Microsoft Thinks Social Networking

Posted by Brian Balfour in UncategorizedMay 17th, 2006 | 5 responses

News.com reports that Microsoft has started to think Social Networking when it comes to new social enterprise software. From the article:

” Today, workers in large companies have a tough time figuring out who of their colleagues knows what….he software can see if the information seeker and expert have any worker friends in common who might be able to make an introduction. Workers can also choose whether they want to be open to being contacted directly.”

I think this has the potential to be a fantastic tool for large corporations, especially those with offices all over the country/world. Many large corporations have standard directories of their employees, but with the friend of a friend system implemented it will make contacting others within the company a lot less intimidating. This could not only lead to increased efficiency and creativity among the company, but also foster more friendly social relationships among co-workers.

I am usually against the large corporation Microsoft mindset, but with Microsofts leverage they should have no problem getting this software app into some major companies.

[tags]Social Networking, Microsoft, Social Enterprise, Social Software, Brian Balfour[/tags]



5 Responses to “Microsoft Thinks Social Networking”

  1. Devin says:
    May 17, 2006 at 2:06 pm

    Wow I agree, I don’t know why I had never thought of this before. Then again, a number of companies’ intranets may provide the information people need. It has to becuase, hey, business gets done without this tool already, right?

    This seems like a simple and natural progression for LinkedIn.

  2. brian says:
    May 17, 2006 at 2:11 pm

    Devin,

    I thought the exact same thing…I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of this before. A companies intranet may provide something basic, but I have never heard of anything based on the friend of a friend system. There are SO many things you could do with this type of system within a large corporation. The question is will Microsoft be innovative enough to take advantage of all the possibilities?

    “hey, business gets done without this tool already, right?”

    Agreed….but we were also saying the same thing about the internet as a whole back in the mid 80’s….and now we companies couldn’t function. I realize this is over dramatizing things.

    LinkedIn easily missed out.

    -Brian

  3. Devin says:
    May 17, 2006 at 2:41 pm

    Microsoft is big, slow, and clunky, lets go make our own CompanyBook.com. ;-)

  4. brian says:
    May 17, 2006 at 3:22 pm

    I agree….lets do it.

  5. Stuart Oliver says:
    May 18, 2006 at 3:50 am

    >have a tough time figuring out who of their colleagues knows what

    This is true of many many corporates. Sometimes this occurs due to compleixty of an organisation. Sometimes it is a bi-product for individuals wanting to hold “titles” but not the corresponding, or expected, accountability. Lastly, it occurs from the classic empire building that many, wrongly, believe will secure their future.

    My view to solve this is to implement a white label version of an existing SN site. Why re-invent? Even something as simple as searchable profiles would be an excellent start. Natural progression would include org charts as an example.

    Another view on this is to let companies that have this problem continue. It will mean that the SME’s and Entrepreneurs among will always be more adaptive, responsive and likely innovative too!

    Stuart

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