Business case
The business case for Enterprise 2.0 is deductive not empirical. Communications is a good thing, E2.0 is good for communications so that E2.0 must be a good thing. Metrics offered by the speakers related to usage of tools rather than business value. Personally, I think the deductive argument is enough. I remember Doc Searls saying at Bloggercon 2004 on this subject: "what's the business case on your phone?". Exactly right. Partly, this is true because E2.0 tools are very cheap.
Technology use exaggerates differences between companies, good companies will use technology to widen the gap between them and those with toxic cultures etc. The good companies will get faster, more productive, more creative etc.
Enterprise 2.0 and organisational culture
This is the biggie as we all know by now. There were a number of interesting perspectives offered, including:
- Euan Semple pointed out that existing communications, and the processes associated with them, in organisations actually act against the achievement of some key business objectives like collaboration, innovation and efficiency
- Andrew McAfee cautioned that there is a heavy bias in favour of existing technologies because people exaggerate the benefits of existing and discount the potential benefits of proposed new technologies.
More fundamentally, most speakers pointed out that the logic of web 2.0, particularly participation with user-centric rules, is very different to traditional communications and antithetical in many ways. For instance, imposition of structure and the use of lots of ground rules turns people off and discourages participation.
The inevitability of enterprise 2.0
The argument here is that many people, including but not limited to younger generations, are increasingly expecting to be able to use social networking, search and other 2.0 tools. They use them outside and that's the way they communicate. The companies that don't use 2.0 just won't be as competitive in attracting and retaining staff. People I spoke to love being able to use these tools to make connections within their companies around the world and at the same time work from home and still feel part of the company (not isolated and cut-off).
Some lessons
2.0 tools have to make people's jobs, and lives, easier or they just won't embrace it.
Make it as simple as possible (if you need to train people it won't happen)
Use very little structure and ground rules; let it evolve and let the users drive it. Structure will emerge.
Experiment. You can't just design a 2.0 system and make it happen.
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