Bridging Business to Business and Personal Communications Gaps With Social Networks

Today it's rare that any company works projects totally internally.  It's also rare that you are only communicating/collaborating for "work" from 9 to 5 and for personal otherwise.  Our professional and personal lives have blurred.  Unified Communication and Collaboration "tools" need to effectively bridge multiple enterprises together, as well as allow personal/professional connections outside your enterprise to be effective and useful.   "Free" social networking services can have a role in the enterprise and in bridging multi-company and appropriate personal/professional communications.

Presence and Messaging 
If project collaborators are in multiple companies there should be one or more mutually accessible forms of presence and instant messaging to offer the same choices as intra-company systems.  We have many social networks (Skype, LinkedIn, Google Wave and now Buzz, Facebook and other networks) that contain a form of presence or logged in status as well as a "chat".  I've written before about recognizing and supporting these multiple communication modalities and broadening the definition of what a "contact" is.

When it comes to business to business, use of these networks allows much more than the voice conference call method of reaching project members.  They are also way to connect into personal communications when necessary.

Examples
You're on a multi-company conference call.  It happens to be a voice oriented call so there is no active web conference or associated collaboration tool running.  Your business partner in another company is up next on the agenda for issues and status.  There's a reminder you want to give them about an issue to be sure they describe.  You pull up their contact information on your "phone" and see they are online on Skype, or another presence and IM-capable service. You can see where they are present, click one, and privately message them with the reminder.

While on the same call, you realize you're running quite late for a family dinner date.  You pull up your contacts list on your desk "phone" to find your spouse online on Facebook.  Through a click you start a Facebook chat message and inform them you're running late and to change your reservation.  No stepping away to make a separate call home. No putting the conference call on hold to make the second call.  No going to the cell phone to do a text.  You've initiated it right from your "phone" with virtually no disruption to your ongoing meeting.

Why the quote marks around phone?  I use the term loosely these days.  Today's office communication devices are and need to be more than just a phone with voice oriented contacts and voice call log histories.  More on todays devices here.


Integrate it
Unified Communication systems can make the connection to and use of the many emerging communication networks and modalities more effective.  In my examples above, I'm talking about seeing presence indicators and access to these networks directly from my main business communication device and applications.  I want a seamless experience as opposed to having to open separate network interfaces and applications to see the presence, or use the "IM" or do a "post" to it.  I call it my communication dashboard or home screen.

What Makes Social Networks Fit?
They're "free" to the user for one.  Second, they are available for anyone to create business, personal or combined accounts.  Many businesses, professionals, and individuals have a presence on one or more of these networks and it's still growing tremendously.  They can be a highly available common ground.   I don't believe at all that these modes of communication are a short term fad.

What Hinders Social Networks As Enterprise Communication?
Agreed there are security, productivity, privacy and other concerns with these networks.  These concerns are holding back some businesses and individuals from fully supporting using them.  The players that handle it best, and avoid mistakes like Google Buzz, as one recent example, will be left standing.

Another issue I see is the rapid change and continued emergence of more and more players.  These social networks are also moving into their own email support. As if I need or want more email accounts!  Some are considering enterprise versions meaning they see the enterprise integration opportunity.

I don't recommend trying to keep pace and support all emerging networks. It's not practical.  Make an assessment of which networks are the most used, secure, open to integration, and growing.  Easier said than done right now.  Regardless, these networks demand attention in todays communication universe.

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