Why Use Social Software Instead Of a Regular Intranet

I wrote this memo to my colleagues about the need to use social software. I thought I will share the wealth,


1. The world is moving beyond portals to communities. Creating content and posting in a portal is useful. Communities enabled tools such as SuccessFactors Jam are better. Communities enable the right people to share the right information at the right time, without any overheads or red tape.

2. Content is increasingly being shared via short videos and timely short blog posts or one line updates rather than long boring presentations or press releases.

3. Delivery mechanisms are moving from Push to Pull. We could create and share content on the topics that people are curious about rather than focus only on what we think people need. Let our audience tell us what to write about.

4. Learning by conversation. Not just by Presentation : The reason why conferences are popular is because the audience knows that they can have a conversation with the experts and connect with them. We could replicate this in the online Jam group focused on one topic. The experts on a topic  can be available in the group for content sharing and conversation.

5. Content consumption is increasingly done from smartphones and tablets : We need a community tool that can be accessed from all popular mobile devices. Jam works well on most popular smartphones and tablets.

6. Innovation cycles are getting shorter : The traditional elaborate approach worked when we had one innovation cycle every year. That won’t be enough when our innovation cycles become every quarter or even more frequent.