IGC: wiki?
The consumer-oriented technologies categorised as social media and social networking are transforming the way that people communicate and accelerating the spread of information and wikis have become a dominant tool in the web 2.0 toolbox. This technology have the potential to transform the way the International Geological Congress members collaborate within the company and address some of the top enterprise-wide challenges, primarily because members are from all over the world.
It has been long established that simply buying some software because it’s fashionable or cool is not a strategy for success. The same goes even more for Enterprise 2.0 social software. Enterprises that adopt a simple “if we deploy it, they will come” attitude are forgetting the basic rule of software deployments: technology is a means not an end. To that extent, then, clear goals and purposes for the technology should be at least outlined at some point during the decision making and implementation process. Below are some tips on enterprise wiki deployment that may help move your and IGC’s wiki from the limp system with 3 or 4 entries on stuff no one cares about to a vibrant location for socially created and updated information. The list has been derived from the translation of The Semantic Puzzle blog.
- have clear rules and responsibilities
- do not start with empty wikis
- employ, entice so called “champions” to lead the way for others contributors
- change your mind on information processing – be open to a new paradigm for your working knowledge environment
- be careful with vendor-specific plugins
- do not outsource to professional information brokers – capture your information, it’s your competitive advantage
- everybody should be able to edit (nearly) every page (social creation of information is the purpose of the wiki – let the social groups correct errors – if you are still worried, implement an editorial workflow or other review process for sensitive items but don’t let it become a bottleneck)
- get your pages connected internally and externally – relevant information is found both inside and outside your firewall but know your audience.
- always create useful information which others can reuse
- get a clear definition about the fields you want to use the wiki for
- identify your organisation’s advantage in having a wiki – find a way to measure success and failure
- see which tools and services bring some personnel benefit for employees – in making their jobs easier, more convenient, better, or simply more enjoyable.
A great wiki tool on the market is Atlassian’s Confluence. As described on the product’s homepage Confluence allows for “Less Email, Fewer Meetings and Better Results”. The software is a rich editor, deep Office and JIRA integration, and powerful plugins help teams collaboratively develop technical docs, intranets, and knowledge bases.
Kathleen
I agree with you there about the importance of planning! (I feel like I’ve repeated this in every post whether it’s about wiki, blogs or social networks!) Especially with the low cost of entry – it’s easy enough to create a wiki using open source software but the hard work is in the creation of content, which the organisation has to devise plans for in order to succeed.
Nicholas Burge
Hi Kathleen,
So many companies believe social media is easy to implement, which only applies to the set up. It takes a lot of effort to keep the social profiles up to date and effective.
What are your thoughts on Confluence? Have you had any experience with this software or read any reviews?
Daniel Keirnan
Great suggestion about IGC implementation!
I have never heard of confluence before reading your blog post! very informative and thanks for the video link.
Nicholas Burge
Thanks Dan!
I see that you also have an interesting blog about Wikis.
And thanks for watching the video, I always wonder if people take the time to watch the videos I link on my blog.
Caitlin Hess
Interesting Post Nick!
I agree with your list. Especially the point about “change your mind on information processing – be open to a new paradigm for your working knowledge environment”. I feel that this is probably the most important. As the structure and versatility of a Wiki differs so much from standard word documents, it is important to keep an open mind.
Nicholas Burge
Thanks Caitlin!
I feel the same way! It’s very important to be open to the idea of change, and uncontrollable change at that.
Anthony
I also agree that many companies believe the idea that “if we deploy it, they will come”. Sadly it is often not the case and the company then believes Wikis and other systems are a waste of time.
Nicholas Burge
I agree that many companies have probably tried to use it but have given up all together due to a lack of direction or failure to advertise it.