Sam Lawrence Wants Workstreamr

Sam Lawrence has rightly suggested that the benefits of Twitter could be realized within the enterprise:

[from Go Big Always - Twitter: A two-way social computer?]

[...]

While even the esteemed Twitterari enjoy efficient, rich communication through their social network, those same people often turn around and are stuck sending old-fart email around their company. Their social network consists of the few people they know on their email mailing list. There’s no internal Twitter-like communication. But, hypothetically, your company could be a kick-butt social computer, too. You’re all on the same basic mission and actually a social network by definition.

He suggests that the 'social computer' that Twitter engenders could 'two way' -- operating within the open web world and within an enterprise, at the same time.

I agree with the core sentiment -- that Twitteresque flow of work could be enormously beneficial. In fact, flow is one of the three core elements of Workstreamr. But I don't think that the hard boundaries of the twentieth century business should be carried so firmly into the metaphors we have for work today, and going forward.

Work is a coordinative swirl, with a blizzard of details -- meeting dates, milestones, and todos -- peppered in the strategic context of project goals and company objectives. The difficulties before us aren't so much bridging from inside to outside of the company, but a four way tussle involving the inside/outside dimension and the tactical/strategic dimension.

A Twitterlike conversation is only one mechanism that is needed: a very important one, however, that seems to be absent in other solutions.

In the context of work however, we can it the workstream. Workstreaming will change how work gets done.

Comments

[Brent]

wasn't the the original reason behind the creation of pownce? so they could share files, notes, comments, calendars, etc.. between cubicles?