Are the social networks viable collaboration tools?

It’s all about results…

Does it really matter where we are? How long we’re there for? Or even how far we had to travel to achieve the goal? Of course it doesn’t because all that matters is that we fulfill or exceed the expectations of our clients/customers and employers.

It is this modern approach to work that now sees 2.2 million teleworkers in the UK – about 7.4% of the workforce (UK Labour Force Survey 2010) spending at least one day a week working from home. If you asked many of these people why they work from home they’ll tell you that ‘they get more done’ ‘can connect with clients & the office with ease’ and end up working smarter rather than harder.

But How?

Collaboration tools are at the heart of everything in 2011’s working environment. Because technology has moved at such a rapid rate we can now conference (or video) call our meetings, manage our documents, spreadsheets and emails remotely and share everything we do with those we need to: All at the touch of a dial or click of a button.

Tools such as Dropbox, the excellent file sharing tool, Google Apps and well known tools such as Basecamp, a leading project management tool, and you’ll be working as if client and/or colleagues are in the room with you. But are the social networks viable collaboration tools for business?

I for one will often ask the twitter stream to collaborate on helping me make a business decision…

• Should I switch from Outlook to GMail?
• Are Google Apps any good?
• Can anyone suggest some great case studies for Social Networks?
• What’s the best Free design tool?
• Does anyone know the best networking groups in my region

I could go on but these are some of the questions I’ve asked and friends/followers have collaborated and helped me make decisions. Isn’t that the best form of collaboration there is – where people come together and support each other with advice and ideas.

It also breaks the back of the networks existing just in a virtual world and opens them up into ideas, conversations and ultimately tangible relationships.

That has to make it one of the best collaboration platform types that exists.

Stress busting

Working on something can often be lonely and create a stressful situation but by bringing in a community of likeminded and resourceful people from the social networks. You may find colleagues just wont be able to help through their own pressures or knowledge gap and for those who work alone it can bridge the gap between banging your head against the wall versus a collaborative and crowd sourced solution.

 

What do you think?

Do you work using social networks as collaboration tools?

Give us some examples of how?