Have you already blogged? What do you know about Twitter? Refer to Wikipedia for information, but do not have an entry processed? The keywords blog, Twitter, Wiki, Web 2.0, are almost daily in the press. Meanwhile, even speaks of Enterprise 2.0, a new type of information to knowledge workers in the company, with more interaction, faster communication, better knowledge management and of course a significant productivity boost from the use of modern Internet technologies. What is there behind the promises, and what measures can be easily implemented in SMEs?

First, a definition of Web 2.0, the fewer keywords in the forefront, as many more changes in the way people communicate and work around.

This sounds to be not so spectacular, we can send it for many years, e-mails in seconds around the globe. What changes, however, is the presence and diversity of information, published by any person with access to the Internet and writing skills can. An example of this is the last election of the President, as the election result was published by a deputy already using Twitter from your phone before it was officially read out. Also as with online shopping you can now find out in a multitude of species which products are recommended and where they can be bought cheap. Thanks to Google to find reviews from satisfied or dissatisfied users who have described their insights in a personal blog or a user forum. Often these statements are more reliable than flowery prospectus or advertising of the manufacturers.

The benefits of new technologies in the individual environment is undisputed, but how to achieve a benefit in the company, and what is meant by the new company Schlagort 2.0? Again, the attempt at a definition:

Work processes in larger organizations often have a tendency to complacency. Once defined and efficient processes are not often called into question, and adaptation is usually associated with great effort and the overcoming of obstacles. Right here medium-sized and small businesses have a distinct advantage. Are they still able to create very quickly the conditions for successful exploitation of new technologies. They too are mostly pragmatic approach to a new development. There are fewer long-term strategic planning with a defined budget and calculated return on investment, but a feeling for trends and successful entrepreneurial courage to leave known territory. Ideal conditions to introduce Web 2.0 technologies successfully.

BLOG versus Newsletter

If your marketing department uses newsletters or circulars to regularly inform customers, a business BLOG be a viable alternative. A newsletter is distributed by e-mail and is now, if often dispatched with a lot of text, rather than annoying and felt "clicked away. A blog is only visited the other hand, if the reader believes the content for relevance and benefits promised them. The acceptance of the contents of this increases significantly.

Also on your side caused the creation of a newsletter, a lot of effort. More content to be gathered and processed editorially, and is often required for shipping a version of the address material. Not so with a blog: News and Information, for example, a new product can be easily made directly into the net. By specifying categories or keywords (so named tags) can quickly find relevant information from the reader very much. And if a reader a link to a blog article passed by, you know called pingbacks automatically assumed by Sun You can add items at any time and rework.

WIKI - Wikipedia for company's knowledge

A wiki (Hawaiian: fast) permits the rapid gathering and editing of information, as do many Internet users of Wikipedia to know her. When working in your business teams on projects, use in addition to discussions on the phone and e-mail communications. An additional WIKI provides a very easy way to gather information on project topics and use them as a team. In addition, the information users outside the project team available and can be easily used for future projects congeneric. WIKIs offer in principle all users the ability to easily adjust text and information, or to change it. The simplicity reduces the barrier to contribute relevant information. Finally, a wiki works as a knowledge base but only if it is already a culture of information exchange and the proactive disclosure established in the company.

Some advantages of an enterprise WIKI

• Automatic versioning
• Author and date of creation / modification stored automatically
• Linking of related information through links easily
• Benefit increases with the number of active users and messages ("All for All" instead of "One for All")
• Processing in the Web browser easily, immediately release

At this point, many managers may ask whether it can be really good because if anyone can write and distribute all content. This makes it possible, at least in theory, that nonsensical or incorrect content is collected. Most of WIKI-systems allow the creation of an approval process, so that specified content editors can review before publication and release. From a release process, we recommend that from in most cases. The success of Wikipedia lies in the fact that the entries can be edited as easily and by anyone. False statements are simply eliminated by the mass of the agent again, and usually remain active only a few minutes. Also, most users would like to pass your knowledge and wish to set meaningful and correct information, so it makes sense to build any publication hurdles. When is promoted in the company's active Wissenweitergabe generally and as many employees in the building of the WIKI are involved, increases the quality of contributions and to ensure that the value of a company-WIKIs quickly. The remainder of an automatic version management always impossible to know who has what information when stopped or changed. This also helps if there are requests for specific content.

Twitter - "chatting" on the Internet

Twitter is also known as "micro blogging" service and allows the sending of short messages on the Internet, similar to an SMS from a mobile phone. Send a text message, but mostly to just one person, while a Twitter message (a so-called "Tweet") can theoretically be read by any number of readers. Here only those people her message, which have themselves decided to compare them as so-called "followers to" (with subscribers to follow). So you do not decide who is reading something, but your readers. This crucial difference leads to interesting contents are read more frequently and also forwarded and may possibly spread like wildfire. The best example was the air crash in Manhattan. Getting information from the accident were not disseminated by journalists, but via Twitter .

This Twitter is almost a kind of real-time information and is suitable whenever cutting-edge information must be provided. For example there is a service delays Deutsche Bahn trains on Twitter to be distributed over ( http://twitter.com/db_info ) or various traffic detectors on motorways (eg http://www.freiefahrt.info/staumeldungen-twitter ) . Unlike other information services at Twitter but everyone has an opportunity to make information on the web. Twitter originally was intended as a "social network". You share with his friends and acquaintances, what you're doing, similar to Smalltalk. In this form it is also used by many. Very often, however, develop hybrid forms: it tells what you are doing so ("Wait just on my flight to Hamburg), is more interesting information from the Internet as a link (" Interesting blog on knowledge management at http / / .... " ) or "goes on to say what others have said - or twitter.

Monetizing Twitter?

What opportunities are there for a meaningful use in companies, can only guess so far. One company - Dell deserves - already money with Twitter. Through its Dell Outlet Dell sells exclusive special deals that are available only via Twitter ( http://mashable.com/2009/06/11/delloutlet-two-million/ ). Our advice: Get a taste, and set to an account under http://www.twitter.com to. Find interesting Twitterers and follow you. Find out for yourself what opportunities exist and what kind of business models now. Our Twitter presence ( http://twitter.com/dirkloehn ) we could at least have the number of visitors at our company blog to increase significantly. Trust your common sense to confuse, and do not let the self-styled online marketing experts and social networking specialist with promises of your success. Here it is sometimes difficult to separate chaff from wheat. A big mistake would be not to deal with Twitter, but communicates an increasing part of their future audience via Twitter.

Next steps

The coming years will be shaped by innovative developments in the Internet. Thus, already mentioned Web 3.0. This does not mean less than the capacity of computers, content in a semantic web to understand and correct in correlating. The provision and transfer of knowledge will thus become easier. Future capabilities of computers to interpret such knowledge, can only guess.

More information

Wikipedia provides a good entry on the page http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantisches_Web . These approaches range well above the current practical applications in undertakings. Nevertheless, they hint at where the journey goes. If you questions dealt with the issues in this article and would like to introduce knowledge management practice and result in your company, we look forward to your comments or contact us.