Over the past couple of days I have been tinkering around with LinkedIn’s applications, in particular Huddle’s cloud based collaboration app.
Huddle Workspaces is a cloud based software-as-a-service product (SaaS) that is currently free to use for small collaborative projects - so if you do not use Google apps and have a LinkedIn profile it is well worth a look.
The great advantage of bundling collaborative tools with social networks as LinkedIn have done, is that it allows users to quickly set-up discussions that are private and secure, at the same time offering functionality and control which is what all businesses demand.
From a marketing perspective social networks and cloud based collaboration tools offer huge potential.
For example I was thinking that LinkedIn and Huddle is a useful way for barcamps to engage further with its attendees.
Picture the following scenario: You rock up to a barcamp discussion. As part of the entry requirements you register with your LinkedIn profile and you are automatically assigned to the event group on Huddle. Any notes you make during the discussion can later be uploaded to the event’s collaborative workspace and further discussions can take place beyond the meeting, extending the engagement far beyond the physical event. All presentation slides from the event are also uploaded and shared amongst the attendees. That way a repository of information around a particular subject can be built up and possibly even a wiki can be formed from tagging content and ideas contributed by all members.
All this collaborative information held within the cloud, could eventually lead to developing best practice and industry standards around certain issues that may well be pushed out into the mainstream.
The next up-and-coming barcamp will be promoted via LinkedIn announcing a new discussion topic and pre-event info and slides will be shared via Huddle and mashed up by attendees to discuss at the physical event. The whole process is then repeated – true engagement.
I personally think as I am sure many others do, that 2009 will see SME’s utilize SaaS tools more. I know from experience that traditional collaborative tools such as Microsoft’s Hosted Exchange are extremely useful for sales and marketing team use and coupled with social networks it opens this type of collaborative working wide open for all, as they are very easy-to-use.
Many companies if they have not done so already will shell out for enterprise social network platforms with collaborative tools (IBM BlueHouse, Trampoline and Huddle Enterprise). They will encourage all business units to plug into them – corporate Web 2.0 will become the norm and the wikinomics mantra (openness, peering, sharing and global) will become mainstream business practice. The opportunities that SaaS, the cloud and social networks combined are endless, as are the financial opportunities for data centres!
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