The Potential of Web 2.0 Technology to Foster Collaborative Internal

Communications

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Road Map Focus on widely-available Web 2.0 technology Review of previous academic research Summary of method Research findings:

Potential for collaboration and dialogue Democratization of communication and

content creation Challenges related to web 2.0

Conclusion

Internal Communications Internal communications

= management of interactions between stakeholders (Jackson & Welch, 2007)

Internal communications, relationships between stakeholders impact organizational climate (Davies et al., 1999)

Low levels of trust linked to poor communications (Cooper and Sparrow, 2003)

Dialogue Create new

understanding (Botan, 1997)

Double-edged sword (Rikkonen, 2006)

Dialogue not always best choice (Jackson & Welch, 2007)

Forcing dialogue oppressive (Botan, 1997)

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Web 2.0 and Dialogue Web 2.0 as

supporting structure

Tailor communications to smaller groups (Botan,1997)

Involve dispersed stakeholders (Dale & Newman, 2006)

Democratization of Communications

Record voices directly,allow participation from many regions (Dale, 2005)

Decentralizes control of communication channels (De Bussy et. al., 2003)

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Challenges

Technical problems Connectivity/

access issues, particularly for rural stakeholders in Canada (Dale & Newman, 2006)

Challenges

Technology biased towards strong reading, writing, computer skills

Frustration with academic language

Existing stove pipes remain (Dale, 2005)

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Method

Action research strategy – produce new knowledge and solve problem (Ladkin, 2004)

Examined blogs, non-academic articles found on-line

Research Findings Collaboration:

Building relationships Resource-sharing

Supporting and encouraging dialogue Democratization of information

Research Findings Potential problems:

Excluding less technically-inclined stakeholders

Access issues Loss of professionalism

Building Relationships Platforms built to

allow stakeholders to search for others with expertise (Knowlton, 2008a)

Can be built around specific events

Brulant Practice Wars (Cohen, 2008)

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Share Resources

Del.icio.us, RSS – used to pull in external info (Satterfield, 2006b)

Flickr- create slideshows

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Dialogue

Web 2.0 allows people to add to, divert, or revise message (Knowlton, 2008b)

Dialogue around specific events or on an ongoing basis (Satterfield, 2006b)

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Democratization

More directly involves stakeholders

Decentralize control (Knowlton, 2008b)

May provide competitive advantage

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Democratization

Can exert some control before posting message,but open dialogue and collaboration encourages innovation (Hinton, 2007)

Web 2.0 relatively easy to use – no programming skills required to create/edit pages (Garret, 2007; Satterfield, 2006a)

Technology such as RSS feeds may allow managers to monitor employee activities

Exclude Less Technically-inclined Stakeholders

Provide coaching (Satterfield, 2006b)

Ensure stakeholders have time and resources to learn (Satterfield, 2006a)

Ignoring stakeholder needs/anxieties could amount to exclusion

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Access Issues

Keep in mind technical limitations (ex slow Internet connections)

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Loss of Professionalism

Possible increase in gossiping, cliques (Knowlton, 2008b)

Post guidelines, offer training, involve managers (Knowlton, 2008a)

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Areas of Further Consideration

More cases detailing challenges

Cases showing when such technology not appropriate

Long-term impacts of Web 2.0

Questions?

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For more info: Email me:

lisa@brickhorse.ca

Drop off a business card

References and Further Reading

Atkinson, P., & Coffey, A. (1996). Making sense of qualitative data: Complementary research strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Botan, C. (1997). Ethics in strategic communication campaigns: The case for a new approach to public relations. The Journal of Business Communications, 34(2), 188-202.

Bradbury, H., & Reason, P. (2006). Introduction. In H. Bradbury, & P. Reason (Eds.), Handbook of action research (pp. 1-14). London: Sage Publications.

Cohen, A. (2008, March 14). Work hard, play hard - with social media. Retrieved March 15, 2008, from http://adamcohen.typepad.com/adamsblog/2008/03/work-hard-play.html

Cooper, C., & Sparrow, P. (2003). The employment relationship. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.

Dale, A. (2005). A perspective on the evolution of e-dialogues concerning interdisciplinary research on sustainable development in Canada. Ecology and Society, 10, 1. Retrieved January 15, 2008, from http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol10/iss10/art37

Dale, A., & Newman, L. (2006). An online synchronous e-dialogue series on nuclear waste management in Canada. Applied Environmental Education and Communications, 5, 243-251.

References and Further Reading

Davies, A., Dick, B., & Hase, S. (1999). The Johari Window and the dark side of organisations. ultiBASE. Retrieved July 15, 2007, from http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/Articles/aug99/hase1.htm

De Bussy, N., Ewing, M., & Pitt, L. (2003). Stakeholder theory and internal marketing communications: A framework for analysing the influence of new media. Journal of Marketing Communications, 9, 147-161.

Dick, B. (2004). In pursuit of change and understanding: Bob Dick in conversation with Bob Williams. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 5.

Garrett, C. (2007, September 6). Project management blogs - how to run your projects on the web. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from http://www.cogniview.com/convert-pdf-to-excel/post/how-to-run-your-project-on-the-web/

Hersch, F. (2006). An e-dialogue improvisation. Contemporary Music Review, 25(5/6), 577-579.

Hinton, B. (2007, September 14). On tailoring content in the world of Web 2.0. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from http://bradhinton.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/on-tailoring-content-in-the-world-of-web-20/

Jackson, P., & Welch, M. (2007). Rethinking internal communications: A stakeholder approach. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 12(2), 177-198.

References and Further Reading

Johannesen, R. (1996). Ethics in human communication (4th ed.). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.

Knowlton, T. (2008, January 19). Social media and a walk down cubicle lane. Retrieved January 25, 2008, from http://rollingsocial.blogspot.com/search?q=social+media+cubicle+lane

Knowlton, T. (2008, January 27). Social media and internal communications. Retrieved January 28, 2008, from http://www.rollingsocial.blogspot.com/

Ladkin, D. (2004). Action research. In C. Seale, G. Gobo, J. Gubrium, & D. Silvermand (Eds.), Qualitative research practice (pp. pp. 478-490). London: Sage Publications.

Ridgeon, E. (2007). Creating a center of communication expertise at Orange. Strategic Communication Management, 11(3), 20-23.

Riikonen, E. (2006). Promoting dialogue. In E. Barrosse (Ed.), Bridges not walls (9th ed., pp. 601-604). New York: Mc-Graw Hill.

Satterfield, B. (2006, December 8). Nonprofits share their wiki success stories. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/webbuilding/page6031.cfm

Satterfield, B. (2006, June 5). Exploring the world of wikis. Retrieved March 20, 2008, from http://www.techsoup.org/learningcentre/webbuilding/page5511.cfm?

Spencer, L. (2008, January 26). Blogging - the project manager's new best friend? Retrieved January 26, 2008, from http://www.businessandblogging.com/blogging-the-project-managers-new-best-friend/