Global Strategy - blog

In addition to planning the new Glostra web site I've been compiling a project into the Glostra Wiki, dealing with "Web 2.0", especially concentrating on the phenomenon's effects on the business world (Enterprise 2.0). The new tools transforming our dear web, making the user a key player in content generation and categorization, also present great opportunities for companies to enhance their operations. By a smart introduction of wikis, blogs, tagging systems and other social software, organizations can considerably promote both their internal and external information flows, collaboration between different parties, information findability and the hugely important creation of social ties and networks, essential to all knowledge workers.

Organizations all over the world are experimenting on these new ways of cooperating via the web, some even converting their previous intranets into wiki-based, user-friendly platforms (see, e.g., Avenue A|Razorfish wiki introduction). The potential uses of these tools are endless, ranging from knowledge and innovation management to customer support and marketing. It is not only companies with headquarters in the Internet (such as Yahoo, Google, Amazon, Facebook etc.) that the Internet presents with huge possibilities - "normal" firms can just as well utilize it to reach out to the world and connect to customers, partners etc. Randall White, for example, describes the current situation of increasing firm-university collaboration in his article, "How to Get the Most From University Relationships" (MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2008):

"Innovation is the mandate of the day, and it has companies increasingly looking outside of their organizations for new ways to grow. At the same time, shrinking federal research budgets [in Finland the transition to foundation-based universities] are forcing universities to find alternative sources of funding for their work. Consequently, just as companies are searching for new capabilities, sources of knowledge and means of growth, universities are feeling the urge to come down from the ivory tower and do business with corporations in order to keep their labs open. Tihis unique timing means that there is unprecedented opportunity for successful partnerships between universities and corporations..."

This new wave of companies broadening their partnerships needs more efficient partnership management, and thus, more communication and collaboration - more email that is. Cluttered email inboxes are already a huge pain for knowledge workers, disrupting efficiency and driving people mad. Could these new tools maybe help cut down excessive emails and unnecessary meetings?
To read more about these new ways of working, see Enterprise 2.0 .

 

The transformation of the web and how it is being used doesn't only affect corporations and business, it will ultimately also have a huge impact on the academic world. Universities and other actors in education need to adjust to the changes in the operating environment, especially the radical shifts in what and how the Net Generation student wants to study and work. Rather than viewing these new tools and phenomena as threats, universities should embrace them as opportunities to further develop and enhance their operations. This naturally also applies to academic libraries. In the Age of Google, the question is not how to bring people into the library, but how to take the library to the users. Could Web 2.0 tools be utilized to create a more appealing online environment with the possibility to give feedback and personalize the library experience.

With the future merger of TKK, HSE and TaiK into the new Aalto University (Helsinki), new opportunities to exploit these effective ways of collaboration will surely emerge. It's extremely interesting to see how the Web 2.0 will transform the Finnish world of education and business. To learn more about the subject, visit Glostra Wiki and start exploring. Remember that as the whole point of wikis is to be as open as possible, all contributions, comments and edits are welcome!

Also, I have to urge all Glostra members to produce their personal informations into the wiki, so that we can get the information into the new web site when it is finished. The page to do this is here.

One more thing: Use the RSS feed to subscribe to this news feed and stay informed. If you don't have a feed reader on your PC, get one!

Jasu Koponen, 8 Aug, 2008