Post #e2conf thoughts – installment 5.

I moderated the “Twitter-like tools for the Enterprise” panel at the Enterprise 2.0 conference last month.  For clarity sake, let me preface that Twitter-like tools means tools that are inspired by Twitter.  Twitter is a consumer-facing social microblogging (also called microsharing) tool.  It has inspired companies to create applications that are similar in nature to Twitter, but are geared for business use.  I’ve written quite a bit on this topic, as have others.

We had representation from 5 very different microsharing solutions.

• Mark Dowds, CEO, Brainpark
• Ross Mayfield, Chairman, President & Co-founder, Socialtext
• Tim Young, Founder & CEO, Socialcast
• Travis VanderZanden, Director of Account Management, Yammer
• Yoshi Maisami, Co-Founder and Senior Partner,  Intridea (makers of Present.ly)

You will note that

1. These five are not the only microsharing solutions out there. See more here.
2. Not all market themselves as microsharing solutions per se.
3. These products are very different from each other in many significant ways.

There were no client representatives on the panel.  This is how it was set up (I was not involved, I don’t know the back-story).  So participants were prepared for a vendor perspective on the topic.

I reached out to the panelists a few weeks prior to the panel to arrange a pre-meeting and to offer my time for briefing me.  I clarified my objectives for the panel, asking the panelist to work me.  I set the stage:  Let’s assume that most everyone who shows up on the final day of the conference already understands the basics of microsharing and its value proposition.  They probably use Twitter, and they might have experimented with a free enterprise tool already.  Since we are dealing with a very committed crowd, let’s give them the information they need to succeed in sharing the message with others when they get back to their workplace.

1. Let’s clarify what this is all about  – specifically, how microsharing differs from a discussion forum or an IM/Chat tool.  Many enterprises already have these tools.  So is this yet another tool? or something that replaces something they already have?  Let us know if this is “real” yet?  What about the lack of 3rd party tools (that make Twitter so successful)?  How will these tools catch up?
2. Let’s distinguish between these 5 tools.  I’m not looking for a vendor brawl, rather let’s explain how these options differ from each other.  After all — SocialText Signals is part of a larger E2.0 platform. Yammer is a SaaS option. Brainpark is focused on social search, where sharing is only a part of the process. Socialcast’s cost model is radically different. And Intridea has a wide range of design and development services that it offers — quite different from the others at the table.
3. Let’s give the participants some concrete guidance to help them succeed in their venture toward improving employee collaboration.  Vendors know which of their clients really “get it” and how they “got it” — so let’s share some good advice from real implementations to help participants take some good advice home with them.

I made it clear at the onset that we were not talking about using Twitter at work.  It’s not that I don’t like Twitter, but that was not the topic of the session.  In irony, there was a very healthy discussion about the panel – on Twitter – going on during the session.  We chose not to display that during the session.  I’m still not sure if it was the right choice or not.

What I learned — bluntly stated:

• Participants find these tools valuable, but do not want to pay for them.
• Participants don’t know the salient differences between the options.
• Participants confuse using Twitter with doing work — (this helps and hurts adoption of other tools).
• Vendors have had a difficult time during the session making a clear case for the use of their tools.
• During the session,vendors fell short of demonstrated they understood what clients were really looking for and connecting their solutions to their needs.
• Most vendors are appeared unaware of what their competitors were doing.

My advice to potential clients:  I understand why you may be confused about how to approach collaboration needs in your company.  I think many vendors have fallen short of providing a clear path from their tools to your success.  Their focus is on building great tools.  But you need solutions.  I think you need someone who can help you bridge the gap between your needs and the right tools and implementation.  I’m one of many people who can help you in this area. Just click on the Services tab above and let me know who you are.

My advice to the vendor community:  Let’s get the video of the panel and review it together.  We’ll find the messages conveyed and the missed opportunities.  Let’s find how to make a clear statement that demonstrates your understanding of the need, your unique approach, and your ability to be a trusted partner with your clients. I think you each have very compelling technology with great potential for value in the enterprise.  But you and I know that the only people who “get it” are people who already use things like Twitter.  And this happens to be a very small percentage of your opportunity.  So you need to connect to those potential evangelists and get them to be you allies in the enterprise.  And then you need to reach out to the mainstream too.

I think each of these tools (and some of their competitors) successfully leverage the power of “now” in activity streaming, social sharing, and workflow-messaging.  I believe that vendors (or their partners) have to connect this raw power with the real workplace in order to be relevant to the vast majority of potential buyers who are not Twitter-holics.

I’ll admit that I had a bias:  I wanted there to be a winner at the end of the panel — that winner was to be the potential client.  I wanted her to walk out knowing what to do next.  My advice — contact me and I’ll help you.

Tagged as: conference, Enterprise 2.0, microsharing, tool, vendor