Intra-SNSs – Supporting Knowledge Workers

Intra-SNS as “Enterprise 2.0”

Professor McAfee defines Enterprise 2.0 as “the utilization of emergent social software platforms within companies, between companies, and between companies and partners or customers”(1). Here, “the utilization of emergent social software platforms” refers to a software environment where users are able to freely disseminate information in ways that are not pre-determined, and the exchange of information is shared and made visual. According to Professor McAfee, the primary communication tools used by knowledge workers have hitherto been divided into two types: “channels”, such as e-mail where information is freely transmitted among identified individuals but cannot be shared widely, and “platforms”, such as intranet portals where information can be shared among a large audience but it is difficult for individual users to transmit information. Known as social software, new tools such as blogs and wikis combine the strong points of both types. Professor McAfee has labeled the unique characteristics of these new software environments as SLATES (Search, Links, Authoring, Tags, Extensions, and Signals)(2).

Professor McAfee assumes blogs and wikis to be the social software that provides the foundation for Enterprise 2.0, and in fact IBM, BBC, Motorola and etc. are all introduced as cases where these tools are being utilized. However, intra-SNSs should be considered equally effective as these tools especially in Japanese firms. The first reason for this is many SNSs have diary (blog) functions, and so users can easily disseminate information in the same way as blogs. Moreover, with “footprint” and other such functions users can not only dictate access to information that they post, but depending on the material they can also adjust the scope of information disclosure or refuse certain kinds of viewers. In this way, users have access control. In addition, because SNSs make human relationships visible (as opposed to blogs), they make it possible to communicate while referencing actual vertical (hierarchical) and horizontal relationships within a company.

Furthermore, in SNSs users can freely create groups (communities) and easily engage in theme-oriented discussion on electronic bulletin board systems (BBSs). Also, by using the SNS characteristic of visualized human relationships, it becomes possible to tag information or share bookmarks (social bookmarks) based on both individual and group attributes, or to improve the precision of recommendations and the classification of information. Therefore, with the unique characteristic of visualized human relationships, intra-SNSs have great potential to serve as support tools for knowledge workers.

The effects of and challenges for intra-SNS

Through our personal experiences(3) and the results of interviews with other companies who have introduced SNSs(4), we have learned that not only does the effective use of intra-SNSs improve communication within the company but it also sharpens the quality of knowledge work. In these cases, it was not strong networks (strong ties) such as co-workers meeting face-to-face everyday at the same office, but rather weak networks (weak ties) such as indirect or distant acquaintances that worked effectively in answering questions posted on the SNS or in responding to requests for report reviews. It is of course necessary to devise ways of encouraging active communication within SNSs, such as evaluations of or motives for posting. However, since the members of SNS are usually based on invitation and tend to be more active in communicating than usual users, when compared with BBS or groupware attracting highly active communication may not require excessive effort.

Unlike most blogs, one challenge for intra-SNSs currently in use is that they are typically member-based, so the information within these SNSs is exclusive and cannot be shared outside of the member group. It is possible for SNSs to be either exclusive or open, but whether to make SNSs invite-only or open is an important and separate discussion. For now, it appears that the flip-side of the exclusive (adhesive) nature of SNSs is that it also promotes easy exchange and active communication within the SNS. If this is the case, full disclosure of the information within an SNS would mean stripping it of its greatest asset. In order to increase the effectiveness of intra-SNSs, it is important not only to continue the exclusive vs. open debate but also to have the range of information disclosure controlled by users, and to view SNSs as tools for freely imputing information and knowledge. It should also become necessary to implement the kind of technology and management practices that could locate useful information from accumulated information within an SNS, and then widely and efficiently disseminate such useful information on the intranet by automatically creating, for example, who-knows-what “knowledge maps” (know-who information).

(1) Reference: Professor McAfee’s blog, “Enterprise 2.0, version 2.0”.
(2) Reference: Professor McAfee’s article, “Enterprise 2.0: The Dawn of Emergent Collaboration”（MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2006）.
(3) Intra-SNSs being used within the Fujitsu Group were used during the writing of Fujitsu Research Report Series No. 269, “The Emergent Characteristics of Blogs and SNSs and their Impact on Organizations” (Japanese only).
(4) For example, NTT East’s intra-SNS “Sati”.