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Intranet 2.0: How Much Is Too Much?
There are signs of Web 2.0 around every corner: it doesn’t take a keen eye to see the signs. What started as an internet craze is now being spilled onto the intranet world as another efficiency and productivity solution. But as the gaps between the intranet as we know it and the intranet 2.0 are bridged, we beg to ask: is the switch necessary?
Those in Favor Say I
Blogs, RSS feeds, shiny web templates, and miniature icons: is there a place for this Web 2.0 content on your intranet? In terms of efficiency and reliability, the answer is simple. What better way to save time editing static templates than to have streamlined content via a weblog? And what better alternative can you think of to keep employees updated than the trusty RSS feed?
The Web 2.0 movement works and it works well. If it didn’t, there wouldn’t be thousands internet users writing blogs, designing suave (yet simple) templates, simplifying tasks, and overall making the internet an easier and more likable place. This kind of thinking would likewise suggest that a migration of these improvements to an intranet would be a tasteful decision.
We can’t disagree, as some Web 2.0 subjects can be quite useful. Take the Wiki for instance. A Wiki is a community-type knowledge base where anyone can edit its contents. At first this may not seem too exciting, but apply it to your internal knowledge base and see the wonders it can create. Instead of customer support employees desperately trying to solve a problem with their own knowledge, they can browse the Wiki to see if anyone else has encountered it. Company events, meetings, and other information can also be recorded in case one forgets, or simply was not present. Wikis may also be used to interlink employees for closer business relationships - and still the list goes on.
Another intriguing feature of Web 2.0 is tagging. With tagging, content can be “tagged” with keywords so that related content can be found without problem. We may use tags to tag a monthly budget, for instance. At the end of the year simply browse the appropriate budget tag and voila! Your end of year budget reporting just got a lot easier. As with Wikis, the list can go on - tagging can be as creative and productive as you allow it to be.
And of course, who can forget blogging. Blogs work well because they are so easy to maintain. They are much like their very own content management systems - which can be costly. It may take some editing and effort to get the professional look with blog software, but it is usually well worth the effort. Blogs usually come standard with interesting plug-ins and add-ons. They allow for easy archiving, comments, navigation, and much more; and that is probably more than you can say for the Web 1.0 static news pages of the past.
Those Opposed Say Nay
There might, however, be a fine line between intranets and internet. Perhaps the gap shouldn’t be crossed - maybe the Web 2.0 model is even more of a corporate burden than what can be obtained through its benefits.
If Web 2.0 elements are introduced, what would happen to corporate identity? Before you know it, your company may become more personal than you’d like. For instance: how long can you allow employees to contribute to your Wikis, comment on blogs, and tag articles before your corporate identity goes from professional to personal? It’s great to see companies strive for personality, but too much play will mean that work isn’t getting done.
If employees are being drawn into the Web 2.0 craze they are certainly not doing tasks that may be more productive. Time management, as a result, will suffer. This is in direct violation of the Getting Things Done principle, or GTD, that companies work towards. Sure, the blog would allow for more feedback and navigation - but wouldn’t the static homepage accomplish the same thing without the unnecessary extras? It’s important to distinguish between necessary and unnecessary; yes, tagging is a neat feature - but does it solve more problems than it creates?
Lastly, we have the issue of plausibility. Is it plausible for the customer service representative (mentioned earlier) to document each and every problem they solve? If customer support representatives have enough time to create detailed Wiki entries that explain the problem and solution, then it seems like a job cut may be in order. While the Wiki would cut down on training efforts, it would still detract from efficiency nonetheless.
Closing Comments
So who’s right? Like most things, companies should accept a hybrid of the two arguments. The tagging feature really may help with sorting out budgets and expenses - so make it only available to financing employees. The Wiki is nice, but we don’t want to create a social tool that will waste work hours - so make it available to the customer support branch only. And for the sake of saving corporate identity, keep a sense of dignity when creating blogs - getting too personal may blur the line between work and play.
It’s very possible to contradict the very meaning of Web 2.0 standards by including too much of it; a gaudy interface is not Web 2.0 compliant. Remember to keep things simple, maintain a sense of integrity, and keep an open mind. The Web 2.0 revolution has already taken the internet world by storm, and the intranet is might just be next.
