Comments on: What I Learned: Flogging the “Facebook for Product Development” Horse http://tech-clarity.com/clarityonplm/2009/what-i-learned-flogging-the-facebook-for-product-development-horse/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-i-learned-flogging-the-facebook-for-product-development-horse Clarity on software for innovation, product development, engineering, and manufacturing Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:17:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dora Smith http://tech-clarity.com/clarityonplm/2009/what-i-learned-flogging-the-facebook-for-product-development-horse/comment-page-1/#comment-18 Dora Smith Wed, 20 May 2009 22:21:43 +0000 http://tech-clarity.com/clarityonplm/?p=64#comment-18 Yeah, I understand the concerns and your recommended approach that companies ground the social interaction in work. Yet at the end of the day I think companies need to come over the culture shift. Access doesn't imply abuse. If the company has trusted me with a phone line to not spend all my time yapping on personal phone calls, they should be able to trust me to access the social networks and sites that add value to my work and relationships. I do agree the best fit will be social extensions are in the context of other work tools (product innovation & development...like you mention). But in the meantime companies will need to work with rather than ignore or block access to those people are migrating to. Yeah, I understand the concerns and your recommended approach that companies ground the social interaction in work. Yet at the end of the day I think companies need to come over the culture shift. Access doesn’t imply abuse. If the company has trusted me with a phone line to not spend all my time yapping on personal phone calls, they should be able to trust me to access the social networks and sites that add value to my work and relationships.

I do agree the best fit will be social extensions are in the context of other work tools (product innovation & development…like you mention). But in the meantime companies will need to work with rather than ignore or block access to those people are migrating to.

]]> By: jim.brown http://tech-clarity.com/clarityonplm/2009/what-i-learned-flogging-the-facebook-for-product-development-horse/comment-page-1/#comment-12 jim.brown Mon, 18 May 2009 18:47:21 +0000 http://tech-clarity.com/clarityonplm/?p=64#comment-12 Dora, I have been giving your message some thought since I read it. I agree with you from my own personal experience. I have found that my social interactions with business-related people have led to unexpected business value. To me, it is a bit like learning in casual conversation before a meeting starts (or in the cafeteria, or at lunch, ...) that somebody is working on a project that might impact yours. So I have experienced exactly what you are describing. On the other hand, I see so many corporations struggling with social networking. They are blocking access to Facebook and other social computing platforms. They are even blocking access to more business-related forums such as Twitter. Why? Because they are afraid that they will be misused, with people spending "work time" on purely social pursuits. Is this the same concern that companies had about putting a telephone in the office? Or granting access to e-mail? And isn't the reverse true, where we are all VERY accessible outside of work via mobile phone and PDA? I see these two conflicting views, and I am trying to reconcile them. To me, the common ground is allowing social networking in a business context. I believe that you can have "social" experiences that are related to work, and that those will provide business value and (hopefully) be sanctioned by corporations. At least forward-thinking organizations. In the end, I think we need to hold people accountable for their performance, and if social networking is what helps someone be successful it will show in their work and they shouldn't be limited. But I don't see that as the case in many instances, where companies still feel they need to manage their employees' time and not their output. So how can we get corporations to embrace social computing instead of block it? I think the answer lies in grounding the "social" interaction in work. Perhaps Yammer is a good example, where the conversation is typically internal? Or more likely, I believe it will be social extensions to existing tools and enterprise solutions that integrate the work context (product innovation, product development, and engineering) into the mix. What do you think? Dora,
I have been giving your message some thought since I read it. I agree with you from my own personal experience. I have found that my social interactions with business-related people have led to unexpected business value. To me, it is a bit like learning in casual conversation before a meeting starts (or in the cafeteria, or at lunch, …) that somebody is working on a project that might impact yours. So I have experienced exactly what you are describing.
On the other hand, I see so many corporations struggling with social networking. They are blocking access to Facebook and other social computing platforms. They are even blocking access to more business-related forums such as Twitter. Why? Because they are afraid that they will be misused, with people spending “work time” on purely social pursuits. Is this the same concern that companies had about putting a telephone in the office? Or granting access to e-mail? And isn’t the reverse true, where we are all VERY accessible outside of work via mobile phone and PDA?
I see these two conflicting views, and I am trying to reconcile them. To me, the common ground is allowing social networking in a business context. I believe that you can have “social” experiences that are related to work, and that those will provide business value and (hopefully) be sanctioned by corporations. At least forward-thinking organizations. In the end, I think we need to hold people accountable for their performance, and if social networking is what helps someone be successful it will show in their work and they shouldn’t be limited. But I don’t see that as the case in many instances, where companies still feel they need to manage their employees’ time and not their output.
So how can we get corporations to embrace social computing instead of block it? I think the answer lies in grounding the “social” interaction in work. Perhaps Yammer is a good example, where the conversation is typically internal? Or more likely, I believe it will be social extensions to existing tools and enterprise solutions that integrate the work context (product innovation, product development, and engineering) into the mix.
What do you think?

]]> By: Dora Smith http://tech-clarity.com/clarityonplm/2009/what-i-learned-flogging-the-facebook-for-product-development-horse/comment-page-1/#comment-10 Dora Smith Fri, 15 May 2009 15:56:04 +0000 http://tech-clarity.com/clarityonplm/?p=64#comment-10 Jim, good thought provoking Q&A. I would argue there is still business value in the social context. I'd worry that limiting the conversation to just "what I'm working on" would produce robotic reponses. I'd hate for the the platform setting to just look like calendar entries. I've found some of the most meaningful business conversations in these social environments started with something social/personal. Just the other day a colleague I've never met except over Yammer sent me a link to a 3D academic computer science program. She sent it to me because she saw personal comments I made about my kids. So the personal/social context led to a resource I see business value in for our academic customers and the IT industry overall. Jim, good thought provoking Q&A. I would argue there is still business value in the social context. I’d worry that limiting the conversation to just “what I’m working on” would produce robotic reponses. I’d hate for the the platform setting to just look like calendar entries. I’ve found some of the most meaningful business conversations in these social environments started with something social/personal. Just the other day a colleague I’ve never met except over Yammer sent me a link to a 3D academic computer science program. She sent it to me because she saw personal comments I made about my kids. So the personal/social context led to a resource I see business value in for our academic customers and the IT industry overall.

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