No, I don’t mean how would you use Facebook or Myspace at work. If there was a social network that allowed you to keep up with and communicate with your co-workers, what would you expect?
This isn’t a blog to tell you what I think it should be, but to solicit opinion and commentary. What I would be totally interested in doing, is having some of my readers write guest posts about this topic to further spread the conversation. Of course I have many thoughts on this subject, but let’s hear yours and I’ll spill some of mine as the discussion progresses.
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What features would I expect? It would kind of depend on what you wanted. For collaboration I would want wiki, blog and microblog features.
For networking I would want profiles, pictures and commenting.
One overall feature I would include would be sharing features like FriendFeed.
I actively use three social networks and am signed up to a couple more I don’t really use. For me, I think, the key is keeping them separate. I actually do use all three, but for a different purpose and find I like networking (or not-working) that way!
My facebook is really for people I consider friends, or people I want to spend time with socially. I may work with them, I may not, but I am interested in seeing their holiday/baby/drunken-night-out pictures and reading their walls and bumper stickers/pokes. Yes, I am a facebook stalker. Sad, but true. I feel uncomfortable when people I don’t know, or colleagues I don’t really socialise with add me as a “friend” on facebook but I admit I sometimes do accept these requests and just stick them on limited profile view.
Twitter I use for work. Honestly, I can’t see myself wanting to add people outside of my work “ecosystem” (oh god that sounds corporate!) to my twitter feed. I want to see what my fellow journalists find tweet worthy, I want to know what my contacts at tech firms find tweet worthy, I love the informal interaction we all seem to achieve and the level of professional comraderie. Informal, but informative. That’s how I like my twitter feed.
LinkedIn I admit is my least favorite of the social networks i actively use, but that’s not to say I don’t see its intrinsic value. LinkedIn allows me to put on my grown up face and show people that despite (inspite?) the fact I can be fun and have a friendly, social personality, I know when to be serious and when business is just business. LinkedIn I use if I need to contact someone I really don’t know too well to ask about a professional issue or query. I use it to check people’s job history in companies I write about and get a more complete “view” of who they are and where they come from. I find reading other people’s recommendations fascinating and useful. I sometimes wish someone would recommend me! (But that’s my overinflated ego talking!). In short (and this is already long), all three have value to me and I feel they enhance both my private social life and my work.