Title:	THE EVALUATION OF SOCIAL SOFTWARE IN A COMMERCIAL SETTING
Author(s):	Eoin Whelan , Brian Donnellan
ISBN:	972-8939-03-5
Editors:	Pedro Isaías, Piet Kommers and Maggie McPherson
Year:	2005
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	Social software, evaluation, collaboration, informal networks.
Type:	Short Paper
First Page:	587
Last Page:	590
Language:	English
Cover:
Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	It has been suggested that future competitive advantage may depend on the organisations ability to embrace new technologies to facilitate and manage knowledge management. One such emerging technology is ‘social software’. This new generation of collaborative technology is finding a mass audience. This software includes tools such as ‘weblogs’ and ‘wiki’s’. They provide a 'two-way web' where people can contribute rather than just another broadcast medium. This generation of software is designed to guide human behaviour into new paths and patterns and to counter prevailing ways of interaction. Social software is attracting the attention of community builders as it allows social networking through technology e.g. meeting people with the same interests. Before the development of weblogs, virtual community tools like forums, mailing lists and bulletin boards were predominantly used for community building. The latest indications suggest that weblogs and wiki are proving far more effective in creating meaningful interpersonal connections than centralised community spaces on the web. However, these social networking tools are markedly different from traditional tools and remain in the experimental phase in business. This research-in-progress is concerned with quantitatively evaluating social software tools in a commercial setting.
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