Why Enterprise Microblogging Matters

It certainly is easy to dismiss microblogging as "a bunch of people saying they are having coffee or heading out to lunch" and thinking that there isn't much use for it. But, if this is the case, why would Gartner predict that in less than 2 years, 50% of enterprises will be using microblogging as part of their enterprise social network solution? In this post, I would like to share some of my ideas about why enterprise microblogging is a useful and valuable tool.

Microblogging in the enterprise is a way for users to quickly communicate critical information to a broad audience and receive timely responses. You can post a question, share news, ideas, documents, and post status updates, and other people within your organization's network can reply, or comment, or simply indicate they "like" your post. In addition, with a tool like CubeTree, you can add files, photos, links and tasks to your updates.

Because you choose whose messages you'll receive by "following" specific people and groups, microblogging provides a solution to a real business problem many knowledge workers face: email overload - two simple words that describe an uphill battle we fight every day with our inbox. Trying to collaborate on projects in email often generates confusing threads with unclear requests resulting in either missed deadlines or wasted effort. Worse yet, all that effort is not reusable for others in the organization because it is locked in your Inbox. Using a social network like CubeTree for microblogging means the news feed generated stays within the enterprise and becomes a part of the company's data and is searchable and discoverable by all employees. Microblogging is much more compelling, it alleviates the struggle of keeping up with email, and actually makes your email more valuable as a messaging tool.

For example, our CEO, Lars Dalgaard recently micrblogged his pending arrival in the Shanghai office for a visit. While his visit was certainly expected, in a fast paced work environment not everyone in an office may get the notice (email overload!). The local sales rep follows Lars on CubeTree, saw his status update and was able to capitalize on the opportunity and set up a number of visits with local customers.

When employees are on the move, they can use microblogging to keep in regular contact with others. One post from the road communicates status to many and keeps projects moving forward. Microblogging with CubeTree works on many platforms (mobile devices, desktops and email) and keeps people connected regardless of their location, time zone or device.

Just this week I was traveling very early in the morning to make a meeting in California and my flight was delayed. I used CubeTree to update my status from my iPhone to let people know I'd be running a few minutes late. With one simple and short communication I was able to reach everyone in the meeting and they were able to start on time and conference me in on the taxi ride from the airport for the first part of the meeting.

So maybe those "out to lunch" and "I'm headed to SFO" status updates do matter. Posting your current activities lets people know what your availability is. If you're just out to lunch, then maybe it can wait for your return, but if you're out of the office for a few days, then they know to go to your backup. Sound familiar? It should, that's very similar to using the "out of office" assistant on your email.

Finally, it's also much easier to keep information fresh and current using microblogging rather than simply relying on other corporate data sources. While company newsletters tend to be dated, and email blasts tend to get lost or misplaced, microblogging is a quick and easy way for users to post the latest information about relevant activities.

Enterprise microblogging is a real alternative to using email to collaborate. It offers knowledge workers a quick and easy way to get valuable information into the hands of the people who need it, without the risk of losing information in a noisy inbox. It helps build a culture of innovation and collaboration while still moving critical projects forward.