For many large companies, it's difficult to keep track of who is who, and who knows what -- or even who is responsible for what. When it comes time to organize a particular project, even small companies can overlook talent that sits just down the hall.
Online, however, there are a multitude of ways to get and stay connected, whether it's through LinkedIn, MySpace or Facebook. And when it comes to collaborating on a project, there are plenty of ways to do that, too, including the Google-owned JotSpot "wiki" service.
Computer services giant International Business Machines is hoping to tap into the interest in social networking with a new suite of software tools it launched on Monday. While many companies might be reluctant to use open or consumer-oriented Web-based tools, IBM is pitching its suite as a solution that companies can run in-house, with no fear of disruption or security risks.
IBM's Lotus Connections falls into a category of business applications that Harvard Business School professor Andrew MacAfee has dubbed "Enterprise 2.0." In the same way Web 2.0 tools such as Flickr and YouTube take existing services and make them more interactive and community-oriented, Enterprise 2.0 services bring more interactivity to the workplace.
The IBM suite has five elements: It helps staff set up profiles that list their interests and expertise; it makes it easy to create online "communities" based around common interests; it allows employees to set up project-based collaborative websites; it makes it easy to share bookmarks; and it provides the tools for creating blogs.
Much of the software behind the suite has been used within IBM for months and more than 450,000 IBM employees reportedly have their profiles online.
It's not surprising that IBM would decide to launch such a suite of tools under the Lotus name. Lotus, a standalone company founded by Mitch Kapor before IBM acquired it, became famous because of the appeal of Lotus Notes, which blended e-mail and a collaborative online work environment. Lotus was acquired by IBM for $3.5-billion (U.S.) in 1995.
Some of the services that IBM has included in its new suite of tools are likely to put the company in competition with software giant Microsoft, whose Sharepoint software is also aimed at helping companies make better use of the knowledge and resources they have among their own staff.
Its new suite of software isn't the only step IBM has been taking into the broader world of online social networking. The company has also been experimenting with the online virtual world known as Second Life, developed by Linden Labs. Users can create an "avatar" or virtual version of themselves, and then walk or even fly around in a virtual world complete with islands, lakes, communities, and -- increasingly -- commercial entities.
IBM recently held an employee retreat in the virtual world and more than 3,000 IBM staffers have Second Life avatars.
Will meetings in the future involve your avatar chatting with other avatars on some tropical island in a virtual universe? Not any time soon, perhaps, but online networking tools of all kinds are clearly a major focus for the software company.
