There is no doubt that there are many tools on the Internet that make collaboration between companies and their customers possible. While I have already written about several companies that are effectively integrating these tools into their business communications strategies, I would now like to look at which tools are most prominent today.
Twitter– Twitter is a microblogging website that allows users to post “Tweets” about what they are doing at any point in time. Each “Tweet” can be no longer than 140 characters. This allows your followers on Twitter to easily stay up-to-date on your life. Below is a clip from the CommonCraft Show that describes how Twitter works.
In a recent article on TwiTip.com, Darren Rowse writes about five ways a company can benefit from using Twitter. One of these benefits he mentions is collaboration. He states that no matter how large or small the collaborations efforts he has made through Twitter, they have combined to be great. It is due to experiences like this by people all over the world that Twitter is quickly becoming a popular collaboration tool for companies and individual professionals alike.
Wikis– These are tools used by groups to share information easily over the Web. The use of wikis allows for group members to meet and get work completed in the time or place most convenient for each individual member. The sites are created and maintained by the users, so the information on the site stays current. The most popular wiki on the Internet today is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that can be edited by users all over the world. Below is another clip from the CommonCraft Show that helps describe how wikis work.
Companies all over America have used wikis to help gather information efficiently so it can be passed to customers. The use of wikis has even spread to book writing, as I wrote about in an earlier post on We Are Smarter Than Me by Barry Libert and Jon Spector. Wikis not only support convenience among users, something that was previously overlooked by collaboration tools; but also necessity. Thanks to wikis, time restrictions and geographical locations are no longer limitations on group work.
These are just two examples of tools that companies are using to increase collaboration between themselves and their customers. In my next post, I will look at how social networking sites are also helping to initiate collaboration on the professional level.
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