration, Innovation, Networking, Social Networks, Conversations, Dialogue, Communication, Connections, Relationships, Productivity, ROI, Return On Investment

Enterprise 2.0 Conference Highlights – Day Two (Continued …)

(Continued … ) This is Part II from a previous blog post I have put together detailing some of the major highlights from Day Two from the Enterprise 2.0 conference event in Boston. And I will resume those very same highlights with the Launch Pad 2009 session detailed below:

Launch Pad 2009

Arrived late on to this session hosted by Stowe Boyd, so I missed a bit of it, and on top of things the wi-fi was not working for me for a little while, but I had the opportunity to catch up with the final 4 finalists for the Launch Pad and the overall winner was eventually Brainpark (Their Twitter id is here). Thus CONGRATULATIONS, guys!!!

It’s funny, before the Launch Pad session I was not really very much aware of what Brainpark were up to, but, once again, serendipity did the magic and took care of me. On that same dinner I shared with Ben, Greg and a few others I got to know and talk to a couple of folks from Brainpark who gave me a lovely 1:1 private tour of what it does and how it is trying to get some traction in the Enterprise 2.0 space.

My take? Well, not going to say much more, since I am thinking I will be blogging about them soon again, but I can honestly say that for everyone out there who has been doing traditional KM Brainpark is probably the closest representation to what they envision over a decade ago! KM on steroids or the per-used KM 2.0. Capturing knowledge whenever it happens, processing it accordingly, and making it available right away afterwards for further re-use! I tell you, the panacea for everyone doing KM out there and with plenty of social flavours all over the place! (Yes, I know, I will be talking about them again, I am sure!)

Networked: How the 2.0 Enterprise Makes Itself Transparent, Participatory, and Collaborative

With Jeffrey Stamps and Jessica Lipnack; Perhaps one of the sessions I enjoyed the most from Day Two, along with Andy McAfee’s keynote session. Both Jessica and Jeffrey did a great job in helping set the stage on where we are with the 21st organisations and where we should be; and all of that by going through a trip down the memory lane explaining how little things have changed in the last few decades in the corporate environment… How accurate!

Great quotes like "We can’t solve 21st century problems with 19th century organisations" surely had the desired effect of wake-up call for those of us attending the session. Talking about the four ages of organisations was also quite revealing, specially when match acrossed with similar concepts we have been using all along: "nomadic, agricultural, industrial, information (Tribes, Empires, Corporations, Networks) – small group, hierarchy, bureaucracy, network = Complexity!". And even more when Jessica mentioned how neither of them have substituted any of the former ones, but, instead, kept adding further on top! Goodness! Never thought about that one before and so spot on, don’t you think?

I also enjoyed a couple of additional interesting thoughts wrapped up with a superb quote I just thought I would add over here as well; both Jeffrey and Jessica mentioned how various different factors like the econolypse, layoffs, pay cuts, travel bans, global warming awareness, etc. etc. are helping shape organisations into three different types of geographies: Orgsphere, Sociosphere & Geosphere. And here is the priceless quote:

"We’re born to work and play together in teams, but we have to give enough of ourselves to the filaments connect" Rather an interesting one, don’t you think? It looks like, whether we like it or not, we are born to network. It’s just a matter of when, how and with whom we engage in those social networking activities. We will eventually be getting involved! Regardless! So why refuse to engage? Why not embrace altogether? … Plenty of food for thought on that one I can imagine …

Community & Social Network Sites: Think Adoption, Not Deployment

With Mike Gotta, moderating the panel, and with Dan McCall, Erik Johnson and Kishan Mallur as the speakers; this surely was another interesting session since all speakers detailed quite a bit how their own companies have been making progress with the adoption of social software and how in most cases the biggest advantages have been coming through with the participation in communities. Something I am sure most of us could relate to, specially if you have been involved with community building programs for a while now.

The interesting thing from this panel session though was how none of the speakers focused the conversation on the technologies they were using, but on the inherent issues of making use of these social tools; concerns about compliance, security, privacy laws (Specially in European countries), mandating the usage of social software were just a few to mention.

Then it came the realisation of how people share knowledge because they want to share their know-how, their experiences, their lessons learned, not because something or someone asks them to, which resulted in helping break down the silos and hierarchical structures allowing employees and top management to be on the same scale, i.e. on the same level, everyone collaborating and sharing knowledge openly and much more transparently.

Thought it was interesting as well how the panel ended with a final thought of having Social Computing Policy and Guidelines in place to help make good progress over time, as opposed to have to deal with plenty of additional headaches. And there it came another validation point on what I have been exposed to since way back in 2005! Way cool!!

Privacy, Data Ownership and Identity in an Increasingly Social World

With Irwin Lazar, moderating the panel, and with Kailash Ambwami, Many Gill and Sam Curry as the speakers; this was, perhaps, the session where I had set up the highest expectations, since it is a topic that has grabbed my interest quite a bit as of late, yet those expectations were not met. Yes, there was plenty of commentary around identity, and data ownership, but I was rather concerned about how little privacy was part of the conversation.

Yes, it was mentioned as part of the privacy issues with external social networking sites, but apparently there doesn’t seem to be that same keen interest when those social networking sites are behind the firewall, because most folks think that it’s not a problem since it is behind the firewall. Well, not very accurate.

The biggest hurdle that social networking is going to have in the corporate world, believe it or not it’s already happening!, is with privacy, specially with privacy issues and the corresponding privacy laws, mainly in European countries like Germany, France, Austria, Italy, even Spain!, where, if not looked at properly, and thinking about them thoroughly finding the best of solutions, they can shut down your entire efforts in providing that social software strategy employees could benefit from.

Yet, it wasn’t identified as an issue and somehow I feel that businesses need to wake up to this reality with privacy while at work, because it is a completely different game than out there in the consumer Web 2.0 space, and surely becomes much more of a touch issue inside the corporate firewall. And if not, do a quick search through Google on security and social software and you will be up to some really interesting reading!

I do hope folks realise about the kind of impact privacy is having with social software deployment efforts, because if we don’t look after those privacy issues carefully we are bound to have plenty of stories that would be everything but success stories. Quite the opposite. So if your business hasn’t started working through the privacy issues while at work using social software, don’t waste any more time, start today! Better late than never!

Phew! That was it! Those are some of the major key highlights from myself from the Enterprise 2.0 conference event in Boston a few weeks back for Day Two. Yes, I realise they are a couple of long blog posts, but, as you would be able to see, plenty of food for thought with some golden nuggets on key things I learned throughout the day that I hope will inspire you just as much as they did to me. Hope you had a chance to enjoy that cup of coffee (Or two!) as well and let’s get ready for the highlights article of Day Three!

Coming up shortly …

Tags: e2conf, Enterprise 2.0 Conference, Boston, Agenda, Conference Events, Events, Conferences, Reality Check, Twitter, Enterprise 2.0, Social Software, Social Networking, Social Computing, Social Media, Collaboration, Communities, Learning, Knowledge Sharing, KM, Knowledge Management, Remote Collaboration, Innovation, Networking, Social Networks, Conversations, Dialogue, Communication, Connections, Relationships, Productivity, Launch Pad, Stowe Boyd, Brainpark, KM 2.0, Knowledge Management 2.0, Transparency, Participation, Jeffrey Stamps, Jessica Lipnack, Organisations, Nomads, Agriculture, Industry, Information, Tribes, Empires, Corporations, Networks, Hierarchies, Groups, Bureaucracy, Complexity, Econolypse, Orgsphere, Sociosphere, Geosphere, Social Software Adoption, Born to Network, Dan McCall, Erik Johnson, Kishan Mallur, Compliance, Security, Privacy, Privacy Laws, European Union, Works’ Council, Social Computing Guidelines, Policy, Irwin Lazar, Kailash Ambwami, Many Gill, Sam Curry, Identity, Data Protection, Data Ownership, Corporate Privacy Issues, Trust, Self-Governance, Governance