It is no doubt that social media such as Facebook and Twitter have made their way into people’s lifestyles. As seen on Microsoft’s developments in SharePoint 2010, even the workplace could be enhanced by the implementation of social computing. The inclusion of such a feature serves to bring the company closer together and create ease in communication and collaboration, whether on an office-based intranet or through hosting on cloud systems. SharePoint then also makes it possible for easier distance teamwork.
Among the features adopted by the collaboration platform from social media include the development of profile pages and networking tools between colleagues. Profile pages and recent activity pages keep people in the company informed of one’s current projects and statuses. This especially helps for distance collaboration, especially over a number of offices whether in different states or even countries.
Photos and presence also help to knit the corporate community closer together, making the names not just faceless anonymous co-workers, but actual people who work within the company. SharePoint 2010 allows for the ease of communication whether by instant messaging, email or document collaboration. With an organizational chart built into the program, people can see the workplace hierarchy at a glance and figure out who to approach for certain concerns. There is even an option to include suggested colleagues into a personal network for easy contact.
SharePoint’s new features even include social tagging on top of standardized taxonomy employed by the organization. With these features the collaboration platform offers to personalize the working environment, it becomes easier for people to find the information they need, and create projects with better communication.
Tags: technology social