Social Networks, Wikis and Blogs - Coursework Example

Social Networks, Wikis and Blogs Introduction When the technology of social networks was introduced into our society, its uses were revolving around informal socializing. However, today even business organizations are adapting the use of social networks to communicate across the globe. Therefore, social networks are now used in formal capacities also. Wikis are another technological move that organizations are picking. A wiki is a way of passing information and knowledge to your colleagues while giving room for updating the information. Business firms are using wikis to enhance sharing of documents within the firms. Blogs are also used by many companies to build their images. For a company to gain some value from the blogs, they must be effective in passing the intended message. This paper is going to highlight how social networks, wikis, and blogs can be useful to a business organization. Dq6.1 (1)How may social networks be used in a business to enhance communication and team building for distributed and co-located knowledge worker teams? Social networks are a common communication tool in many organizations today. Both the non-profit organizations and business firms are nowadays relying on the various social networks to enhance communication and build their teams[Fie13]. The importance of social networks is emphasized further by the fact that even government institutions use it to pass messages. In a business, social network tools are used to enhance communication in the following ways. The social networks have come up with vary many new feedback avenues that have proven to be more reliable. The channels that are availed by these social networks are mostly used on an online basis and this makes it possible to have instant feedbacks when people communicate through the sites. For example the instant messaging platforms provide one-on-one replies to the parties communicating[Har13]. The social networks can also be used to encourage collaboration among team members who are distributed. The distance between these knowledge workers usually pose a challenge on their cooperativeness since they hardly meet face-to-face. The social networks bring the distributed and even co-located workers together thus enhancing collaboration. Businesses use these social networks to engage their workers from all the ends of the globe in the organizations’ activities. Some activities that businesses do are only effective when all the staff and stakeholders of the organization take part in them[Igl15]. For example, making decisions on changes to the operations of an organization requires participation of the entire team. Through the social networks such as the facebook page of the business firm, all the knowledge team members in different parts of the world can contribute to the making of decisions[Bal14]. (2)What are the downsides to the use of a social network within a business organization? Despite the various advantages that come along with adaption of using social networks in an organization, there are some downsides associated with this new idea. One of the major disadvantages of using social networks within a business organization is the time that is consumed by the technology. The social networks demand of time right from the time they are introduced into an organization, to when they are being used in carrying out daily activities. Creating of an appropriate social site requires a lot of time for it to be effective in the communication roles it will carry out. These sites will also need to be edited after some interval of time. Apart from the organizational time that is going to be used in this case, the business firm will have to spend some of its resources time after time to upgrade the social site. Reasonable amount of resources and time are also lost when the sites and pages the business firms use in networking are maintained[Jar13]. Another downside of using this technology within an organization is the fact that some workers may decide to use the sites for irrelevant activities. There is a possibility that these social networks turn into sites where members discuss their personal matters and not business issues as required by the management. The issue of staff getting engaged in activities and discussions that are not work related causes the organization to lose a lot of time that could have been used to better the firm’s productivity[Gui14]. Therefore, it can be said that these social networks may be a cause of time wastage within the organization. Dq6.2 (1)How might a wiki be used in your organization, your department, or a project that you are involved with? Among the latest trends in knowledge and information sharing among team members in organization is the use of wikis. The use of wikis is a new way of communication where people post the knowledge they have as their colleagues correct the errors they note in the knowledge and information posted. Business organizations can use wikis in different ways to enhance sharing of information. The same way I would advise the department I work in to make good use of the wikis[Leo131]. An organization or department can rely on the idea of using wikis to assist the distributed teams to connect. The team members may be far away from each other but still connect by sharing the information and knowledge they have for the team to achieve its objectives. Therefore, the distributed teams we have in our departments can be helped in bringing team workers together. Wikis are also useful in collecting intelligence that an organization may need when carrying out some of its activities. In the wiki a member may place crucial information that the management was not able to get access initially. Therefore, a wiki can serve as a point of gathering intelligence for the organization[Han11]. Wikis can also be used as avenues where collaboration of teams are induced. The many ideas that every team player have will be placed at the platform and the entire team will get an opportunity to analyze the points. After the analysis, the best options and practices are going to be picked by the management. A sense of collaboration is expressed in this case. Therefore, a department within our organization can rely on wikis to enhance collaboration. (2)What are some advantages and disadvantages to using a wiki? Organizations that use wikis in their knowledge and information flow enjoy some benefits. One advantage of using a wiki is that it saves on time when documents are to be shared. Other channels would need a list of distribution which is not required for wikis. The wikis also help the organizations to save resources since extra hardware is not required for the system to operate. The use of wikis also guarantees quick accessibility to information data. The technology makes it possible for a worker to access documents without having to go to the office. The wikis also avail more sources of data at no costs for the members thus its economical. However, there are some disadvantages of using a wiki in a business firm. A major challenge attached to wikis is the difficulty that the IT department may be faced with when trying to manage the system. It becomes a challenge because a lot of information is always streaming in thus organizing them is hard[Mag13]. Another disadvantage of relying on wikis is that they are not always secure. There are few restrictions on entry into the platform thus it is prone to be used inappropriately by strangers. Due to this problem it becomes hard for people to handle sensitive documents here[Sha112]. For workers in an organization who are not swift in learning new technologies it becomes so difficult for them to embrace the idea of using wikis in knowledge and information sharing. The management may have to spend part of the organization’s resources in making people learn how to use the wikis to share documents[Mar13]. Dq6.3 Review one of the blogs from a Fortune 500 company described at the Social text website Blogs can have a variety of purposes depending on the professionalism of the bloggers or the organization running the blog site. Many business organizations are today using the idea of having business blogs where they build a good image for their companies. Celebrities are also into blogging where they let their fans know a lot of things about them that they cannot display on the showbiz platforms. Therefore, one purpose of blogs is to promote oneself. Organizations use this platform to display their goals, missions and brilliant ideas thus promoting themselves as an ambitious company[Von12]. Another purpose of a blog is to help other people who are faced with similar situations like the blogger. In this case, the blog will be a site where ideas and possible solutions are posted for those in need to access. For example, a blog on how to live healthy can be posted by people who have been struggling to live with health conditions such as diabetes or obesity. Blogs can also be used to keep a community knowledgeable about a certain topic. Important information is usually given out through the blogs and the society can get to learn a lot from this point. Taking an example of the Stonyfield Farm blog which advises farmers on useful organic farming practices. On this same blog site, the public is given knowledge on how to live a healthy organic lifestyle[Nah12]. A blog is different from an advertisement even though many people consider a blog as a good platform of placing adverts. Blogs are usually objected towards making awareness about an organization or activity. They are used as an avenue of passing knowledge to the public. Advertisements usually rotate around products and purchases. When prices and quality of a commodity are displayed in an advert, the aim is usually to increase sales volume[Mar13]. A blog can add value to an organization in different ways the same way it adds value to a personal blogger. The image of a company can be displayed in a good way if its blog is used effectively[Sta11]. A good company image can add the organization’s value by widening the customer-base. Blogs are also useful when it comes to finding partnership for the organization. Other like-minded firms can get to know about a fellow business organization through the blogs it posts. From this point, it would be easy for the firms to decide on entering into a partnership. Looking into one of the most successful business blogs, Stonyfield Farm is one of them. The blog is directed towards organic dairy products. Jonathan Gates is an organic farmer whose articles and farm videos are usually posted in this blog. The blog is written to all farmers and family members who would wish to live healthy with organic farm products. The Stonyfield Farm blog is effective in campaigning for a healthy organic lifestyle. The homepage of the blog passes the information very clearly using the pictures of a barnyard and a healthy family. On the blog, there are also articles that provide accurate information about organic lifestyle. In addition to all that, there are many video links that are taken from the organic farm of Jonathan in Vermont. The main purpose of this blog is to enlighten people on organic dairy farming. The many attractive features on this site pass the message in a clear manner. Conclusion Communication between workers is essential for both co-located and distributed worker teams. It is through communication that work can be shared and done collaboratively. Social networks are among the tools that organizations can rely on to coordinate their knowledge worker teams. Through the social networks it is possible for people to communicate normally and even share information and ideas. The paper has also highlighted how useful the wikis are in coordination of team members. Information and documents can be shared through the wikis thus providing an open and economical avenue for exchanging ideas. Business blogs are also important when it comes to enhancing communication and adding value to an organization. A business firm can use its blog as a site where it enlightens its clients on some important information. The social networks, wikis and blogs are all important tools that any organization or team should use to coordinate its members. References Fie13: , (Fiedler, 2013), Har13: , (Harris, 2013), Igl15: , (Iglesias-Pradas, 2015), Bal14: , (Balabanoff, 2014), Jar13: , (Jarrahi, 2013), Gui14: , (Guinan, 2014), Leo131: , (Leonardi, 2013), Han11: , (Hanna, 2011), Mag13: , (Magrath, 2013), Sha112: , (Shankar, 2011), Mar13: , (Martí Parreño, 2013), Von12: , (Von Krogh, 2012), Nah12: , (Nah, 2012), Sta11: , (Standing, 2011), Read More