Very interesting new book on the power of social computing to change our lives in unexpected ways, “Connected” by N.Christakis.

In CONNECTED, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners. Intriguing and entertaining, CONNECTED overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm-that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. It will change the way we think about every aspect of our lives.

Intel CIO, Diane Bryant expresses support for social computing in a recent podcast.    The following is an excerpt from the post at EnterpriseLeadership.org

As a globally diverse company with more 83,000 employees, numerous suppliers, and millions of external customers, Intel has continued to keep pace with effective ways for all constituencies to collaborate effectively. In 2004, the company began internal blogging with the CEO leading the charge. Two years later, Intel opened up external blogging as a way to reach out and communicate directly with specific manufacturers that use Intel products, and with end users. Bryant says, “As the devices based on the Intel architecture have become more solutions-based and directed at end users around the world, we needed to have direct connection with these end users. Social media or social networking provided us access to this external community.”

In 2008, Intel launched Open Port, a series of external communities for end users. Bryant says that today more than 75 percent of all the content on these communities comes from end users, not Intel. “We have seen a strong viral pick up on solutions. We have examples of customers coming together to solve their real problems.” Intel also uses social media for software development. Some of these software development communities allow people to collaborate about how they have optimized their software suite for the Intel architecture.”

While Intel has begun to reap the benefits of social media, this company knows that the pervasive nature of social media means that proper controls need to exist.  Bryant says, “Most executives I talk to say that their social media initiatives tend to self-police themselves.” Intel has adopted a code of conduct that defines how people must act when they engage in all forms of Intel electronic communications, both internally and externally. The code also has provisions for maintaining legal compliance.

Read the full article

I found this article, by Phil Wainewright, posted on the Connected Web, to be particularly interesting and on the mark.

In  Enterprise 2.0: Automating the Unpurposeful ,   Phil  discusses how technology is supposed to automate purposeful activities, so that it can satisfy a defined business need and generate a measurable return on investment. But social computing automates activities that appear largely unpurposeful. So how can we justify investment in Enterprise 2.0?       Read the article to see how value emerges.

Very nice compilation of social media predictions for 2009.   These are not necessarily regarding the use of social media in the enterprise, but a great job by Peter.

http://beingpeterkim.typepad.com/files/Social%20Media%202009.pdf

Jeremiah posted this on his blog today (Feb. 9, 2009).  Its exactly the kind of information I like to share on this digest.

Computerworld interviewed me (jowyang) on how business folks should use Twitter, as well as Laura Fitton (twitter) and Stowe Boyd (twitter). This is one of those articles that is a great primer for those who are hearing a lot about Twitter, but just don’t ‘get it’. So use this article, the practical steps listed, and the suggestions to learn how to best use the tool to meet your needs. I try to remind my friends don’t answer “what are you doing” but instead “What’s important to me, or you”. As you get more advanced, you may try some of the desktop clients –that can either increase your productivity –or suck you in completely.

Here is  the full article .

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2009/02/08/for-the-professional-how-to-get-started-on-twitter/

I found this posting at Social Computing Magazine, Jan. 29, 2009, by David Booth to be a great summary.   The following is a clip from the article.

Top Enterprise 2.0 Tips for Improving Workforce Collaboration in 2009

http://socialcomputingmagazine.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=646

In this four-part CEO series, we have already run some of the industry visionaries through the inquisitory gambit, but just in case you missed it, feel free to check out:

Part One: Defining Collaboration in 2009 – We look at a shortcoming the industry has faced so far, and attempt to resolve it.

Part Two: Top 5 Challenges facing Enterprise 2.0 in 2009 – We identify and explore the challenges on the way.

Part Three: Where is Enterprise 2.0 Technology headed in 2009? – In an industry where technology first proves its value outside the firewall, before enterprise adoption occurs – we look at one of the new technologies that you may see a lot more of in the coming year.

And now, in this final segment, we’re learning from the folks who have seen the successes and failures of implementing Enterprise 2.0 technologies first hand, as they share their Top Enterprise 2.0 Tips for improving workforce collaboration in 2009. As one would expect, these tips might conflict with one another, since each CEO has a different vision for the needs in the industry and a different idea of how best to fulfill them. Hopefully, as 2009 progresses, we’re going to hear more and more differentiation from each of these players as they struggle with the threat of commoditization.

Here is a very interesting article from Jim Stogdill, posted on O’Reilly Radar on January 27,  entitled, “The Army, the Web, and the Case for Intentional Emergence“.      Well worth a few minutes of your time.

“…the fundamental question that the web answers isn’t whether REST is better than SOAP, but whether emergence is more likely to create innovation than enterprise planning, and the answer to that question is yes. “

Don has revisited in predictions for 2008 (kudos!  most folks never do this ! ) , and his predictions for 2009.

Found this post at BlogHound

January 12th, 2009 by Lois Kelly Posted in Smart company stories, Social media strategy, Word of mouth |

TechCrunch posted some interesting stats from 2008.

Facebook still on the rise, as is Blogger and WordPress.   However Microsoft’s LiveSpaces declined.