Valley PR Blog

Social networks go to work

By Len Gutman on October 15th, 2008 In Social Media

Just in case you thought I did no work at all on my recent vacation, I did happen to read an interesting article in the USAToday about the growth of social networking at corporations.

The gist of the article is that corporations are using social networks to keep employees connected across geographic boundaries, as well as keep e-mail in-boxes more free from personal and other non work related matter. An interesting theory that.

“The spread of the workforce has put a premium on tech tools that let people collaborate, learn and share info from different parts of the world,” says Ross Mayfield, co-founder of business-software maker Socialtext.

I gave this some thought while I was waiting in line to ride Space Mountain for the third time. I can really see where an internal social network could be a positive thing for a larger company with employees who don’t get a lot of in person face time. It could definitely add to employee communications, understanding, and even create a bit of fun in the workplace (how scary!).

Still, it would only work for a larger company with a large enough employee base that social opportunities are limited. When I worked at Insight back in the last decade we had something of a precursor — the web-based employee phone book that included pictures of the employee and an area for personal info like favorite books and hobbies. Of course, it was known as Insight’s online dating site.

Do you have a social network at your employer? If you do,  I’d be interested to hear about how it’s used.

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