I’ve seen a few comments on blogs about the intersection of social networking and business which questions the idea that an enterprise is a social network at all. Some have simply made the assertion that social networks and businesses are totally different - eg on the SONAR tech-crunch posting, Phil Dewey commented: “Does “enterprise social network” = social networking for a******s? Seems like “enterprise” and “social” are mutually exclusive…”
Companies are for-profit communities, and as such share many, if not all, of the characteristics we associate with any other type of community. Enterprises are most certainly social.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:48 am
[...] Now the second, overwhelming reason. I often ponder the disconnect between my personal and professional codes of conduct. On occasion the space between them is wider than I’d like, sometimes I am pleased by their convergence. Critics might argue that I should just be myself at all times – especially seen as Trampoline is meant to be an easy-going, do as you please type workplace, or be 100% corporate automaton – but that doesn’t fit here either. I do find the conflation of, or discrepancy between, work and personal behaviours interesting and a helpful lens at work: hardball for women, anyone? In fact, a core principle of Trampoline’s technology is that personal and work behaviours aren’t that dissimilar. [...]