I wrote a note following the JMC Breakfast at UNESCO with Florence Devouard and Stephen Roberts (UNESCO):
Questions from intranet managers where I published 6 questions raised by the intranet managers during the breakfast.
I invited responses from readers, and heard from one - thanks Samuel for your contributions (bottom of page).
I will respond to these questions one per post and include Samuel's response to each question. I've separated them out into 6 posts because each one is a subject on its own. Please join the discussion and tell us what you think.
Previous questions: (1) Wikis versus the intranet or wikis plus the intranet? (2) Extreme personalisation - how far? (3) Intranet on cell phones.
Question 4 out of 6. Facebook
Question from the intranet manager: How should a company position Facebook vis a vis the company intranet?
Samuel's response:
Good question! Andrew McAfee has some interesting posts on this topic. I like the idea of Facebook being an Intranet. It’s really user focused. But where do you leave the corporate news and Whoiswho in Facebook? Or don’t we need them then?
My response:
I know several large, global companies that have created networks on Facebook. These networks are open only to employees of the company. Other companies have apparently let their employees create official groups on Facebook that anyone can join. The cases I know have done it using the company name and logo, but they let anyone in. Another company I know created a group on Facebook, but you must get approved by the administrator of the group before you can join.
My personal opinion is that in many of these cases (in all the ones I refer to above and know personally) Facebook is being used because the intranets of the companies are too rigid, only designated people can publish content, there is no easy way to locate people in the company if you do not already know their names. In other words, the intranet/portal landscape is weak and Facebook is filling the gap.
A number of companies are including "my site" or "my page" concepts in their intranets where individual users are free to present themselves, put their favorite links, build networks, etc. much like Facebook. This can definitely help build communities and let people find other people in groups that are geographically dispersed.
Risks to be managed
However, the questions that need to be answered for both corporate "my page" projects and closed groups on Facebook are:
1. What types of content can be put on these pages? Can people publish documents and other content they've produced, start discussions on professional or related topics? If so, how can this knowledge be made available to others if it is dispersed out on individuals' pages?
I would not count on the search engine in most cases.
2. In the case of open networks that anyone can join, is there a risk of subjects being talked about that present confidentiality risks?
3. If there is content on these pages that is relevant to the company, what happens when/if the person leaves, or simply closes down his/her page?
My recommendations:
1. Build the capacity of letting people have individual pages within your intranet.
2. Develop guidelines as to what the role of these pages is. It's more a question of saying that the scope should not include certain types of information, such as project-related than to actually prescribe what should be there. Leave a lot of space for creativity!
3. If you do not have this capacity internally, start a group on Facebook but limit it to members of your company (people with your domain's email).
4. Or, create a network that would let you include partners and other "outsiders", but make it a requirement to go through the administrator of the group.
One thing for sure: if people cannot do this internally, they will eventually do it through an external tool. If this has already happened, get involved, participate in or at least observe the group, but above all don't ignore it and hope it will go away.
If you haven't yet written your "e-behaviour" guidelines or business conduct and communication policies, you need to do it. And if you have them but they don't yet deal with employee activities online (internally on the intranet, email, etc.) and externally on the web and in social networking sites, now is the time to add this dimension.
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