Two weeks ago I posted about a very “web 1.0″ style PDF twitter guide. I actually think this concept of microblogging short messages, somewhere between IM and email as a means of team communication and collaboration is going to become increasingly important in business. Just like with particular email services like Hotmail, although Twitter might be the best known example at the moment, there will be many services to choose from, and many software providers including the concept in their collaboration platforms.
Laura Fitton runs Pistachio Consulting, a company that specialises in advising companies on this new trend. On her website she says:
“‘Microblogging’ is the industry standard term for applications like Twitter, Plurk, Pownce, Jaiku, but many see it as inaccurate and too ‘inside baseball.’ We prefer ‘microsharing’ which reflects the nature a little more accurately, and isn’t as off-putting to ‘non web2.0′”
I definitely agree enterprise microsharing is a better description. She’s just completed a comparison of 20 (yes 20!) tools and services. You can download the comparison as a PDF, or read it on the Srcribd document sharing service (which in itself is well worth going to have a look at as well):
Enterprise Micro Sharing Tools Comparison 11032008
Some of the tools mentioned in this report could be helping your team collaborate better for little or no cost, except the time involved to sign people up, and learn how to best use them. You should definitely investigate microsharing, and if you need any help or advice - just ask here.
Just as I was writing this I noticed a new service called Tweetworks that apparently started less than 3 weeks ago out of Boston. This could add useful public and private group functionality to Twitter - I’ll be checking it out in the coming weeks.
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