How blogs are used and the nature of blogging itself is often viewed from a technical, personalised or social perspective. One research issue that I wish to address in my research is whether blogging is really all about the technology or the use of it? The answer to such a question could be either yes and no.
Software platforms that support the running of blogs inevitably play an integral role in facilitating the evolvement of blogging in terms of what blog users can do to improve the format of their blogs. The fact that the developments surrounding Web 2.0 are evolving at such an accelerated rate means that bloggers must be aware of them. Such observations throughout the ‘Blogosphere’ will allow bloggers to improve upon the overall appearance and usability of their blogs. It is important though that the developments surrounding blogging software continues to support the fundamentals of content generation.
Despite the technical aspects of blogging being of the upmost relevance what really makes a blog is its content. The fact that blogs revolve around an individual’s personality in terms of ‘their voice’ and what they wish to say means that blogging software must keep abreast of technological developments elsewhere in the sphere of Web 2.0. From this I mean that we can already see how integrative blogs are with blog users being able to incorporate other aspects of social media within their blogs e.g. podcasts, video files and graphics. Within higher education, course management systems such as Blackboard and Moodle are quickly evolving into e-learning platforms that can accommodate various types of social media e.g. wikis, forums and blogs for the purposes of collaboration for project work and feedback. These course management systems will continue to develop through the innovations of social media and with the gradual introduction of Web 3.0 (though I think that many people still have to grapple with the concepts of Web 2.0 prior to Web 3.0’s introduction).
Blogging software (in terms of use and design) is all about supporting what blogging really evolves around – the writing and generation of content. I wish to expand upon this theme in a subsequent post that will discuss issues relating to writing in a blog as well as perceived problems associated with this.
For anyone wishing to know about the new social interactive communication phenomena called ‘Google Wave’ the video below which I came across on YouTube explains it very clearly and concisely. I still think that ‘Google Wave’ has extremely good potential to be used for collaboration and information sharing in organisational project environments.
An issue that has often been raised during my research about blogging in organisations is that surely you could write in an e-mail message what you might in a blog post? Is there the need to use a blog to post messages to colleagues when you could simply e-mail what you had to say? Most organisational employees would argue that accessing internal e-mail would be easier than having to search for their company or departmental blog (e.g. on their Intranet or wherever the blog was hosted). Furthermore, dependant upon whom and how many individuals you were sending your e-mail to, e-mails might be viewed as being more private than adding a ‘communal’ post to a blog. With an e-mail, you can also attach documents to it as likewise you can share documents on a blog. Blogs though allow you to upload various types of media file such as video and multi-media graphics.
The main distinction and individuality that I see between blogs and e-mail use within organisations is one of format. The way in which blogs are designed makes them more presentable and easier to use in terms of searching for and locating relevant information. The information contained within blogs is stored chronologically. So if you know the precise information you are looking for it should be easier to ascertain as opposed to looking through countless e-mail folders or trawling through your inbox. The more an individual uses their blog within their organisation, accessing it should become a mere formality and less time consuming to do as first initially thought.
It could be argued that e-mail is a more efficient organisational communication medium when a ‘quick’ response to a question or query is required. A comment to a blog post may not be as initially instant. However, the useful thing about blogs is that when such a response to a post does occur the information contained within it can be stored in a logically presentable way for future reference when called upon in the future.
Here is a useful video I came across on You Tube that briefly and concisely explains what Twitter is and how it works. Well worth a look for anyone curious about Twitter or possibly thinking about subscribing to the site.
The social networking and micro-blogging site Twitter is becoming a increasingly popular communication channel for individuals to communicate (i.e. send and receive) via short text-like messages known as ‘tweets’. People can subscribe and become ‘followers’ to an author’s page to find out what that person is up to, anything new about them etc. As the popularity of Twitter continues to grow the use of the service will no doubt branch out and be used in other contexts e.g. it has already been used politically in the U.S. (2008 Presidential campaign). Twitter appears to be primarily a social networking site that is used for the purposes of ’self-promotion.’ Though the site is used on a social basis for communicating among e.g. friends and family there may be uses for twitter in an organisational capacity. Twitter could have its uses in organisations that commonly use the form of ‘virtual teams’ to conduct project work. The use of Twitter as a communication medium would provide an alternative channel of communication and one just as easy as e.g. e-mail, texting (sms). The shortness of the ‘tweets’ might make it easier to quickly update colleagues on what stages those within a project team are at as well as what sections of the project requires to be completed. The question of whether Twitter can be viewed as a useful channel to facilitate ‘organisational learning’ remains to be seen. The uses and format of Twitter may alter through time so it might be difficult to envisage how useful Twitter might be for learning purposes within organisations. This of course depends upon how you interpret the concept of learning….
I am just providing details of a new Peer-Reviewed International Journal from IGI Global that will be launched in a few months time (Vol. 1 No. 1 currently in press). The journal is called the “International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals.” For further details about the journal can be obtained via the prior link.
I just came across a useful site by Jeremiah Owyang, Forrester Analyst who researches the social computing industry. It is a short post that outlines the difference between forums, blogs and social networks. For those maybe confused about the differences between these different types of social computing media I think it is well worth a read.
Why use a blog in an organisation? This seems a fairly straightforward question to consider. However, even though there are many companies out there who use blogs internally and externally to conduct their business, not every organisation may feel that using a blog will be suitable for them.
The primary consideration prior to launching an organisational blog is to think about its purpose and to define this from the outset. Defining the purpose of your blog will determine how it will be used. If running a blog pilot study within your organisation or department it is important to discuss with your colleagues about their thoughts about using a departmental blog. For example, would they consider such an initiative to be a good or bad thing? Possible factors against the introduction of an internal company/ departmental blog might be:
It could be seen as one communication channel too many.
Resistance to change.
The potential benefits of an internal blog may not be fully understood.
Employees may consider such a move as simply a waste of time (i.e. seen as unworkable in the organisation’s cultural environment).
There might be those who argue ‘we do not have time to blog.’
Some people may feel content with their current methods of company communication.
Employees might be unwilling to ‘open up’ in terms of blog postings.
Unwillingness to share knowledge and working experiences.
There may be a feeling of suspicion that if people are not seen to be blogging that they are ‘not really working.’
It could simply be a case of a ‘big brother’ scenario (i.e George Orwell’s 1984).
In the case of departmental blogs, there could be a sense of secrecy among departments.
Those who simply do not wish the initiative to succeed.
The fact that quite a large number of organisations do use blogs internally means that it might be unwise to ignore or dismiss blogs as a communication and information sharing channel. Organisations, especially in the digital age in which we now live in should be aware of what their competitors are up to. I am sure they will be choosing the path towards innovating as opposed to that of stagnating.
When running an internal organisational blog pilot study the purpose of the blog should firstly be defined, parameters in terms of the blog use (i.e. what is acceptable content to post and what is not) should also be outlined. The creation of some blog guidelines should assist with this matter. A ‘blog champion’ could also be appointed. The general ease of intergration of blogs into most company infrastructure should make them appealing to most organisations. Whether your department be Human Resources (HR), Organisational Development (OD), Training & Development, e-learning, ICT etc. blogs have common benefits that can be used across company disciplines. Here are some examples:
Sharing knowledge and experiences in project environments (e.g. problems encountered, how they were resolved so that current and future team members can learn from them).
Publishing suggestions for improving practice within the department or team.
A departmental/ organisational blog might help to establish a ’sense of community’ amongst members.
Allow your colleagues to ‘understand’ things from your job perspective and theirs.
Retain knowledge for your company/ department (e.g. when an employee leaves).
Share reflections upon training courses, what was learnt or share thoughts about specific organisational issues (i.e. that are job related).
If used sensibly and with a specific purpose in mind organisational blogs have a great ability to create new avenues of communication (i.e. in terms of choice of communication options) in an organisation. Collaboration and a notion of ‘team spirit’ may be enhanced though more significantly so might learning and knowledge amongst organisational members.
