Enterprise 2.0: brace yourself Rodney
The above clip comes from Only Fools and Horses and despite its vintage, remains to this day, one of the few pieces of comic TV I can watch again and again and still curl up with laughter even though I know exactly what will happen. I sometimes have that same feeling about Enterprise 2.0. The incessant and sometimes hysterical handwaving is at a point where I believe some commenters have lost touch with reality. The notion for example that the Facebook metaphor should be glibly applied to the enterprise is beyond laughable.
It was therefore with a sense of trepidation that I attended an online meeting with representatives of the 2.0 Adoption Council. The conversation was held under the Chatham House Rule which means:
"When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed".
This is a good way to have an open debate while protecting individuals. Think of it as a kind of non-disclosure but with the ability to talk to the generality of what was said.
The premise for our discussion was my Enterprise 2.0: what a crock story. My expectation was to hear answers around questions about the reality of delivering Enterprise 2.0 style technology from those who are hip deep in this stuff. I was not disappointed, rather I was relieved that this group expressed a pragmatism almost entirely absent from the E2.0 hype.
The attending group are all early adopters. They represent way mark organizations from which we can all learn. The characteristics of this group (and I stress THIS group) were such that I would expect to hear success stories. The kinds of organization represented were those where the sharing of knowledge should be a requirement to do business. Even so and as expected, I learned that organizations where you'd anticipate high levels of collaboration experience their own issues. Highlights from the call: