Collaboration 2.0
Robin Hastings · 2009
Now we can put all of the information from the last three chapters together to form a picture of what collaboration 2.0 is all about. With the concepts of collaboration from chapter 2 and the idea of cloud computing from chapter 3, we can examine the specifics of what collaboration in the cloud can do for an organization. Distance One of the benefits of collaborating using Web 2.0 services is that it does matter where in the world a collaborator is working-everyone can access and contribute equally. Web 2.0 collaboration will work for a small group within a single organization or a large project team spread around the world. All of the data, the methods of creating project deliverables--reports, articles, presentations, pictures, or other media--in support of your project, and editing or collaborating tools are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week online. What Web 2.0 brings to the equation is the ability to use many different channels of communication in your collaborative efforts. Built-in instant messaging, bulletin boards, comment walls, and other methods of communication are easy to install and use in most Web 2.0 services. This communication infrastructure, along with the always-on nature of the Internet, removes the need for team members to be physically close to one another. It also removes the need for expensive long-distance conference calls and delivery services. All of the data is available to all of the team members all of the time, and people can work when and where it suits them. This ability to work without regard to distance means that project managers can choose the best possible members for a team, just the ones who are physically closest. Asynchronous Communication Along with its ability to eliminate the constraints of distance between collaborators, Web 2.0 communication and collaboration channels can also reduce some of the problems associated with having collaborators in multiple time zones. Many of the services that will be profiled in this report include asynchronous communication channels. Asynchronous communication is defined by Dictionary. corn as instances of communication that are not occurring at the same time. (1) According to the Wikipedia entry on collaborative editing, Such asynchronous (non-simultaneous) contributions are very efficient in time, as group members need assemble in order to work together. (2) The important part of that explanation is the fact that asynchronous communication is nonsimultaneous. It happens at a time that is convenient to the members of the groups as individuals. Prominent examples of asynchronous communication channels include Facebook's Wall feature, which allows people to post information for others to read later (see figure 4), or Ning's message boards, or even a decidedly Web 1.0 tool--e-mail. There is a feature in the Delicious bookmarking service that allows users to send a link to someone in their network. This is another example of asynchronous communication--that link will be available whenever your teammate is ready to take a look at it. Blog posts and comments can also be considered asynchronous communication--anything that allows people to read and reflect on the information before acting on or responding to it works as an asynchronous communication channel. The library staff at California State University at Fullerton has created a wiki that they are using to track and manage their implementation of the Verse e-resource management system. The wiki is an excellent example of how collaborative tools allow a project to run smoothly with collaborators communicating asynchronously. It gives people a place to store information, comments, and concerns that are raised during the implementation procedure. Heather Tunender, the electronic resources librarian at the California State University, created the wiki because she had noticed that some staff members were using digital files to keep track of the process, but that these files were necessarily available to everyone who might need them. …