Messaging News - June 2008 - (Page 23)

THE CHANGING LOCUS From Explicit to Implicit and OF COLLABORATION B ack Again by Michael Sampson eople need to work together, across time and space. Thus, we provide technology tools and platforms to enable them to interact, to communicate, to cowork, and to share what they are doing. Explicit collaboration can be seen happening whenever there is an immediate and shared outcome that needs to be achieved. In document-centric collaboration this could be the preparation of a report for a client (as part of a wider project to deliver great outcomes to the client). In processcentric collaboration this could be an ad hoc group of experts being assembled to deal with a breakdown in a process, an opportunity for process improvement, or in response to an emergency. Therefore, the current place where collaboration happens (or doesn’t) is within defined groups and teams. In both document-centric and process-centric collaboration, you know that you are working together with others because you P can either (A) see them directly (they are in the same office), or (B) they pester you if you do not complete or participate in what you promised. Implicit Collaboration There is a change underway in the world of collaboration within organizations, and it opens a whole new arena of collaborative possibilities. Rather than only supporting explicit collaboration, there is a whole new set of vendors and products that enable implicit collaboration within organizations. This means the work of an individual can count toward the benefit of others and the organization, without the person being explicitly aware that they are doing so. Think about collaboration on documents. Explicit collaboration deals with the upfront creation of the document (the brainstorming, the initial writing, the editing and revision process), so that multiple people can pool their collective expertise and prepare a document that is greater than what any one of them could have created alone. Once the document is finished, it is published for wider distribution within the organization—on the Intranet, to a blog, or in the organizational document management system. The time and place for explicit collaboration, as supported through most of our current collaboration tools, is now at an end. However, this is where the new locus of collaboration begins. Implicit collaboration means that the reactions of other people within the organization to that document are tracked, collated, and presented in meaningful ways to people, whenever they find the document. Someone searches for a specific keyword within the document management system, and because other people have already viewed the document, some have rated its messagingnews.com 23 http://www.messagingnews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Messaging News - June 2008

Messaging News - June 2008 Editor’s Note Short Takes Classification & Retention Spam: Bigger, Faster, and More Dangerous Bad Behavior and Today’s Reputation Analysis The Changing Locus of Collaboration Serving Up Managed and Hosted Messaging Solutions “On Message” with Ben Gross SCAP Standard Benefits Both Government and Commercial Space Making the Case Learn More

Messaging News - June 2008

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