The future is bright for intranets and new technology

The future is bright for intranets and new technology

Delegates find common challenges and discover how to enhance their intranets with new technology. Every second a blog is born and - if you believe the statistics - there will be almost 100 million blogs in the blogosphere by the end of 2006.

The message at Melcrum's recent workshop on enhancing the intranet with new technology was clear: In order to stay ahead of the game and relate to blog-savvy employees, it's essential for today's internal communicators to be fluent in the language of technology.

Taking the intranet to the next levelLast Thursday saw the second in the series of Melcrum Workshops on intranets and social media, presented by technology gurus, Neville Hobson and Dave Wallace. The first was held in Manchester at the end of March.

Dave Wallace of web consultants Heath Wallace first explained to delegates how a fundamentally sound intranet basis can, and should, interact with new technologies. Self-confessed blogger and revolutionary technologist, Neville Hobson then went on to explain the differences between the bewildering array of new social media up-for-grabs in the communicator's palette.

Facing common challengesDelegates from leading organizations such as Barclays, Nokia, HBOS and BT, who despite differences in organizational set-up, found some common ground over key challenges in effectively implementing new technology. Hobson summarized these on his blog:
· The intranet is big, unmanageable and out of date.
· Disconnect between content and what employees are looking for.
· Technology driving the agenda.
· Lack of appreciation about how the intranet fits as a strategic tool.
· The intranet acts as a mirror for organizations often reflecting the political structure rather than a useful structure.

The future's brightAlso commenting on his blog, Hobson said: "The really interesting part began when we moved along from the broad presentation and definitions of blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS and so on, into deeper discussion about how such tools can work inside organizations as part of a communication strategy."

"If our two workshops are any indicator, then the future is bright indeed," he added.

Source: HUB – melcrum publishing