There’s Just Too Many Social Tools Right?

Having presented numerous times to various management and executive boards on the need of Being Social in the workplace, it might not surprise you that at some stage we always end up talking about tools. And the fact that there are just too many of them.

“We have 3 different Wiki platforms, which is the one you would advise we use?”

“Which workspace solution is the easiest to use?”

“We are using Blog type A, but Bob in accounting says that Blog type B is better. What do you think?”

These are typically some of the everyday questions that pop up that I have to deal with.

There are two approaches to the “too many tools” issue:

1. Implement a Corporate Social Governance Model
2. Provide Social Tool Comparison Tables

Implement a Corporate Social Governance Model
This is the simplest approach, but often the hardest to implement. It does mean the business and IT department need to work closely together (sometimes a challenge in itself) to ensure the single Wiki, the single blogging platform, the single workspace solution etc… meets the needs of the business.

Provide Social Tool Comparison Tables
This is a much more difficult approach, but definitely the easiest to implement. Create a centralised knowledge resource hub where users can compare functionality of similar social tools so they can make an informed decision on which is the right tool for them.

So the options are simple. Give the users no choice and therefore no confusion or debate, or provide the facts so users can make the right judgment call.

Don’t allow “There’s just too many social tools?” to be an excuse for not evolving your workplace!