Herramientas Colaborativas 2.0 - Gestión del Conocimiento by Gonzalo Plaza

UNIVERSIDAD PONTIFICIA DE SALAMANCA INGENIERÍA EN ORGANIZACIÓN INDUSTRIAL (Campus de Madrid)

TRABAJO DE INVESTIGACIÓN ACADÉMICA [ ASIGNATURA: GESTIÓN DEL CONOCIMIENTO ]

HERRAMIENTAS COLABORATIVAS EN LA EMPRESA 2.0

Profesor: D. Luis Joyanes Aguilar Alumno: Carlos González de Villaumbrosia González, 086024 Correo-e: carloscgv@gmail.com Alumno: Gonzalo Plaza Chinchón, 086032 Correo-e: gonzaloplazac@gmail.com Fecha Entrega: 2 de febrero de 2010

Indice de Contenido Introducci贸n. ............................................................................................................... 4

I. Estado del Arte .........................................................................................................5 Nuevas formas de negocio......................................................................................6 El Software como Servicio (SaaS) ........................................................................ 6 La Movilidad en las Organizaciones ..................................................................... 8 Herramientas 2.0, base para la creaci贸n de nuevas empresas ............................. 10 Visibilidad y Reputaci贸n en la Web .................................................................... 13

II. Desarrollo del Trabajo ........................................................................................ 17 1. Project Management ........................................................................................ 17 2. Collaborative Writing ...................................................................................... 17 3. Collaborative Reviewing ................................................................................. 18 4. MindMapping & Diagramming ....................................................................... 20 5. File Sharing ..................................................................................................... 21 6. Private Social Networking ............................................................................... 22 7. Wikis & Blogs ................................................................................................. 24 8. Workgrouping.................................................................................................. 25 9. Web Presenting ................................................................................................ 25 10. Whiteboarding ............................................................................................... 29 11. Virtual 3D Inmersive Collaboration .............................................................. 32 12. Web Conferencing ......................................................................................... 34 13. Co-Browsing.................................................................................................. 36 14. Webinars ........................................................................................................ 39 15. Screen-Sharing .............................................................................................. 41 16. Instant-Messaging & Chat ............................................................................. 42 17. Event Scheduling & Calendar Sharing Tools ................................................ 44 18. Karma System & Content Recomendations .................................................. 45 19. Mashups & Third Party Applications ............................................................ 46 20. Bussines Intelligence ..................................................................................... 47 1

21. Cloud Computing .......................................................................................... 48 22. Forums ........................................................................................................... 49 23. Trends & Tags ............................................................................................... 49 24. E-Learning ..................................................................................................... 50 25. Augmented Reality & Content Location ....................................................... 51

III. Estudio de herramientas a través de MindMap .............................................. 53 1. BrainStorming ................................................................................................. 53 2. MindMap ......................................................................................................... 54 3. Estudio Práctico .............................................................................................. 54

Conclusiones .............................................................................................................. 55

Bibliografía ................................................................................................................ 56

Introducción El conocimiento, entendido como activo intangible de las organizaciones, supone uno de los elementos que genera más ventajas competitivas sostenibles en el tiempo. A diferencia de otros activos como los materiales o los financieros, los activos intangibles nunca han sido cuantificados contablemente, a pesar de formar parte de la actividad diaria y de la propia cultura de la empresa, después incluso de haberse demostrado que con el paso del tiempo dichos activos se transforman en elementos estabilizadores que generan sostenibilidad y valor. El conocimiento por lo tanto, es propio de cada organización e influye directamente en la actividad comercial y por consiguiente, en los resultados económicos de la misma. La proliferación de las nuevas tecnologías, en concreto de Internet y de la Web 2.0 está cambiando la cultura organizativa de las empresas modernas, y obligando a estas a adaptarse a modelos de trabajo y procesos colaborativos en los que las herramientas tecnológicas que analizamos a continuación están teniendo un papel fundamental. Aspectos como la comunicación en tiempo real, la movilidad, la geolocación y el trabajo en equipo, entre otros, se realizan de forma mucho más eficiente gracias a las herramientas colaborativas que la red ofrece con la ventaja además del cambio de modelo de negocio que supone adquirir el software como un servicio y no como un producto individual. En un mercado global como el actual, donde las variables cambian continuamente y la competencia se ejerce a tiempo real, la colaboración de las personas en todos los niveles y ámbitos de la organización es fundamental para poder diferenciarse del resto.

Por todo ello es importante destacar el cambio que la Web está realizando hacia un modelo mucho más colaborativo, centrado en la participación de los usuarios y la compartición de la información entre ellos. Lo que en un principio pudo empezar como simples herramientas de ocio, hoy en día está dando un giro radical hacia nuevos modelos de negocio, y nuevos métodos para gestionar el conocimiento de las organizaciones de una forma mucho más eficiente y menos costosa. Todas las empresas están empezando a ser conscientes que el modelo de Colaboración que la Web ofrece les permite obtener unas ventajas competitivas no solo en organización interna de sus propios procesos, sino en la forma con la que se relacionan con sus propios clientes. Nos encontramos por lo tanto ante la era de la información en tiempo real, donde el poder se encuentra en la información y esta a su vez se transmite por todo el mundo gracias al auge que Internet ha supuesto en la sociedad. En el siguiente estudio, analizaremos como las distintas herramientas que existen pueden ayudar a las organizaciones a mejorar su posición competitiva en el mercado.

Estado del Arte Las herramientas colaborativas en red, que están cambiando los procesos tradicionales de trabajo permiten una mayor flexibilidad, un aumento de la productividad y una mejora de la comunicación no sólo de las organizaciones hacia los empleados, sino también entre los propios empleados. Es importante además, destacar que este tipo de herramientas también mejoran la comunicación que las empresas tienen con sus clientes y en general con el mercado, que cada vez es más exigente y demanda mayor cantidad de información. Por todo ello, las organizaciones deben ser conscientes que el conocimiento propio es un activo de alto valor, que puede ser gestionado con las herramientas colaborativas que la Web 2.0 ofrece de forma cada vez más extendida. El coste de implantación de estas herramientas será mínimo ya que se contratarán como servicios y no como inversiones, donde el cálculo del retorno de la inversión será mucho más rápido y sencillo de analizar. Además, el uso de las mismas se podrá extender a cualquier dispositivo que tenga conexión a Internet, facilitando la movilidad y la disponibilidad de la información en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar. Actualmente existen herramientas colaborativas que engloban las principales actividades de las organizaciones, desde la comunicación directa, la gestión de documentos, la vigilancia tecnológica (del entorno) hasta la gestión de contactos, un concepto que está tomando cada vez más importancia. Las herramientas correspondientes a la gestión documental permiten una mejor organización de la información de la que se dispone, aumentando la accesibilidad a la misma para todos los usuarios, además de facilitar la transmisión del conocimiento en todos los niveles y promoviendo la participación y la colaboración de los equipos de personas. Las correspondientes a la comunicación permitirán ahorrar en costes de desplazamiento y mejorar la transferencia de información entre la red de personas que componen las organizaciones modernas. Es importante destacar que la utilización de herramientas web para la colaboración en los procesos de trabajo requiere que los usuarios sean conscientes del cambio que esto supone frente a los modelos anteriores. En este caso, el foco se centra en los propios usuarios y en su actividad participativa, más que en la propia información, que se transforma en contenido compartido por todos. Las interrelaciones entre los participantes son más efectivas gracias a la filosofía de la Web 2.0: una misma plataforma alojada en la nube y utilizada de forma continua por los usuarios que publican el contenido independientemente de su localización y del dispositivo desde donde se conecten. Por lo tanto una de las principales ventajas del uso de la Web como medio para colaborar será la facilidad y disponibilidad de acceso desde cualquier parte. No se requieren instalaciones adicionales de software (tan sólo será necesario un navegador) ni equipos informáticos especiales, que solo necesitarán una conexión a Internet. Por este hecho, la tendencia al uso de dispositivos ligeros como los netbooks o los smart phones ha aumentado exponencialmente en estos últimos años, empujados en 4

parte por la mejora de las redes de comunicaciones (WiFi, 3G, UMTS, etc) y por la adaptabilidad que tienen las herramientas 2.0 a cualquier dispositivo conectado a Internet.

Nuevas formas de negocio El éxito de la Web 2.0 se debe también en parte a las nuevas formas de negocio que han surgido como respuesta a la buena aceptación que ha tenido el modelo por parte de los usuarios. La aparición de lenguajes de programación orientados a la Web (PHP, Java, Ruby on Rails, ASP, etc) y la popularización del software libre por la red (MySQL, Apache, Linux, etc) ha permitido que los desarrollos sean mucho menos costosos económicamente y sobretodo más accesibles a todo tipo de empresas y emprendedores. Por ello hoy en día es posible encontrar en la red todo tipo de servicios de forma gratuita o por un coste reducido mediante el llamado servicio Premium, que ofrece más ventajas y utilidades. La tendencia parece seguir éste camino y las nuevas compañías que están teniendo éxito en el panorama de los servicios 2.0 siguen éste modelo de negocio. Se ha demostrado con teorías como la de la Larga Cola (The Long Tail), que el mercado de negocios en la red está cambiando de centrase en pocos productos y servicios exitosos a una gran cantidad de ellos especializados por nichos o grupos de usuarios que buscan características muy especificas. Por esta razón se está dando la posibilidad de que un gran número de pequeñas empresas emergentes (startups) puedan subsistir ofreciendo servicios segmentados incluso a un coste muy reducido. Todos estos negocios basan su éxito en ofrecer buena parte de sus características de forma gratuita con lo que consiguen captar grandes cantidades de usuarios, mientras que una pequeña parte de ellos contratan el servicio Premium de pago, de donde generan los beneficios. Pero este modelo no siempre asegura poder mantener los costes una vez que el número de usuarios es realmente grande. En los casos en los cuales el número de usuarios que utilizan un servicio web 2.0 crece exponencialmente en el tiempo, los costes para mantener el servicio activo (servidores, ancho de banda, tráfico de datos…) se incrementan de tal manera que resulta complicado compensarlos con ingresos por parte de los usuarios. Es por esto que la publicidad en la Web sigue teniendo un protagonismo cada vez mayor y también está sufriendo un cambio para adaptarse a los nuevos modelos 2.0.

El Software como Servicio (SaaS) La Web 2.0 no sólo está cambiando la forma en la que los usuarios y las empresas interactúan entre ellos, sino que además se está produciendo un cambio de concepto en cuanto a la definición del propio software. El avance tecnológico en la gestión de servidores y la aparición de nuevos lenguajes de programación orientados a la Web permiten actualmente que se puedan desarrollar aplicaciones perfectamente funcionales y transmitirlas mediante los protocolos estándares de la web. Esto significa un cambio 5

radical en el concepto que se ha tenido hasta el momento sobre el Software, que ya no reside en las máquinas cliente sino que son los servidores quienes lo alojan y lo sirven a través de la red. Los clientes tan sólo tendrán que contratar el uso de dicho software como si de un servicio más se tratara, en función de las características que necesiten y pagando una cuota que dependerá de dichas necesidades. Las características contratables en las versiones Premium (también conocidas como Pro), entre otras, son: -

Capacidad de almacenamiento (normalmente GigaBytes) Número de usuarios de la aplicación Módulos de la aplicación específicos Soporte y atención al usuario Tráfico de datos Personalización de la interfaz o el diseño Integración con otras tecnologías o aplicaciones Garantía de disponibilidad del servicio.

El software entendido como un servicio (SaaS) supone además una gran cantidad de ventajas para las empresas que deciden implantarlo. Para empezar, se evitan tener que realizar costosas tareas de implantación y mantenimiento de la herramienta, con lo cual se consiguen simplificar los modelos de gestión de los Sistemas de Información. Además, tampoco es necesario gestionar las actualizaciones de la aplicación ya que siempre se ofrece la última versión para todos los usuarios, evitando así problemas de compatibilidad y reduciendo los errores en seguridad y en usabilidad. El proveedor del Software también ofrece soporte ya sea mediante documentación en la web: foros, wikis, guías FAQ (Frecuently Asked Questions) e incluso soporte telefónico. La empresa cliente por lo tanto solo debe preocuparse en usar la aplicación, y el único coste que supone implantarla es el tiempo de adaptación y de aprendizaje de los usuarios a la herramienta. La otra principal ventaja que ofrece el SaaS está directamente relacionada con el concepto de movilidad en la empresa. La proliferación de los dispositivos portátiles y de las empresas ―móviles‖, en las que los empleados tienen que viajar, trabajar en distintos entornos (en clientes, en otras sedes de la compañía, en casa..) requiere la necesidad de disponer del software empresarial en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar. El modelo del SaaS y la Web 2.0 permiten que se pueda desarrollar la movilidad sin tener que establecer cambios en la gestión del Software. Sin embargo, el modelo SaaS también tiene una serie de inconvenientes que provocan que muchas empresas no decidan dar el salto hacia la nueva estrategia. A continuación se detallan algunas de estas consideraciones: -

El Software como Servicio (SaaS) supone necesariamente que la información crítica para las compañías deba deslocalizarse, generando unos posibles riesgos de seguridad. Toda la información deberá viajar por Internet, en lugar de alojarse directamente en los servidores propios de la compañía. A pesar de que es posible 6

que en muchos casos la infraestructura propia de la empresa proveedora del servicio de SaaS sea más avanzada y segura que la del cliente, los datos y la información debe salir de la empresa para alojarse en ella lo que desconcierta a muchos directores de Sistemas de Información acerca de la privacidad de la misma. Este es el caso de la contratación de servicios de correo electrónico en la nube, donde no se tiene la certeza exacta del lugar donde se protege la información (la compañía proveedora no ofrece detalles en ningún momento), ni tampoco se asegura hasta qué punto la empresa proveedora puede hacer uso de esa información. -

Muchas de las compañías que ofrecen SaaS son empresas de nueva creación (startups) que no garantizan una estabilidad financiera ni un modelo de negocio sostenible en el tiempo. Independientemente de su funcionalidad o de su éxito actual en el mercado, las empresas que las contratan deberán tener en cuenta que la información que están depositando en ellas podría ser susceptible de desaparecer en caso de que la empresa proveedora desaparezca del mercado. Por ello, habrá que valorar qué actividades críticas del negocio se deciden migrar al modelo SaaS o modelo 2.0, y realizar un análisis del proveedor antes de contratarle.

Por la misma razón anterior, algunas de las compañías que ofrecen SaaS no disponen de un efectivo servicio de Atención al Cliente, lo que supone un riesgo para la compañía que lo contrata. Habrá que valorar de qué forma la empresa proveedora facilita atención al cliente: si disponen de atención personalizada continua, si ofrecen garantías de disponibilidad en caso de producirse incidencias concretas, o si éste tipo de servicios suponen un aumento considerable en el coste de uso de las mismas.

La Movilidad en las organizaciones La gestión de la información en las empresas debe permitir que el conocimiento sea transmitido a todos los niveles y a todas las personas que la integren. Actualmente nos encontramos empresas con organigramas más flexibles y distribuidos, donde el concepto de la movilidad adquiere cada vez más protagonismo. El acceso a la información en estos casos debe ser lo más eficiente posible, y se debe promover que todas las personas, trabajen en puestos fijos o no puedan acceder de la misma forma a la misma información. Las herramientas de la Web 2.0 no sólo facilitan la movilidad en la empresa sino que por definición están creadas para poder ser accesibles independientemente de la localización. El uso de estas herramientas, que comparten una plataforma única alojada en la nube, facilita a los usuarios tener siempre a disposición información relevante y actualizada que necesitan para el desarrollo del negocio. En un mercado que cambia a 7

tiempo real, disponer de datos concretos en el momento adecuado genera una ventaja competitiva de la que todas las empresas deberían ser conscientes. Además, la mencionada disponibilidad de la información tiene otra gran ventaja, quizás la más importante y es que el conocimiento generado y la información relevante puede transmitirse fácilmente mejorando la comunicación dentro de la empresa y por consiguiente permitiendo que todos los componentes de la organización puedan tomar mejores decisiones y más rápidamente. Esto es fundamental ya que una falta de información concreta en un momento determinado puede ocasionar que se tome una mala decisión que repercutirá en la actividad del negocio. La movilidad no se reduce solamente al hecho de acceder a la información desde cualquier lugar sino que además debe ser lo más flexible posible. Por ello la mayoría de las herramientas 2.0 permiten adaptar su acceso y su contenido a cualquier tipo de dispositivo que esté conectado a Internet. Actualmente los mayores esfuerzos se centran en adaptar dichos contenidos para que sean eficientemente accesibles desde redes móviles como 3G, 3‘5G, UMTS, WiFi y en un futuro no muy lejano 4G y demás redes de banda ancha. El auge del acceso a Internet desde dispositivos móviles es ya una realidad que está penetrando con fuerza en el mercado de la telefonía móvil y en el de los fabricantes. Todos los últimos modelos de los teléfonos inteligentes (smartphones) no solo permiten acceder a Internet a través de las redes disponibles sino que además el propio diseño del software que contienen se está centrando casi en exclusividad al mundo de las aplicaciones 2.0 adaptadas. Los fabricantes por lo tanto están siendo conscientes del éxito de las redes sociales y de las aplicaciones en la nube hasta tal punto que algunos de estos modelos están saliendo al mercado para ser utilizados principalmente para ese fin. Los usuarios por su parte demandan cada vez más poder acceder a toda su información (correo electrónico, redes sociales, servicios de microblogin, video y audiostreaming) desde cualquier parte y más aun cuando la tecnología disponible lo permite sin suponer un gran coste. Las compañías operadoras de telefonía, jugando otro papel muy importante en el desarrollo del acceso móvil a Internet, están ofreciendo tarifas cada vez más competitivas y flexibles para ganarse a un buen número de usuarios que demandan el acceso. Como conclusión de toda esta mezcla de acontecimientos podemos deducir que la Web 2.0 y la movilidad están más que relacionados y tanto un aspecto como el otro se complementan de tal manera que el éxito está más que justificado. Las organizaciones modernas son flexibles por definición, y en la mayoría de los casos sus ventajas competitivas están estrechamente relacionadas con el uso que hacen de su conocimiento e información. La movilidad de los empleados en su caso forma parte del día a día del negocio, siendo esta una necesidad que se debe cubrir al máximo facilitando el acceso a la información. Por ello cada día más empresas están optando por contratar servicios de aplicaciones en la nube, que no solo les permiten ahorrar en costes de mantenimiento, sino que además facilitan a sus empleados y a sus directivos mantenerse informados, comunicarse y colaborar entre ellos sin importar su localización. 8

Las herramientas de la Web 2.0, como base de la creación de nuevas empresas Como ya hemos mencionado, las herramientas de la Web 2.0 suponen una gran ventaja en costes y en implantación para las empresas que desean optar por este modelo. El Software como Servicio permite disponer de innumerables aplicaciones importantes para el negocio, sin necesidad de tener que mantenerlas. Este nuevo modelo de gestión del Software, está permitiendo que muchas empresas puedan centrarse en las áreas de las que disponen más ventajas competitivas, reduciendo el coste fijo que supone mantener una infraestructura informática propia. Esta ventaja está agilizando la creación de nuevas empresas que basan su estrategia tecnológica en la nube, lo que les permite comenzar a realizar sus actividades sin necesidad de realizar una inversión inicial en tecnología y lo más importante, mantenerse sosteniblemente en el tiempo sin incrementar sus gastos fijos. En el caso extremo de las conocidas como ―startups‖, cada vez más comunes y exitosas, se aprovecha el concepto de movilidad para establecerse como negocios rentables incluso sin disponer de un lugar fijo donde situarse, y ahondando un poco más, sin necesidad de que todos sus miembros se encuentren en la misma localización. Este singular hecho nunca antes habría sido posible debido a los problemas de comunicación que hubiera generado, siendo actualmente una realidad gracias a la Web 2.0 y las ventajas que ofrece. El bajo coste que supone disponer de acceso a Internet, junto con las tecnologías de comunicación a tiempo real y las herramientas colaborativas hacen posible que personas de diferentes lugares puedan organizarse para realizar una actividad empresarial. El auge de las ―startups‖ está a la orden del día, y muchas de las herramientas más conocidas de la Web 2.0 a nivel mundial han sido creadas por empresas de este tipo. Para llevar a cabo un negocio de este tipo debemos pensar en el concepto externalización empresarial. Muchas de las herramientas de la Web 2.0 que actualmente están operando con éxito en Internet han sido diseñadas para la gestión y administración de empresas, desde la contabilidad hasta la relación con los clientes (CRM, Customer Relationship Management). A todo esto hay que sumarle que las Administraciones Públicas están migrando todos sus sistemas y servicios para orientarlos a una gestión digitalizada por Internet, reduciendo drásticamente las gestiones burocráticas y la necesidad de realizarlas físicamente con los usuarios y sus documentos. Los sistemas de comunicación por otra parte, tienen ya su modelo maduro e implantado a través de la Web mediante numerosos tipos de servicios (correo electrónico, mensajería instantánea, Voz IP, videoconferencias) y la mayoría de los usuarios o potenciales clientes disponen de ellos. Todo este conjunto de aspectos demuestran la posibilidad real de realizar actividades empresariales únicamente a través de la Web. A continuación se detallan con más profundidad las áreas que un negocio necesitaría para subsistir en el mercado y

sus correspondientes soluciones tecnológicas diseñadas para su uso en la Web y la Web 2.0. -

Gestión de los recursos Financieros: Desde hace ya algunos años, las entidades bancarias son capaces de ofrecer sus servicios bancarios a través de Internet, sin necesidad de la presencia física de sus clientes. Actualmente podemos realizar todo tipo de transferencias, cobros, gestión de cuentas bancarias, incluso inversiones en bolsa a través de Internet. Además, en los últimos años han aparecido servicios específicos que ejercen de intermediarios entre los clientes y los bancos, aumentando la confianza de los usuarios en las transacciones comerciales digitales y facilitando el movimiento de dinero a través de Internet. Como ejemplo, podemos destacar PayPal y Google CheckOut.

Gestión Empresarial: Todo negocio, necesita ser administrado y gestionado estableciendo una organización para sus actividades con los clientes y con los demás stakeholders de su entorno. Para ello existen herramientas en la Web, como los ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning), que integran y automatizan muchas de las prácticas de negocio asociadas con los aspectos operativos o productivos de una empresa. Además, es importante destacar que las compañías de software más importantes en aspectos relacionados con la contabilidad, y la facturación están empezando a ofrecer soluciones orientadas a la Web. Este es el caso de SAGE, empresa propietaria de aplicaciones como Contaplus, FacturaPlus y NominaPlus, que actualmente ofrece a sus clientes los mismos productos, pero como aplicaciones de la nube (SaaS), situación que está siendo muy bien adoptada en el mercado, y que según parece terminará siendo el modelo definitivo de este Software.

Almacenamiento y Gestión de la Información: Durante los últimos años, el aumento de la capacidad de los dispositivos de almacenamiento ha aumentando situándonos actualmente casi en el orden de los TeraBytes, como medida de cálculo estándar. Paralelamente, están surgiendo cada vez con más frecuencia los servicios de almacenamiento en la nube con costes muy reducidos. Estas herramientas permiten almacenar nuestros datos críticos asegurándolos en centros de datos especializados y facilitando el acceso a ellos desde cualquier parte (obviamente con medidas de seguridad). Las empresas por lo tanto pueden despreocuparse de tener que mantener la seguridad e integridad de su información y el coste que eso supone. La deslocalización de dichos datos, que pasan a encontrarse ―en la nube‖ hace innecesario tener que disponer de un espacio físico y una infraestructura propia para contenerlos. Como ejemplo, nombramos un servicio que ha ganado recientemente el premio Chrunchies 2009 (de Techcrunch) como mejor aplicación de este tipo, llamada ―Dropbox‖, por su valiosa utilidad y su fácil utilización.

Infraestructura Tecnológica y Herramientas de uso empresarial: Las herramientas ofimáticas, clientes de correo y demás software comúnmente utilizado en las empresas se puede encontrar hoy en día como servicio en la Web. La apuesta de compañías como Google con su Suite ofimática Google Docs, o Microsoft, con Office Online está suponiendo todo un éxito no solo por su usabilidad y facilidad, sino además por la ventaja en mantenimiento que supone.

Comunicaciones: En cuanto a una de las partes más importantes de toda empresa como es la relación de comunicación entre los propios componentes de la misma y los clientes existe un gran mercado de herramientas en la Web que lo facilitan. Dentro de este aspecto, podemos destacar las redes sociales corporativas, las profesionales, los blogs, Wikis, herramientas groupware, servicios de microblogging y demás tecnologías que desarrollamos en el contenido del estudio que sigue a continuación. La otra parte de este aspecto se refiere a las tecnologías que permiten la comunicación directa como son los sistemas de mensajería instantánea, las aplicaciones de videoconferencia, de VozIP y lo que actualmente se está desarrollando y que promete ser el futuro en las comunicaciones: la telepresencia. Todas estas herramientas actualmente están muy extendidas en la Web y muchas de ellas se integran con otras herramientas de colaboración y participación, manteniendo la filosofía de la Web 2.0.

Gestión de los clientes: La gestión de las relaciones con los clientes es otro aspecto crítico de cualquier empresa que puede ser gestionado mediante herramientas de la Web 2.0. En este caso, nos encontramos con que el auge de Internet ha cambiado y está cambiando por completo las formas de comportamiento de los consumidores y clientes. Esto es debido principalmente a dos causas: o La información sobre productos y servicios en la Web es tan extensa que los consumidores y/o clientes se han transformado buscando productos más específicos, con mejor relación calidad/precio y siendo más exigentes a la hora de evaluar el servicio que les ofrecen las empresas. El cliente por lo tanto usará la información disponible para poder comparar y elegir de acuerdo a sus necesidades concretas. o El modelo bidireccional de la Web 2.0 (posibilidad de publicar y recibir feedbacks de los usuarios) ha generado una cultura digital en la cual la opinión del resto de usuarios toma una gran importancia y sirve como apoyo para la toma de decisiones de otros usuarios. Los clientes por lo tanto recurrirán a sitios de Internet donde puedan comparar los productos en los cuales están interesados y además podrán tomar decisiones de compra en base a las experiencias con el producto que otros usuarios han

publicado. Por ello los actuales sistemas de valoración, recomendación y votación tienen una gran influencia en la Web. Por todo ello, las empresas deben recurrir a herramientas sociales de la Web 2.0 que les permitan mejorar su relación con los clientes. La utilización de sistemas de Gestión del Contenido, que les permitan mejorar la comunicación con estos, además de ofrecer una imagen más clara y transparente generará una gran ventaja competitiva de la que se hablará más adelante en este estudio académico. Con este pequeño análisis se demuestra el impacto que la Web 2.0 está ocasionando en el entorno económico y empresarial. Las ventajas competitivas que la Web ofrece permiten como ya se ha comentado que muchas pequeñas y nuevas empresas puedan subsistir, y del uso adecuado de todas estas herramientas dependerá su éxito y su continuidad en el mercado.

Visibilidad y reputación de las empresas en la Web 2.0 Como ya hemos comentado, la Web 2.0 está produciendo un gran cambio en la formas de comportamiento de los clientes, y en el modo en que estos perciben a las empresas y sus productos o servicios. La mayoría de las compañías han sabido percibir este cambio y utilizan la Web como medio para publicitarse y darse a conocer a través de la gran cantidad de posibilidades que se ofrecen para ello (ya sea por publicidad tradicional en Internet, o participando en plataformas sociales como se comentará más adelante). Sin embargo, la aparición de la Web 2.0, un medio bidireccional y participativo está ocasionado que muchas empresas estén teniendo que cambiar su estrategia de marketing y de comunicación con los nuevos ―clientes 2.0‖, debido al control y poder que estos han adquirido. El poder e influencia de los nuevos clientes es tal que según un estudio de Gartner, actualmente el 50% de las consultas de productos en todo el mundo se realizan a través de la Web, y una gran parte de ellas tienen valor gracias a los comentarios y valoraciones de los mismos generadas por otros clientes que los han adquirido. Por ello, los directivos de Marketing se están teniendo que plantearse nuevas preguntas: ¿Qué implicaciones tiene esto para las compañías?. Los consumidores confían más en las opiniones publicadas por otros internautas que en aquella que viene directamente de la marca. ¿Qué ocurrirá si las experiencias publicadas por otros consumidores son más interesantes para los clientes que la propia Web de la compañía?. Para afrontar esto, en el UCR Sloan Center for Internet Retailing se ha desarrollado una nueva metodología que han denominado LEAD (Listen, Experience, Apply, Develop), que se detalla a continuación: -

Escucha (Listen): El primer paso para cualquier compañía es comenzar a prestar atención a lo que los consumidores están diciendo sobre su marca en Internet. Es necesario contar con un proceso estructurado y continuo que permita

comprender a los clientes e identificar de manera rápida cualquier situación que pueda generar un riesgo. -

Experiementa (Experience): Escuchar es sólo el comienzo, pero no genera ningún valor. Para establecer una buena relación con los clientes en Internet, las empresas deben comenzar a probar las redes sociales con pequeños proyectos de Marketing pilotos. Por ejemplo, se puede crear un perfil de la compañía en Facebook estableciendo vínculos, o empezar a generar relaciones de comunicación con clientes en Twitter. Con este punto por lo tanto las compañías deberán ganar experiencia en el uso de la comunicación 2.0.

Implementa (Apply): Una vez que se haya generado experiencia con los pequeños proyectos de Marketing, se deben empezar a utilizar en la relación con los clientes. Es importante que la compañía sea accesible y que las herramientas corporativas (como la Web) se conecten de manera sencilla con las herramientas de Social Media. Es fundamental que la empresa escuche continuamente y contar con métricas específicas de la actividad en estos nuevos canales.

Desarrolla (Develop): Internet es un medio social y por tanto deberá ser una parte fundamental del ―Marketing Mix‖ de las compañías, pero es fundamental desarrollar programas y campañas que utilicen la Web 2.0 como algo más que un nuevo canal para publicidad. Será necesario que los vínculos con los clientes sean lo más naturales posibles y que se permita a estos participar en ellos generando así una imagen de marca transparente y cercana.

La visibilidad en Internet será por lo tanto, uno de los principales objetivos que las empresas deberán tener en cuenta si quieren mantener sus ventajas competitivas (o generar algunas nuevas) en el mercado. Para ello deberán restablecer las formas y métodos (como hemos visto) a la hora de relacionarse y atender a los clientes. Según un estudio de Gartner, en 2012 el 65% de las conversaciones de Atención al Cliente se realizarán a través de Internet y particularmente a través de la Web 2.0. Algunos de los retos de Marketing que las compañías deberán afrontar ante este cambio son los siguientes: -

Identificar empleados seleccionados para participar en conversaciones online con los clientes.

Emplear las capacidades de monitorización de los medios sociales para identificar y medir el valor de los influenciadores claves.

Identificar y segmentar los clientes que participan en conversaciones online sobre su marca o compañía.

Integrar el marketing en los medios sociales y comunidades online con otras actuaciones de marketing.

Correlacionar la defensa del cliente con los resultados financieros.

Definir las mejores prácticas para la utilización de ideas y acciones concretas que se derivan de las comunidades online.

Tan sólo será necesario realizar un pequeño análisis de mercado para darse cuenta de que la Web es un punto clave en la relación con clientes potenciales. Uno de los puntos más importantes para las organizaciones será por lo tanto gestionar su visibilidad o capacidad para aparecer de forma popular en los resultados de búsqueda de los usuarios. A modo de definición, el Posicionamiento en Buscadores o Posicionamiento Web trata de utilizar una técnica informática denominada SEO (Search Engine Optimization) que permite aprovechar la metodología de funcionamiento de los motores de búsqueda más importantes con el objetivo de mejorar la posición en la que una web aparece en los listados de resultados (SERPs) de los mismos, en función de la utilización de determinadas palabras clave o keywords. Por lo tanto, consiguiendo que la Web corporativa de una compañía o de una marca aparezca en los primeros resultados de un motor de búsqueda para una palabra concreta supondrá un considerable aumento en el número de usuarios que visitarán dicha Web. Para conseguir esto, los conocidos como SEOs utilizan métodos como la gestión de los enlaces y el PageRank, el alta en servicios y directorios especializados, la utilización de keywords especializadas en los textos de las webs, etc. Una buena visibilidad para un sitio web indicará que es percibido como un sitio importante, y si además este permite que los usuarios puedan participar con opiniones, dudas, comentarios o sugerencias, supondrá un aumento de la confianza de los clientes hacia la propia marca, recurriendo a ella en caso de necesitarlo, en lugar de hacerlo a otros lugares de los cuales la compañía no puede establecer un control. Por ello muchas empresas se están preocupando de crear puntos de comunicación transparentes y colaborativos donde los usuarios puedan informarse u opinar acerca de los servicios o productos que se ofrecen en el mercado. Algunos ejemplos son los siguientes:

Comunidades Online donde los clientes puedan expresar su opinión sobre los productos y servicios y ejercer un derecho de valoración de los mismos. Habrá que tener en cuenta que los usuarios no sólo acudirán a votar los productos sino que también lo harán para consultar las votaciones del resto.

Blogs y Wikis profesionales que permitan conocerse a los diferentes grupos de una compañía compartiendo conocimiento y generando contenidos para los clientes (videos de configuración, entrevistas con expertos, análisis de productos, etc). Herramientas de gestión del conocimiento Web 2.0: incluyen toda la información relativa a problemas y soluciones. El contenido es accesible

mediante diferentes canales: Web especifica de Atención, sitio Web corporativo, canal móvil, áreas específicas en redes sociales, paginas de blogs, AVIs, etc. -

Redes Sociales: una empresa dentro de una red social debe expresar sus ideas relativas a la Atención al Cliente como uno más de la red social. Sobre todo ha de saber ganarse la confianza de los usuarios que le rodean empleando el perfil de sus propios empleados o un perfil virtual de un avatar (Asistente Virtual Interactivo)

Como se puede observar, todos estos métodos para mejorar la imagen de la compañía en la Web y establecer un vínculo más seguro con los clientes se pueden llevar a cabo mediante el uso de las herramientas de colaboración existentes para los distintos fines. Una buena visibilidad por lo tanto permitirá a las empresas diferenciarse de la competencia y mejorar sus productos o servicios directamente con la opinión de sus propios clientes. Sin embargo, establecer un plan para mejorar la visibilidad en la Web requerirá que el marketing de la misma se adapte a un entorno muy distinto al tradicional, donde existirán puntos positivos y otros negativos. Esto puede generar una serie de riesgos que hay que tener en cuenta: -

Una votación o un comentario negativo tiene más influencia sobre los clientes potenciales que los comentarios positivos. Censurar o filtrar comentarios negativos o malas votaciones sobre los productos generará en los clientes una sensación de desconfianza o de falta de transparencia. Participar en redes sociales y en comunidades de usuarios con el único objetivo de realizar publicidad será negativo ya que no es un medio diseñado sólo para publicar, sino para interactuar. Del mismo modo, participar en redes sociales sin establecer un plan continuo de mantenimiento de la imagen en las mismas, no será efectivo ya que los usuarios de las mismas ignoraran dicha participación. La clave estará en una actividad continua pero natural. Por el contrario, aprovechar el coste cero que supone participar en redes sociales para abusar con mensajes continuos generará en los usuarios una sensación de incomodidad que dañará la imagen de la empresa en los medios sociales.

Como conclusión acerca de este aspecto que es la visibilidad y la reputación en la web cabe destacar que la actividad de la empresa en los medios sociales debe adaptarse a la filosofía propia de los mismos, estableciendo unos vínculos naturales con los clientes que permitan mejorar la transparencia de las actividades y de los productos que se ofrecen en el mercado. Habrá que tener en cuenta que los nuevos medios sociales permiten que la información, sea positiva o negativa, se transmita rápidamente llegando a los clientes con un gran alcance (algunas noticias llegan a miles de usuarios en cuestión de pocas horas). La decisión por parte de las empresas de participar en la Web 2.0 deberá ser por lo tanto analizada y estudiada con detenimiento, identificando muy claramente qué tipo de imagen se quiere ofrecer y de qué modo se pretende influir en los consumidores mediante la participación.

II. RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT 1. Project Management There are two factors in project management that have been taking root progressively for more than a decade. First there has been the movement toward project management as a separate discipline divorced from the technologies used in the project. This translates into project managers who know the processes and techniques of project management but have no grasp, and often no interest, in the technology used. The view is that if someone is a project manager, they can manage building a bridge or building an IS application. It is the project management that counts. The second factor is increasing refusal to take risks. It is linked to the first item in so far as applying a new technology in a project requires leadership and vision to inspire the team into appropriating the technology. If the project manager has no understanding of the technology, then there can be no vision of how it brings value or inspiration of others in the need to learn it. If you do not understand the details of what is being done then any innovation or new technique is feared because it represents a move where risks cannot be evaluated. If difficulties are encountered, the project manager lacks the understanding of how to recover. If the project does not succeed, you are at risk. Unless project management returns to its roots of also requiring a degree of understanding of the technologies involved, this situation is unlikely to change. It is still improbable to find a bridge construction project manager lacking a background in civil engineering. Yet it is believed that anyone knowing project management can lead an IS/IT project. As new generations, who grew up using collaboration tools, move into project management, these tools will become much more actively used and applied in the project solution. But it will not lead to project teams adopting technology that is new to them, just a generational shift in the technologies that are already well understood.

2. Collaborative Writing Collaborative writing tools are those technologies that facilitate the editing and reviewing of a text document by multiple individuals either in real-time or asynchronously. Online, web-based collaborative writing tools offer great flexibility and usefulness in learning groups and educational settings as they provide an easy mean to generate text exercises, research reports and other writing assignments in a full collaborative fashion. Collaborative writing tools can vary a great deal and can range from the simplicity of wiki system to more advanced systems. Basic features include the typical formatting 16

and editing facilities of a standard word processor with the addition of live chat, live markup and annotation, co-editing, version tracking and more. Google itself has recently entered this field with its Google Docs, a fully-web based collaborative writing tool formerly known as Writely. Documents generated with such tools are always accessible to all the editors and can be easily downloaded and exported in standard word processing file formats. The key features that characterize collaborative writing tools and technologies include:           

File types supported: which are the supported file formats for the files that can be edited collaboratively Text chat: the presence of a text chat that users can utilize to communicate while editing Revisions: the capability to track all changes made to the original document and go back to older versions RSS: support for RSS feeds, allowing users to get real-time notifications when changes are made. Email updates: the capability to receive email updating users when there are changes to the documents that are being edited. Public/Private: the possibility to set up private or public collaborative editing sessions. Max Editors: the max number of editors allowed Real-Time - Co-editing: the possibility to collaboratively edit in real-time Software/Web-based: the type of collaborative system Comments: the possibility to add comments to the document Spell check: the availability of a spell checking tool

3. Collaborative Reviewing Collaborative review tools represent a new group of web-based collaboration tools designed specifically to facilitate and support any visual review process. From graphic design approval sessions, to creative visual brainstorms, collaborative review tools provide the relevant context and technical toolset needed. From collaborative highlighting, to annotating and commenting in real-time or asynchronously collaborative review tools help you take collaborative decisions more effectively even when you and your team are a million miles apart.

Photo credit: Cozimo.com

In the past, getting feedback on visual projects, artwork, or advertising layouts from coworkers and colleagues physically close was the norm. You could immediately capture and integrate their feedback into the document or the image you were creating. Yesterday if a team member wanted to get feedback on his work, he was likely to print it out, gathered his team-mates in a conference room and allowed them to mark up printed copies of the visual documents with their comments and feedback. Lots of preparation time. Lots of paper wasted. Lots of work to make sense of all feedback and bring it all together in a new revision release. But the worst was when your team members were not geographically close to you and email attachments were your typical way of getting things to one another. But as you have long figured out this approach is very inconvenient for multiple reasons:      

It often meets the tight limitations of email gateways blocking your emails when the attached files are too large Things start to get confusing very fast as it becomes rapidly difficult to tell which is the latest version of something and from whom this is coming Each team member has the vice of renaming files in her own way Organizing the ongoing shuffle of large files and their revisions becomes rapidly a nightmare If you want to add a new team member to the conversation, you must forward him/her all the emails, again creating inconvenience. It is impossible to efficiently review multiple drafts at one time.

And this is where collaborative review tools come to your rescue. The key features that characterize these collaborative review services include:    



Chat Amount of storage space: The more space, the more work (and the higher quality) can be uploaded to the virtual design review room. Price: Most tools today are free, but you may want to explore their paid version plans to better understand what additional features may be available for you. Web-based: Browser-based tools do not require you to install any software on your computer and can be easily accessed from any internet-connected computer, not just from your own. Files types supported: kind of files you can upload, share and review with the team-mates. Pdf, .doc, image files,

Collaborative review tools are a great way to work online with your team on an any document, image or even video. You can annotate, comment or express feedback on the work of your team-members both in real-time and asynchronously. Collaborative review tools also save you from having to send tons of email back and forth with large file attachments. Here all the details and a simple comparison table to give you a fast glance at this new emerging collaborative space: 18

Free

DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, PDF, ZIP containing images, FLV, WMV, AVI, MPG

ReviewBasics

25MB

Uptogo

100MB Free

Yes DOC, PPT, JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF

Cozimo**

10MB

Free

Yes JPG, TIFF, TGA, GIF, PDF, MOV, AVI, WMV

Thinkature

Text + Voice

N/A

Free

Yes JPG, GIF, PNG

Yes

ConceptShare*

1GB

Free

JPG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, PNG, PSD, CPT, CDR, EPS, WMF, AI, EMF, PDF, AVI, DIVX, MP2, MP4, MPG, WMV, Yes PDF, DWG, SWF, PDF, DWG, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPS, RTF

Vyew*

Text

25MB

Free

Yes

Octopz

Text + Video + Voice

1GB

$99

DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, PPSX, WPD, RTF, TXT, BMP, EPS, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PCX, PNG, PSD, TGA, Yes TIF, TIFF, PDF, ASF, AVI, MPEG, MPG, MOV, M4P, 3GP, WMVS, WF, FLV, MP3, DAE, 3D Panoramas

DOC, XLS, PPT, JPG, GIF, PNG, SWF, TXT, RTF, MP3, FLV

FineTuna

N/A

Free

Yes BMP, GIF, JPG, JPEG

Backboard*

N/A

Free

Yes

ProofHQ**

50MB

Free

Yes DOC, PDF, PPT, JPG, BMP, TIF, GIF, PNG, ZIP

N/A

Free

Yes BMP, Vector graphics, Flowchart files

N/A

Free

Flowchart Redmark

Text No

DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, WPD, ODT, ODP, ODS, TXT, PDF, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, PSD

4. MindMapping & Diagramming Mind-mapping tools make inroads into corporate IT as they streamline problem-solving and help structure tasks. People can create mind maps using pen and paper; they're increasingly using software that streamlines map creation. These tools let users choose among map templates designed for specific tasks, enter a central topic, and then brainstorm and enter relevant information, such as tasks, timelines and people involved. Each segment can have any number of subcategories, which can result in extremely comprehensive, multilayered maps. However, those sections can also be "scoped" to provide just the detailed view a user needs. To make maps memorable, users can add color, icons and images. And to make them relevant, they can embed hyperlinks to URLs, connect to news services and attach files such as spreadsheets, audio and video. The map becomes a knowledge base for a particular project, business process or event. Maps, in turn, can be converted into other presentation formats, such as Microsoft Word or PowerPoint files. The real strength of mind-mapping software is not in its ability to quickly organize large amounts of information in meaningful ways, but in the ability to subsequently revise 19

and reorganize that information. Mind mapping should be top of list in personal productivity tools, says Gartner Research Director Donna Fitzgerald

5. File Sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multi-media (audio, video), documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented in a variety of storage, transmission, and distribution models. Common methods are manual sharing using removable media, centralized computer file server installations on computer, World Wide Web-based hyperlinked documents, and the use of distributed peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. Real people want the simplicity and familiarity of the tools they use day-in, day-out: shared drives and Microsoft Office. Document Management Systems capture, share and retain content, enabling users to version, search and simply build their own content applications - all with the tools they use today. They have a repository which is used a shared drive. So out-of-the box you can keep using the authoring tools you know and like, from Microsoft Office to Open Office, Dreamweaver or AutoCAD, with no desktop installation or retraining. You just get what you want and your company wants - the ability to save, version, share, search and audit. Microsoft SharePoint integrates with Microsoft Office and Open Office. So you can continue to work in your office environment with no retraining. You just get what you want and your company wants - the ability to save, version, share, search, audit with simple workflow integration. Document Management Systems turns the simple shared drive into a virtual file system where, through simple wizards, you can create the content applications you need. If you drag a document into a folder, you can start a workflow, perhaps converting the document to another format, moving it to another folder or notifying a set of users via email. Or the workflow might even extract properties, such as the author's name or other keywords, from the document so that you can use them to search for the document later. You just get the application you or your department need, all as simply as configuring an email rule.

6. Private Social Networking Business Social Networking Creates New Transparency. It was never very clear to us, looking in, who the authoritative sources were, who was good at solving problems. Now it is. The benefits are incalculable. Mark Brewer, CIO of Seagate Technology, implemented Confluence, a wiki/blog application originally intended for the company‘s IT staff but now being used by corporate executives as well. Brewer remarks that ―things become a lot more transparent‖ are using these types of social media tools. Confluence has replaced a filesharing system that Brewer considered to be a waste of data and resources because information was locked down behind passwords and therefore largely unavailable to those within the company that could use it. EMC, Pfizer, TransUnion, Seagate and Toronto District School Board are among many organizations experimenting with behind-the-firewall social network tools. Going this route is paying significant dividends for these early adopters. Benefits: 1. Return on Investment. Private social networks provide organizations with a return on investment for all their people. Whether you are the student at the back of the class or a timid employee who never talks in meetings, the use of a social network can reveal hidden gems, people who lack the nerve to talk aloud but have ideas and expertise to share. A social network can encourage and reward online contributions so that the hidden gems can reveal themselves through their contributions. 2. Unlocked Information Silos. Many large organizations develop silos, departments that are self contained. Organizations that suffer from silos lose so much. Connections across the organization don't happen. With private social networks organizations can break down silos. They can let interaction, knowledge sharing, and collective problem solving become the normal communication pattern throughout the organization. 3. Improved Teamwork. Sales is such a competitive occupation. Traditionally compensation plans reward individual sales achievement. Cross fertilization of successful strategies through the deployment of CRM tools runs counter to this ―all-for-one‖ sales reality. A private social network that encourages mentorship and rewards such behavior can create winning sales teams where sales strategies are shared, and top salespeople are compensated for helping the ―newbies.‖ This represents a significant cultural shift for the normal sales organization. It means new 21

compensation plans that reward both individual sales achievement and collective knowledge sharing contributions to develop overall team success. 4. Increased Customer Engagement. It is clear that with the advent of Web 2.0 applications, the relationship between customers and suppliers is changing. One can describe the new model as being â&#x20AC;&#x2022;customer web-centered.â&#x20AC;&#x2013; It has always been true that it is easier to sell to an existing customer than it is to recruit a new one. Hence the relationship with existing customers is something that private social networking can address. Through a private social network, customers can be invited into online communities. These communities may include other customers with similar challenges. Communities can become great listening posts for organizations to learn about common customer problems. They can be great places to do collective sales pitches. 5. Better Employee Morale. Private social networks begin with individuals creating profiles. Profiles are great ways to discover hidden talents. We tend to pigeonhole people by job title but most of us are much more than our jobs. For example I write music and do orchestration when I am not working with clients. People in the accounting department or in shipping may also enjoy music or play instruments. This type of discovery can pay huge dividends in improving morale within an organization. It can even impact the bottom line when you find out that someone is experimenting with open source software application development at home and has come up with a new widget or gadget that can be shared with others in the organization with similar interests, leading to who knows what.

Collaboration, discovery, knowledge sharing, collective success, communication, fun and individual recognition are what social networking is all about. Whether for profit or not, private social networks can give an organization a distinct competitive advantage in both bad and good economic times. While companies struggle to quantify the value of enterprise social networking, the return from one subset of applications in this category is a no-brainer. Innovation or idea management apps provide a forum for customers and employees to share information and ideas on how to improve products and services. One large retail chain routinely runs events to generate ideas on how to increase revenue, cut costs, and streamline business processes. Using a hosted platform from a startup called Spigit, the retailer invites targeted groups of employees, such as store managers or the logistics group, to log in to a Web application to submit ideas, and review, rank, and comment on ideas posted by their peers.

7. Wikis & Blogs Blogs and Wikis make it easy for individuals and organizations to publish, share content, and build communities and knowledge bases. Yet revenue opportunities have been limited to those that either have existing global brands and/or the massive traffic required to make advertising pay. Now, Near-Time is launching an alternative approach with Near-Time Premium that gives almost anyone a way to tap into long tail opportunities by making it easy to charge for access to exclusive content and forums. Blogs and Wikis have emerged as collaborative platforms for creating content, and for sharing expertise and opinions. However, there have traditionally been limited opportunities and technology hurdles for those seeking to get paid for their knowledge, and for access to the sometimes copyrighted content contained in these communities. With the paid membership feature, Near-Time Premium becomes the first one-stop platform where publishers, authors and service organizations can easily set up a weblog or Wiki, publish their content, share files, interact with clients and readers, and charge subscription fees. Users are free to decide what they want to charge for subscription plans. They can provide the necessary tools to launch commercial publishing and collaborative marketplaces. Complete with integrated Wiki and weblog authoring tools, and file sharing and task management capabilities, groups can foster rich environments for commercial interaction. The platform offers a range of tools to support and build customers' brands via a broad range of tools for customizing the look and feel of collaborative spaces as well as domain name mapping. As a hosted platform, no hardware is required and e-commerce services are built-in and turnkey. Customers focus on the content and communities. Blogs and wikis play opposite roles, blogs are based on an individual voice; a blog is sort of a personal broadcasting system. Wikis, because they give people the chance to edit each other‘s words, are designed to blend many voices. Reading a blog is like listening to a diva sing, reading a wiki is like listening to a symphony. Wikis:            

MediaWiki Dokuwiki Twiki Socialcast Zoho Projects PBWorks Onehub CentralDesktop SocialText WizeHive CubeTree Basecamp 23



OfficeMedium

Blogs:   

Wordpress Blogger TypePad

8. WorkGrouping Suite of applications that bring people together into a common and collaborative environment. Communication and management of teams and companies via Intranet and Internet. Components include: group calendars with resource booking, time card system, project management, request tracker, mail client, mutual file system, contact manager, mail client, forum, chat, notes, to-do lists, voting system, reminder, Intranet content management system and more.

9. Web Presenting Web presentation tools and technologies provide the means to deliver any PowerPointbased or similar type of visual presentation to an Internet-connected audience, no matter where participants are connecting from. Most web presentation technologies do away with requiring end users to have an installed copy of Microsoft PowerPoint and increasingly offer not just the ability to digitally distribute such presentations but also of creating them. Until recently, sharing a PowerPoint presentation with other people, let alone doing this in real-time, was a major challenge. The size of a typical PowerPoint file didn't make it easy to send it via email, and incompatibilities between different versions of PowerPoint made the effort even more complex for the non-technical user. PowerPoint itself allows the saving of any presentation as a set of Web pages. But while such output can be comfortably looked at on the computer where you have created it, it is not easy at all for a non-technically-savvy person to learn how to make those web pages show up at a specific address on the web where anyone else connected to the Internet can see them too. Some of the limitations of exporting PowerPoint presentations into web pages directly from within PowerPoint may include: 

Animations including slide transitions are not supported (however, animated GIF pictures do run and are supported). 24

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GIF pictures might not be animated if the presentation is saved with a screen size setting of 640 x 480 or less.

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The slide isn't scaled to fit the browser window. It stays at a fixed screen resolution based on the screen size setting selected when you published the presentation.

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The presentation cannot be viewed full screen.

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You cannot open or close frames.

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The active slide title is not highlighted in the outline pane.

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The mouse does not highlight elements in the outline pane.

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Sounds and movies do not play.

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Some graphics will not look as good as they do in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later.

On the other hand newer software and web-based technologies now allow the easyuploading of PowerPoint presentations to dedicated web presentation services and even the delivery of unattended, on-demand presentations having a custom web page address (URL). In other cases, software or web-based tools allow for the real-time delivery of your presentation to a number of attendees while integrating other complementary collaboration features. Some of these tools integrate the optional ability to integrate live or recorded audio to accompany the presentation. The key features that characterize web presentation technologies and delivery tools include: 

Automatic conversion to Flash Providing an automatic conversion to the Flash file format guarantees the highest visual quality possible and seamless delivery across all types of browser and operating systems, while keeping speed and performance. Traditionally web presentation tools converted all PowerPoint slides into GIF or JPG images with notable limitations in the image quality and resolutions allowed for final delivery. New, up-to-date services and tools convert PPT files into Flash. This makes the PPT file smaller, while maintaining all of the original quality. Not only. Flash converted presentations can be resized to any screen size without ever loosing quality, and can be viewed on PC, Mac and Linux type computers and across all major browsers available today. 25

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Thumbnails Preview This feature defines the ability to see a preview of upcoming slides in a presentation in order to help the presenter know ahead of time what will be coming up next. This is a very useful feature which alleviates the presenter pressure and makes it also easier to display slides in a non linear order.

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Live annotation Live annotation is the ability to mark-up, annotate and write upon the slides being presented. Different tools offer different options, with some having none at all.

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Interactive annotation Interactive annotation adds an extra level of interactivity to standard annotation allowing "attendees" to your presentation to add to the live annotation process themselves. Multiple users are allowed to use annotation tools simultaneously allowing for true visual interaction. Two great examples of interactive whiteboarding can be tasted by going to:

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On-demand delivery On-demand delivery connotates the ability to upload PowerPoint presentations to a specific service and having a pre-defined, unique web page address (URL) to give out to anyone wanting to view the presentation. Thanks to this feature anyone can watch presentations at their leisure, pace and with the ability to stop, rewing and playback any part of it.

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Audio Some web presentation tools allow the live delivery of your audio together with the slides being presented. This can be achieved by using traditional teleconferencing services or by integrated VoIP technologies which allow you to talk through your computer and allows your presentation attendees to listen to you through their computer speakers. Skype and its Skypecasting service is already a popular and effective solution to deliver accompanying audio to a web presentation with the minimum effort, and the maximum performance (plus Skypecasting is free). Some services also allow to add your voice over to any presentation uploaded, in a slide by slide fashion. In some cases this can be even performed over the phone. 26

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Multiple presentations pre-upload The ability to let you upload multiple presentations before an event is always an advantage. Some services and tools offer this, while others don't.

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Interactive slide and gathering of viewer feedback The ability to gather individual user feedback in a structured format on predesignated slides. This means being able to gather answers to specific questions displayed on a slide, or expressing a critical judgement via visual sliders. Data is gathered in a database and made available for analysis at a later stage.

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Full screen Full screen signifies the ability for presentation attendees to view your presentation in full-screen for maximum visual impact. Viewing a presentation in full screen also allows for a less distracting environment and can elicit greater focus and attention from participants.

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PowerPoint transitions preservation The ability to preserve original PowerPoint-born visual transitions, animations and other effects. Generally Flash-based web presentation delivery tools preserve some of these animations and visual effects but with differing results. All other tools that still convert PowerPoint presentations into GIF or JPG files inevitably strip off all such animations and visual effects from PowerPoint presentations.

Main applications:          

Teamslide iVocalize Convoq WebEx Presentation Studio PresenterNet InstantPresenter OnlinePRESENTER Vyew Spreed Slide Slidestory 27

  

          

Zoho Show vMix RockYou Flickrshow Gliffy ReplayHQ Brainshark Acrobat Connect Professional Empressr Spresent S5 HTML Slidy Opera Show Microsoft Producer Camtasia Articulate Presenter QPresenter

10. Whiteboarding Whiteboarding is the ability to mark-up, annotate and draw in real-time on any document, image, screen, slide or picture appearing on the screen. It is to be noted that in the academic world, digital whiteboards that posses digital capabilities have been an increasingly popular stable of the modern classroom. What it is being referred to here it is whiteboarding done online, with other people that are connecting at a distance and in which the ability to mark-up, annotate and draw on screen can be as useful as when needing to communicate visually in a physical classroom. According to Wikipedia: "Whiteboarding is a term used to describe the placement of shared files on an on-screen "shared notebook" or "whiteboard"." Whiteboarding tools are often integral part of many web conferencing, presentation and online collaboration tools. From WebEx to iVocalize, most full-featured conferencing tools include some form of whiteboard and associated toolset. There is also another group of whiteboarding technologies more appropriately called "screen annotation tools‖ that work independently of any specific application and can

be used to annotate and mark-up anything that is shown on the screen.

Photo credit: Vyew

Features: Whiteboarding and live annotation tools can be divided into two main categories: traditional conferencing whiteboards and application-independent screen annotation tools. Traditional conferencing whiteboards share many similarities with the original Microsoft NetMeeting whiteboard facility and only recently some companies have started to look into revising and innovating that original whiteboarding approach. The main limitation of traditional whiteboarding facilities is that they have been largely designed by technical developers who had no knowledge or awareness of effective visual communication principles and usability rules. The end result has been a long crop of web conferencing tools integrating a feature set not serving the presenter in effectively annotating and marking up the material being presented. The major limitations have always been the rudeness of the annotation marks generated by these tools as well as the lack of more appropriate and intuitive annotation devices. Application-independent screen annotation tools have generally been better in this respect as most of them have been born out of training and educational needs. The typical toolset making up a whiteboarding facility generally includes: 1. Freehand drawing 2. Line drawing 3. Empty rectangle and ellipse 4. Real-time pointer - laser pointer 5. Marker with preset symbols 29

6. Arrow - pointer 7. Highlighter - emphasizer 8. Numbered marker 9. Spotlight 10. Text tool 11. Eraser (individual - global) 12. Fill Color choice 13. Line thickness The key functions available to the user should normally include: 

Import an existing picture

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Take a screenshot of any open window/application

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Multiple simultaneous whiteboards

Other relevant functions that may be included are: 

Saving/Loading annotations

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Hide/Display annotations at will

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Edit and move each individual annotation element

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Interactivity among multiple users* (*Recent whiteboarding tools offer the possibility to have multiple users (at a distance) take advantage of these tools simultaneously offering the opportunity to collaboratively interact with the material being presented.)

The original Microsoft NetMeeting whiteboard feature set included the ability to: 

Review, create, and update graphic information.

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Manipulate contents by clicking, dragging, and dropping information on the whiteboard with the mouse.

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Cut, copy and paste information from any Windows-based application into the Whiteboard.

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Use different-colored pointers to easily differentiate participants' comments.

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Save the Whiteboard contents for future reference.

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Load saved Whiteboard pages, enabling you to prepare information before a conference, then drag and drop it into the Whiteboard during a meeting. Source: Microsoft NetMeeting

11. Virtual 3d Immersive Collaboration 3D virtual worlds are potent digital ecosystems because the 3D interface simulates real-world environments and the community of users creates a dynamic, realto-life economy and in-world culture. Some virtual worlds such as Second Life empower users to generate in-world content through object building tools and programming languages; indeed the content in Second Life is entirely user-generated. This promotes a rich culture of innovation surrounding this emerging technology that continually develops the capabilities of the 3D digital ecosystem. The collaborative culture spans both the 3D in-world environment and 2D ecosystems: for example, Web 2.0 applications such as wikis and blogs facilitate support, discussion, and documentation for user-generated innovations. Innovation in 3D digital ecosystems such as Second Life are applied to all domains of human endeavour that exist in the real-world, including recreation, socialisation, commerce, and education. This paper shares the authorspsila professional experience using Second Life in tertiary information systems/science education. Case studies describe the specific applications. They are followed by discussion of the benefits of 3D digital ecosystems for education and suggestions for future research, development and practice. The number of people using virtual worlds is increasing at a rate of 15% every month and this growth does not appear to be stopping or slowing down anytime soon. (Hof, 2006d; Gartner, 2007 cited by Bray and Konsynski 2007). This is the same with research being carried out in virtual worlds. It is an ever increasing way for business and governments to use the resources to gather and collate information for their use. 31

Research for information systems purposes is being carried out in virtual worlds for the look in open sourcing, providing tools without the need for sponsorship of corporate businesses. It provides a look into the virtual world creation and how it is able to spread itself around the internet for different people from different countries to interact and provide information. It provides an insight how people find the information and how that information is being used by different people. Governments are also beginning to interact in virtual worlds and are a discussion point for some in terms of governance and law. Virtual world is neither public nor private owned. It is the people interacting in it that make the world. Governments research into the use of virtual worlds by people as some have virtual property, amounting to a second life online in another world. This is where governments have to look into if it is viable or even feasible for them to tax those with a second life to govern them with taxes and laws. State of Play is an annual conference sponsored by the Institute for Information Law & Policy at New York Law School; since 2003 the conference has investigated the intersection of virtual worlds, games and the law. Research in psychology has also been proposed and conducted in virtual worlds with key focus of the use of the innovative platform. Bloomfield (2007) has suggested that virtual worlds may be useful for examining human behaviour and traditional internet-world constructs (alongside other fields). For example, Doodson (2009) reported that offline- and virtual-world personality are significantly differ from each other but are still significantly related which has a number of implications for Selfverification, Self-enhancement and other personality theories. Similarly, panic and agoraphobia have also been studied in a virtual world. Some virtual worlds have off-line, real world components and applications. Handipoints, for example, is a children's virtual world that tracks chores via customizable chore charts and lets children get involved in their household duties offline. They complete chores and use the website and virtual world to keep track of their progress and daily tasks.

12. Web Conferencing Collaboration Features 

Screen-Sharing Capabilities One of the most common collaborative features found in Web-conferencing services is the ability to share resources on one computer with the entire group. While the majority of Web-conferencing tools will let the presenter show attendees' his or her desktop or certain documents, others go one step further by sharing chosen applications in a full-screen view or by allowing the presenter to highlight a specific portion of his or her screen.

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Multiple Presenters Since meetings frequently include staff members and volunteers who have expertise in different areas of a project or an initiative, the initiator may want to hand off presentation duties to someone else. If your organization needs to run meetings this way, look for a conferencing service that allows for multiple participants to assume presentation duties.

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Drawing and Annotation Tools In the course of presenting a document or a Web page to your colleagues, you might need to underscore certain points or note ideas generated during the discussion. To this end, many Web-conferencing services provide annotation tools — such as pencils, pens, and virtual sticky notes — similar to those found in popular graphic-design applications.

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Whiteboard If your organization routinely uses dry-erase whiteboards to capture notes and thoughts when holding in-person meetings, you may want to look for a Webconferencing service with a virtual equivalent. A whiteboard gives meeting participants a dedicated space for brainstorming ideas or outlining projects, a potentially useful feature when you're bringing people together to collaborate rather than simply presenting information.

Communication Features 

Text Chat Instant-messaging (IM) is a rapid form of text communication that can often be more efficient than sending email back and forth. Just about all Web-conferencing services offer a built-in text-chat tool that participants can use to communicate with specific attendees or the entire group, eliminating the need for attendees to install or use a third-party IM client.

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Teleconferencing 33

Just because you've moved your meetings to the Internet doesn't mean that you have to abandon traditional conference calling. Most Web-conferencing products include some form of voice-calling feature, allowing you to talk to fellow participants while the meeting is in progress. While some services include a free teleconferencing option, others charge to use this feature; in either case, your organization will need to foot the bill for any long-distance fees it accrues. Also, if your nonprofit already uses a third-party teleconferencing provider, you may want to check whether it can be integrated with online meeting tools. 

VoIP Besides teleconferencing, some online-meeting services also offer audio communication in the form of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), a technology that allows users to make telephone calls over the Web. Generally speaking, VoIP offers cheaper calling rates than teleconferencing services, though the quality of the calls is often not as good. Note that in order to use a VoIP application, all callers will need to purchase headsets that can be connected to their computers.

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Videoconferencing If you need your online meetings to closely resemble an in-person gathering, consider a service that offers a videoconferencing feature. Videoconferencing lets participants with Webcams — small, inexpensive cameras that send images over the Internet — to broadcast a video image of themselves into the online meeting. While videoconferencing can help lend an immediate feel to Web-based meetings, many services that offer this feature will also charge your organization a fee to use them.

Other Considerations 

Recording One advantage that many Web-conferencing services have over in-person meetings is the ability to record entire meetings (including audio) as a video file. This way, if meeting attendees forget important points or need to reference presentations at a later date, they can simply view the recording rather than contact other participants with questions. Some services allow meeting initiators to store recordings on their local machines, while others host the files on their own site, a point to consider if your nonprofit's computers are short on hard-drive space.

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Subscription Versus Pay-Per-Use Plans How often your organization plans to hold online meetings is a key factor in deciding whether you should select a service with a subscription model or one that charges you on a per-meeting basis. If you just need to hold occasional, small meetings, a pay-per-use plan — which generally costs around 30 cents a minute per participant — might be the most economical choice. On the other hand, nonprofits that need to hold larger weekly meetings may find it cheaper to subscribe to a service that charges a flat monthly (or yearly) fee for a set number of participants. If you do decide that a subscription 34

makes the most sense for your organization, check to see whether the service locks you into a contract, and make sure you're comfortable with the terms.

13. Co-browsing Co-browsing is the ability to co-navigate the web with other people at-adistance. Co-browsing differentiates itself from screen or application sharing because it is not achieved by sending a high rate of screenshots of the presenter screen to one or more participants but by distributing in a synchronous fashion the URL(s) being visited by the presenter to all participants' browsers. Co-browsing, also known as "web touring" is particularly effective as it allows the conavigation of many types of web-based content in a highly efficient way. Participants computers need not to be of the latest generation and even with a less than perfect Internet connection everyone can see whichever web pages the presenter/moderator selects. Since only a very small text string containing the URL address of the web page to be viewed is sent to all connected participants, the resources required to those attending are very small, and the performance in viewing the contents presented is only dependent on each individual participant connection speed, browser performance, monitor and graphic board abilities and so on. That is: each participant is only limited by its own gear limits and by the speed of its connection the Internet. Web pages visited in a co-browsing session may include PowerPoint presentations previously converted to the HTML format and later uploaded to a web server. Limitations of a co-browsing session are generally the inability to annotate or mark-up the web page contents being presented (this can normally be done in ascreen-sharing or application-sharing session - the negative side of such sessions is that they are very data and CPU intensive as they send multiple times per second screen shots of the presenter computer to all attendees screens). The features and controls available in co-browsing systems usually include: ď&#x201A;ˇ

Push web pages Pushing a web page allows the presenter to force a specific Web page to appear on the end user screen. Pushing Web pages is the very basic level at which cobrowsing can be carried out. Some systems force a new browser window on each participant's computer. The use of this feature theoretically leaves participants free to navigate and independently interact with the Web page received.

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Follow-me / Sync-surfing Provides a simple means for the presenter/moderator to navigate from link to link and from one Web page to another one while automatically "driving" all attendees. In this fashion all participants' browsers sync-up with whatever URL the presenter goes to. Systems missing this feature require the presenter to type and send out each specific web page URL that needs to be accessed by the attendees.

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Favorites / Bookmarks The Favorites and Bookmarks feature allow the presenter/moderator to save and manage Web page URLs which need to be easily and rapidly accessed during a live session. In this way, the presenter needs not to type complex Web page URL "on the fly" and can be prepare ahead of time a list of Web page addresses that will need to be presented.

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Preview The co-browsing Preview feature allows the presenter/moderator to literally preview a Web page before broadcasting it to all of the meeting participants. This maybe very useful to check the availability of a page or the actual content being displayed before showing the page publicly.

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Hand-over control The Hand-over control feature allows the presenter/moderator in a co-browsing session to give control of the Web tour to any one of the participants in the session. This is very handy in events and presentations where multiple presenters need to take the stage. In most systems, presenters need to be assigned special passwords to access the moderator functions and a unique account must be created for them. The hand-over control feature simplifies this while providing the ability to easily hand-out without prior planning the co-browsing session control to anyone of the participants.

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Pre-caching The pre-caching feature allows the automatic and invisible pre-downloading of the web pages to be viewed during a co-browsing session across all attendees. The content of the Web pages is downloaded during idle presentation times and is cached in the memory of each attendees computer. The operation takes place completely in the background, is completely transparent to the user, and can be optionally turned off by attendees. This approach allows very fast access to Web pages during a live presentation, and the ability to maintain greater synch with all attendees. This technical ability is presently not available in any web conferencing system available on the market and is one of the over 100 new features that I have identified and described in this new series of upcoming Insider Reports. 36

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Co-scrolling Co-scrolling is probably the most sought after advanced feature by end users participating in a co-browsing session. As the name implies, co-scrolling provides the ability to scroll web pages simultaneously with all meeting participants. When the presenter scrolls a web page, it simultaneously scrolls on all participants' screens.

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Co-filling The co-filling feature provides ability to fill out online forms, tests and other interactive documents in a collaborative synchronized fashion. The presenter can fill in fields of an online form live, and have the input appear on all attendees forms. Attendees can independently fill in their forms in the personal sections.

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Shared pointing tool A shared pointing tool allows the presenter to show the mouse cursor to participants in real time over the Web page being shown. This technique that is not presently adopted by none of the players in the market is a actually a combination of screen sharing and co-browsing. While this feature requires that all participants are forced to view the web page cobrowsed in a window that is exactly the same size as the presenter, it does allow the presenter to show a light pointer (its appearance should be available in several formats: laser pointer, arrow, blinking dot, hand pointing, mouse cursor, etc.) moving live over the web page content being displayed.

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History of URLs browsed The history of URLs browsed further facilitates the presenter task of going back to Web pages presented during the current or preceding sessions. The feature should allow the history to be shared and be accessed/downloaded by any of the meeting participants.

Main tools: Only very few tools exist that limit themselves to provide only a co-browsing facility. Here is a list of the products we have found:        

PageShare Voxwire iVocalize HotConference VoiceCafe' TourMaster FlashMeeting Elluminate vRoom ezWebcar 37

    

Web Conferencing Central Asynchronous Co-Browsing Tools ezWebtour Amberjack TrailFire

14. Webinars A few years ago, most online meeting, conferencing collaboration and webinar tools were horribly expensive, complex and given bandwidth limitations, were more frustrating than useful - but a recent online meeting I attended certainly indicated all that's changed. One of the disadvantages I've found working in an online environment, especially when collaborating with others, are the limitations of email, phone and IM in getting a point across, demonstrating a concept or explaining complex issues. Back when I was in the bricks and mortar corporate world, whiteboards were a great way to record and highlight points for discussion and the use of overhead and other projection equipment allowed for delivering effective presentations. Online meeting and webinar software can greatly improve your marketing efforts, sales conversions, project collaboration and staff training programs. For example, when training employees in computer use, I could have them working along with me and easily see what they were doing in the process. Phone, email and IM training leaves you somewhat blind - important points can be missed and attendees can easily skip over crucial aspects. It's been my experience that people will tend to not speak up and say "I don't understand", but just fumble along; feigning comprehension. That translates into ineffective conferences, training or poor sales conversions. Whether it's training or sales - it's so important that people understand what you're relaying to them; and for you to have feedback mechanisms that provide you indicators that they are following along with you. You can take a lot of the guesswork and frustration of long distance collaboration and presentations using online meeting and webinar software and services - it's a lot cheaper and easier than you may think. With webinars, the basic concept is the same as an online meeting, there's just some minor differences in the features of the software or service used. Key benefits  

Increased productivity through more efficient conference and collaboration capabilities Reduces travel costs

  

Increases conversions with advanced interaction with clients and potential clients Allows for organizations to tap in to a greater pool of partners and consultants, regardless of where they are located. Improve return on investments in marketing, training and general internal/external communications.

Applications 

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Pre-sales marketing: great for showcasing products with live demonstrations either through pre-arranged webinars to scores of people; small groups or impromptu one-on-one sales calls. Training: Effective, economical online training for customers and staff, wherever their location Collaboration: A huge, huge benefit in my opinion - the most effective way of collaborating with your team, partners and contractors. Has the potential to great reduce project rollout time and avoid costly project development mistakes.

Gone are the days of lengthy downloads of software, messing around with configuration, dropped conference connections and screen refreshes that threaten to bring on a seizure. Good webinar and online meeting software is very quick easy to install and there's next to no configuration required. There's hardly any learning curve with modern meeting and webinar services which is not only important for presenters, but it's a crucial aspect for attendees. You want attendees and participants to be focused on the meeting or presentation, not spending most of their time trying to figure out how the darned conferenceing software works. Basically, it works like this:      

Create a meeting with a few clicks, schedule immediate meetings/webinars or set them for a later date. The software provides you with features to invite others Attendees receive invitations They log in via a special link and/or phone number If a web presentation is involved, a small plugin is downloaded to the attendees' machine Done! you're ready to hold your meeting

While it varies from vendor to vendor; you'll usually find the following tools:   

Phone, chat and on screen connectivity options - i.e, you can be speaking with attendees while demonstrating a concept on screen. Direct communications with specific participants, either public or privately. Participants can also chat with each other privately. Active windows and privacy features. You can select that only specific applications you are working with are displayed to participants instead of your entire screen



 

Drawing tools - highlight points on-screen in real time, draw on screen (even over text documents), operate applications in real time and the attendees can watch the process. Pausing features - leaves the frame of the last step of application usage on attendees screen while you are working in other areas of the application in preparation for the next segment Move between application displays with a single click Collaborative input - specify that other participants can highlight, draw or use applications being displayed.

It really is fascinating stuff and highly useful. As mentioned, it was a recent online meeting that re-sparked my interest in these sorts of services. The company providing the tools was Citrix; they offer a few excellent meeting, collaboration webinar options. Aside from offering a powerful range of easy to use features and a highly secure environment for meetings and webinars; Citrix doesn't charge on a per conference basis - you pay a monthly or annual fee (which is much cheaper than many of their competitors) and you're able to hold as many meetings or webinars as you like! Citrix also offer 24/7 free phone and email support should you require assistance, plus an extensive online knowledge base. Their range of services: GoToMeeting standard - Host unlimited online meetings for up to 10 attendees. GoToWebinar - Host unlimited online conferences for up to 10 attendees and deliver unlimited Webinars for up to 1,000 attendees at a time. GoToMeeting Corporate - Host online meetings for up to 25 attendees and webinars for up to a thousand participants. Extensive reporting features to track Webinar, meeting and usage statistics; plus a range of other high-end tools. For most small online businesses, GoToWebinar is the perfect choice if you wish to run both online meetings for small groups and webinars to large groups. If you'll only be running webinars for small groups or one-on-one, then GoToMeeting is probably the best online conferencing solution for you.

15. Screen-Sharing A screen-sharing program can help train workers or update clients. They'll see your PC as if looking over your shoulder, even if they're across the office or around the world. But before you splurge on a paid service with unlimited connections, consider free and cheap alternatives. You can save if you only need to share a few times a month, or scale up if you need to buy more functionality. 40

Participants don't have to install anything. They just connect through a Flash-enabled web browser on any computer. As the host, you'll download and install the free tool on a Windows, Mac, or Linux system and sign up for a free account. You'll launch a web conference and just give the participants the URL and access code to enter. Up to 5 people can work in a free session together, and you're limited to 100 minutes of browser-based sharing each month. If each person installs the client software, that time limit is waved; you could take this thrifty step within a business, but it's probably too much to ask clients or outsiders to install a program. Paid suscription options expand these limits, starting at $15/month for a single user. Up to 30 people can join sessions, and you can conference with browser-based participants as long as you want. It also sells a $30/month plan for 20 users, and other alternatives. It also provides voice conferencing through Skype on PCs or standard telephones. United States participants can dial in for free--less the cost of any national long distance fees--and international callers are charged on a per-minute basis. Additional features might suit your business. The host computer's keyboard and mouse control can be passed around in screen-sharing sessions, turning the service into more of a live collaboration tool. You can text chat throughout sharing, plus Screen-Sharing tools usually work as a general instant messaging client, connecting to users on AIM, Google Talk, Skype, Yahoo, and MSN Messenger.

16. Instant-Messaging & Chat. Gartner Predicts Instant Messaging Will Be De Facto Tool for Voice, Video and Text Chat by The End of 2011. 'Presence' technologies in the enterprise will go far beyond current capabilities of instant messaging For many knowledge workers, instant messaging (IM) is as critical as having access to a telephone or to e-mail and enterprises that havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;t already done so should start incorporating IM into their critical business processes immediately, Gartner said today. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2011, IM will be the de facto tool for voice, video and text chat with 95 percent of workers in leading global organisations using it as their primary interface for real-time communications by 2013. The worldwide market for enterprise IM is forecast to grow from $267 million in 2005 to $688 million in 2010.

Instant messaging systems have moved from the fringe to become a key part of an enterprise‘s collaboration infrastructure and are increasingly displacing existing forms of communications from ad hoc telephone calls and emails to pre-planned meetings and video conferences. Enterprises are beginning to invest in IM and associated technologies accordingly. ―Although consumer IM use has been predominant in business, we expect penetration levels for enterprise grade IM to rise from around 25 percent currently to nearly 100 percent by the end of the decade,‖ said David Mario Smith, research analyst at Gartner. Gartner advocates the use of enterprise grade IM from vendors including IBM and Microsoft to ensure that IM traffic is secure behind the firewall. Connections with external partners or customers via federation to public service IM such as AOL/AIM, Yahoo or MSN, should be protected by the use of IM hygiene or security services provided by vendors such as Facetime, Akonix or Symantec/IMLogic. Just as the deployment of email in corporations in the early 1990s proved an unparalleled success for businesses, analysts said that a similar phenomenon is occurring with IM. ―The business benefits that IM can bring are considerable,‖ added Mr Smith. ―The ability to connect people in disparate locations by text, voice and video in one application is incredibly powerful and is equally well suited to an informal ‗water cooler‘ atmosphere as well as more formal group communications.‖ Mr Smith also said that IM is increasingly being used as a vehicle for rapidly disseminating critical information to the entire enterprise, groups of users or individuals in cases such as natural catastrophes, health issues, network outages or schedule changes. In some cases, the IM network remains operational when phone or e-mail systems are down. He highlighted IM‘s growing importance to customer relations departments and call centres where IM is being used to foster closer relationships by providing faster and easier access to the most relevant part of the organisation. Although IM is displacing existing communications channels, such as email, in many instances, Mr Smith is clear that there is no danger of it actually replacing email in the enterprise outright. ―Rather than replacing email, IM will augment and complement the use of email,‖ he said. ―Email is an excellent and unique tool that has, in recent years, been misused and above all overused. It was never intended for real-time, snappy communications but for the conveyance of more detailed, less transitory content. IM excels at real-time communication and this why it sits so happily alongside email at the core of the communications and collaboration architecture of the future.‖ Where email still has an advantage over IM is when it comes to archiving. At present vendors such as IBM and Microsoft allow server side archiving of IM records for compliance. However, the issue is that users can save their text chat information at the client side and this could be tampered with. Until this issue is effectively resolved it could lead to huge legal headaches. Crucial to the future success of enterprise IM therefore will be determining how to effectively capture IM records and how to develop a concrete IM policy. Most organisations have developed similar policies for email on both of these issues in recent years. Email and IM are so closely allied in the minds of many enterprises that Gartner foresees that the vast majority will chose IM systems that complement their emails systems. According to Mr Smith, this is leading to tremendous consolidation in the 42

marketplace. ―Stand-alone enterprise vendors face increasing pressure from strategic platform vendors like IBM and Microsoft, which are positioned to leverage their email and collaboration infrastructures to dominate the enterprise IM Market. What we are now seeing from these players is the morphing of the IM system into more than it was originally intended for, that is a fully converged unified communications platform with presence at its centre.‖ Presence technology allows people to establish the availability of others for real-time communications regardless of their location. It also enables users to cut through desktop clutter, resulting in immediate responses. This has proved invaluable in timesensitive business processes such as customer service, regulatory issues, crisis management and problem resolution. ―What makes IM work has always been presence technology, and business users are beginning to see the benefit of using presence across multiple applications,‖ said Mr Smith. ―To-date, the options for integrating presence with other applications have been limited. What organisations need is a real-time collaboration architecture, which makes presence information available beyond the confines of an IM application.‖ As a result, Gartner predicts that by 2012, presence technology will be offered independently of IM and email products. Mr Smith urged vendors and enterprises alike to recognise this and develop a real-time architecture with presence as the key ingredient. ―The IM client is becoming the launch pad for many types of communications channels and services,‖ he concluded. ―Presence will extend its influence beyond IM to become an essential source of innovation for enterprise applications of the future.‖

17. Event Scheduling & Calendar Sharing tools An online calendar keeps your business connected to critical appointments, meetings, and events. Share calendars with your employees, customers, and remote workers from any Web-enabled device in the world! We provide a feature-rich, reliable online calendar solution without expensive hardware or complex software.

Online Calendar Features: 

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Shared Group Calendar. Setup a group calendar to track meetings, conference calls, and project deadlines. Setup unlimited calendars to share across teams, departments, or remote locations. Private Personal Calendar. Add personal events and appointments that are private and only visible to you. Recurring Meetings and Events. Schedule events to recur daily, weekly, or monthly. Event Reminders and Updates. Automatically receive reminders by pop-up, email, or phone. Notify users when meeting times change. Multiple Calendar Views. Choose from daily, weekly, or monthly views. Conveniently overlay multiple group calendars and create a printer-friendly view. Permission-based Online Calendar. Control calendar sharing rights and permissions. 43

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Public Online Calendars. Dedicate a public calendar to share with non-HyperOffice members. Benefits Of Online Calendar:

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Online Calendar Sharing. Share calendars online anywhere-anytime with just an Internet connection. It's completely Web-based. Outlook Synchronization. Sync with Outlook to share Outlook calendar, contacts, and task information with groups. Schedule Company, Department or Team Meetings. Schedule an event, view participants' availability, invite attendees, and view their responses online. Track Project Deadlines and Milestones. Post deadline and milestone dates on special calendars for each project. Post Company Events. Add events to your calendar with just a few clicks, then specify the subject, location, date, time, and description. Microsoft Exchange Server Alternative. Access email, share contact, calendar, and task information without an Exchange server. There's no software to install, no servers to maintain...ever! Integrated Online Collaboration Tools. Online calendars are one feature in our robust collaboration solution. Access professional email, project management, and contact management tools at no additional cost!

Main tools:    

WhoDoes DeskAway LuckyCal Apprise

18. Karma System & Content Recommendations Personalized services are increasingly popular in the Internet world. This study identifies theories related to the use of personalized content services and their effect on user satisfaction. Three major theories have been identified--information overload, uses and gratifications, and user involvement. The information overload theory implies that user satisfaction increases when the recommended content fits user interests (i.e., the recommendation accuracy increases). The uses and gratifications theory indicates that motivations for information access affect user satisfaction. The user involvement theory implies that users prefer content recommended by a process in which they have explicit involvement. In this research, a research model was proposed to integrate these theories and two experiments were conducted to examine the theoretical relationships. Our findings indicate that information overload and uses and gratifications are two major 44

theories for explaining user satisfaction with personalized services. Personalized services can reduce information overload and, hence, increase user satisfaction, but their effects may be moderated by the motivation for information access. The effect is stronger for users whose motivation is in searching for a specific target. This implies that content recommendation would be more useful for knowledge management systems, where users are often looking for specific knowledge, rather than for general purpose Web sites, whose customers often come for scanning. Explicit user involvement in the personalization process may affect a userâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s perception of customization, but has no significant effect on overall satisfaction. The karma system allows users to rate content by altering the rating either up or down. This can be used with comments, posts or any other content.

19. Mashups & Third Party Applications In web development, a mashup is a web page or application that combines data or functionality from two or more external sources to create a new service. The term mashup implies easy, fast integration, frequently using open APIs and data sources to produce results that were not the original reason for producing the raw source data. An example of a mashup is the use of cartographic data to add location information to real estate data, thereby creating a new and distinct web API that was not originally provided by either source. There are many types, such as consumer mashups, data mashups, and enterprise mashups. The most common type is the consumer mashup, aimed at the general public. Enterprise mashups focus data into a single presentation and allow for collaborative action among businesses and developers. This requires collaboration between the Developers and Customer for defining and implementing the business requirements. They are secure, visually rich web applications that expose actionable information from diverse internal and external information sources. Mashup use is expanding in the business environment. Business mashups are useful for integrating business and data services, as Business mashups technologies provide the ability to develop new integrated services quickly, to combine internal services with external or personalized information, and to make these services tangible to the business user through user-friendly Web browser interfaces. Business mashups differ from consumer mashups in the level of integration with business computing environments, security and access control features, governance, and the sophistication of the programming tools used. Another difference between business mashups and consumer mashups is a growing trend of using Business mashups in commercial software as a service (SaaS) offering. 45

20. Business Intelligence The internet's academic roots lay in collaboration, but the rise of client/server computing favoured a more hierarchical way of working. However, the rise of Web 2.0 platforms has both revealed and tapped into a desire for knowledge sharing and collaboration. That trend has spread to the enterprise, where the same collaborative potential of social platforms is being unleashed within business decision-making, both across the organisation and within specific departments, such as HR and marketing. Business intelligence (BI) is at the heart of it, because the need for analytical tools is growing as enterprises gather statistics from the internet via cloud-based dashboards and browser-based mash-ups of rich media streams and begin to release the customerspecific information embedded within them. Analysts at Gartner have identified an emerging applications market: collaborative decision-making (CDM). "CDM combines social software with business intelligence. This combination can dramatically improve the quality of decision-making by directly linking the information contained in BI systems with collaborative input gleaned through the use of social software," says a recent Gartner report. User organisations could cobble together such a system with existing social software, BI platforms and basic tagging functionality, says Gartner, "but it will be far more efficient when software suppliers deliver 'out of the box' CDM solutions". The application melds decision-making templates with social tools and BI inputs to measure decisions against possible outcomes and to build consensus within a distributed workforce. An audit trail of business scenarios is core to the product, which includes decision-making templates and workflows. Some enterprises might feel that reducing management to a series of templates and team referendums may be a level of transparency too far - what Gartner calls "cultural resistance by decision-makers". Others might feel it exploits talent within the team and creates organisational buy-in. Away from pure play solutions, CDM is an emerging component of many application types - including BI, HR, talent management and suites - but it is also a behaviour brought about by the use of Web 2.0 applications. In the vanguard of this trend is the fact that BI is being built into collaborative, cloudbased applications. There are several software as a service ( SaaS) players that have introduced BI. Its most recent quarterly upgrade sees the company offering "business insight on demand", including an on-demand data warehouse facility and pre-built BI features. Virtual world Second Life is also emerging as a platform for collaborative decision. For chief product officer Tom Hale, the key benefit is "collapsing space" and the ability to blend synchronous and asynchronous activities. "For conferences and events, the 46

benefits are having all the relevant information and people on demand, which removes the constraints of schedule and geography," he says. BI specialist Good Data is one of several SaaS start-ups that are building a new business management space in the cloud. Many of these companies are built on the EC2 infrastructure provided by that sleeping giant of the business cloud, Amazon's web services. The advantage of cloud-based BI is its elastic scalability, which avoids the problems of spikes in usage. The industry is moving towards operational BI where the intention is to make the power of BI available at the ground level. SOA has played an important role in making this a reality. BI permeates an entire organisation and, if used correctly, can positively influence decisions that affect every functional area.

21. Cloud Computing There is much talk around ‗cloud computing‘ and what it might bring to the enterprise, but many of its promised benefits are not quite ready for enterprise consumption. However there are examples of cloud-based services that are readily available to the enterprise today – the best example being collaboration tools. As the voiceover for a Marks & Spencer advert might point out, ‗these are not just any collaboration tools, these are Web-based, intuitive, pervasive and affordable collaboration tools‘. Cloud computing is a style of computing where IT is delivered ‗as a service‘, in a hosted fashion. Whereas Software as a Service (SaaS) involves the delivery of applications down the wire, cloud computing promises not just a hosted application but on-demand processing power, storage, connectivity, and all of the other things more traditionally associated with in-house IT infrastructures. But cloud computing for the enterprise is still in its infancy. There have been some interesting developments from the likes of IBM, Dell, Intel and Sun (which bought a cloud computing company just this month) but the model has only been investigated by those at the bleeding edge. Cloud computing questions remain over security, red tape, fate sharing, legacy infrastructure, connectivity, offline access, performance, volume, SLA management, territorialism – the list goes on. Yet while the true promise of IT as a service is not quite there today, various vendors have been adapting their technologies for the new model, or indeed building cloud computing technologies from the ground up. Amazon S3 is storage for the Internet is the best example, It is designed to make webscale computing easier for developers. Amazon S3 provides a simple web services interface that can be used to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the web. It gives any developer access to the same highly scalable, reliable, fast, inexpensive data storage infrastructure that Amazon uses to run its own global network of web sites. The service aims to maximize benefits of scale and to pass those benefits on to developers.

One area that lends itself very well to the cloud computing model is collaboration tools: the likes of video conferencing, remote file sharing and webinars. While video conferencing, for example, has been around for some time, a new breed of tools from the likes of IBM Lotus, Citrix Online, Oracle, Cisco WebEx, Novell and MeetingZone are bringing the promise of genuinely affordable, yet fully-featured hosted collaboration tools to the enterprise.

22. Forums Online Forums offer new opportunities for knowledge management across the company. The online discussion forums provide a centralized brainstorming area for ideas, information, resources, and feedback on critical business decisions. Unlike a physical meeting, team members can contribute online communication as their schedule allows. And unlike email, the information is labeled, categorized, and stored for future business use. Using the navigation features found in the online forums, you can navigate through the forum postings and tap the ideas to make faster, better, and more informed decisions. Benefits:     

Generate effective online communication. Stimulate valuable peer-to-peer discussion among decision makers. Promote peer-to-peer sharing. Create a positive corporate culture in which team members have a forum to provide input. Centralized discussion archive. Relevant knowledge from the forum can be instantly accessed at any time to improve decision making. Distributed discussion opportunities. Team members in different locations can easily weigh in from any computer with an Internet connection. Support for the ideation process. Issues that are not time-sensitive can evolve over time based on the collective input, supporting the idea-creation and innovation process. With online forums, users can create a discussion, post opinions, or search for previous discussion forums to help them locate the information they need to make better business decisions. Now all key members can be a part of the decision-making process from the convenience of their computer.

23. Trends & Tags The Web is a big place, full of new and interesting things to discover. The problem is finding the good stuff and keeping track of it all. This is where trends & tags tools can help. For example Delicious is a Social Bookmarking service, which means you can save all your bookmarks online, share them with other people, and see what other people are 48

bookmarking. It also means that we can show you the most popular bookmarks being saved right now across many areas of interest. In addition, our search and tagging tools help you keep track of your entire bookmark collection and find tasty new bookmarks from people like you. Delicious keeps all your bookmarks in one place so you will never lose track of your bookmarks again. Since we store your bookmarks online, you can get to them from any computer, whether you're at home, at work or on the road. Folders were the old way to organize your bookmarks. They were great if you only had a few bookmarks and a few folders, but as your collection grew, it became harder and harder to decide what goes where. Delicious has a new and better way: tags. Tags are simply words you use to describe a bookmark. Unlike folders, you make up tags when you need them and you can use as many as you like. This means, for example, that all of the bookmarks you tag with funny and video will automatically be placed in the "funny" collection and the "video" collection. Since tags work the same way for everyone, you can also check out other people's "funny" or "video" bookmarks. You can even combine tags to see bookmarks with funny and video. You can share bookmarks with your team on Delicious, your Twitter universe, or friends and family. The trend tools like Google Trends shows you the hottest bookmarks on the internet right now. You can also explore what's hot for any particular topic by checking out the most popular bookmarks for any tag.

24. e-Learning Both elearning and knowledge management feed off the same root: learning, improved capacity to perform work tasks, ability to make effective decisions, and positively impact the world around us. The difference between KM and elearning is a function of time.. Knowledge management is dynamic. Elearning is static. As a medium, elearning allows for the sharing of knowledge that has been tested, researched and organized. For example, an instructional designer relies on subject matter experts to provide an understanding/best practices/knowledge of a certain field. The information used to create an elearning course has typically been tested and is generally accepted by practitioners of the field. As such, elearning is delayed (but tested), organized knowledge. Knowledge management, however, is much livelier. Conversations and sharing understanding happens in real time. Through KM, tacit understanding can be

communicated, problems can be jointly solved, and serendipitous connections are formed. KM is chaotic, current (but structurally weak) knowledge. Unfortunately, KM is overwhelming to many because it sometimes lacks the structure of an organized course. KM is an ecology…elearning an architecture. Many people who first approach blogs and wikis as learning environments are confused by the lack of structure…and soon ―drop out‖ as a result of the overwhelming information (participating in high activity knowledge ecologies requires a mindset of suspended judgment about incoming information (i.e. don‘t over-evaluate each item of information as an end) – and focuses instead on synthesizing and pattern searching the entire domain). Elearning courses become outdated, while KM environments are continually fresh and reflective of current activity in a field. Somehow, the strengths of the two fields need to be brought together. KM should feed into elearning (in order for the content of the ―course‖ to remain fresh and to tap learners into a sustained knowledge environment after the course is done). Elearning should feed into the KM environment and provide easy mechanisms for organizing information in the manner that 80% of people function (not the current 20% who are in love with blogs, wikis, and all things new).

25. Augmented Reality & Content Location Augmented reality is going to be a big deal for businesses. What is it? It is the idea that locations, devices, even the human body will be "augmented" by linking and overlaying additional information on top of "regular" reality. For example, this month's Esquire will have visual codes embedded in the text — even on the cover — which you can hold up to your computer's camera. The computer will read the codes, and take you to a video or other information linked to that magazine "location." Is this just a gimmick? After all, the physical magazine is a great way to create a link to more comprehensive content. The magazine cannot afford to put too much information between its covers, but it can put as many pointers as it wants to more content. This basic notion is very, very powerful. Augmented reality will change at least the following five things: 1. The nature of advertising. We know that if you're an advertiser, you want to allow people to transact while their attention has been caught by your product or service. The beauty of augmented reality is that it allows any advertiser to bring the possibility to purchase much closer to the advertising stimulus. So, if I'm reading an interesting article in a magazine and there is an add with a visual code on it, I can then scan it with my BlackBerry or my iPhone and order it immediately. 2. The nature of location. The GPS revolution in cars has already created a low fidelity version of augmented reality by enabling maps in any car that wants them. You are 50

already starting to see applications available on advanced phones that allow an individual to hold their phone up to a location so that the information about the location is overlayed on the screen:

Example of Augmented Reality

Right now these are focused on tourism, but it does not take a lot of imagination to see that any sales or service force would love to be able to walk up to a building and understand the nature of the potential customers inside, or installed products to be serviced. 3. The nature of healthcare. One of the great problems with healthcare is the lack of information at the point of service. It is only a matter of time before you will have the option to link your medical information to you. There is cheap, available bio recognition technology which will allow someone to swipe their finger, or speak into their phone to identify themselves, and then to allow the doctor to have information available to them â&#x20AC;&#x201D; just like Esquire allowed for the ads to be tagged to a page. 4. The nature of relationships. The next natural extension of Salesforce.com would be to have a person be able to either scan in a face (face recognition software is standard issue now with many photo products, including Apple's iPhoto) and then provide the salesperson with the best available background search on the individual whose information may be out on Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social networks. Also, if you are like my friend and Diamond Fellow Gordon Bell, who has taken his whole life digital (documented in his book Total Recall, which just came out), you can link any face to all you know about that person. 5. The nature of knowledge. Much of the knowledge we need to do our jobs is not available because we have a hard time getting access to it at the right time. BMW did a concept piece on augmented reality where a mechanic is replacing a fan while wearing special glasses which project the instructions onto the car as he looks at the engine compartment. Our understanding is that this is not operational, but something like it will come. Why are we so bullish? The military has been augmenting the battlefield for some time, and now with advanced GPS devices, better telecommunications and hand-held devices that have enough display and computing power to make things interesting, we think we are at the beginning of a boom market in augmented reality. So the question becomes, is 51

your firm thinking about how advertising, selling, products and service will change when you can overlay the right information, at the right time and in the right form everywhere?

III. Estudio de Herramientas a través de MindMap 1. Brainstorming Para la realización del estudio de investigación hemos recurrido a la técnica del Brainstorming para obtener un primer esquema general de ideas que a continuación hemos clasificado en un Mapa Mental (MindMap), utilizando una herramienta colaborativa de la Web 2.0 llamada (Bubble). El Mapa Mental incluye todos aquellos aspectos e ideas que hemos considerado requisitos fundamentales que una herramienta general de colaboración basada en la Web 2.0 debería contener.

Fuente: Carlos González, Gonzalo Plaza

2. MindMap A raíz del anterior Brainstorming se ha desarrollado el Mapa Mental final que hemos utilizado como base del desarrollo del trabajo académico. En este se contemplan las herramientas colaborativas que hemos considerado más relevantes de la Web 2.0, clasificadas en las diferentes ramas sobre las que hemos tratado el estudio. Debido a su extenso tamaño hemos decidido incluirlo como anexo a la entrega.

3. Estudio Práctico. Herramienta de Colaboración 2.0 Como estudio práctico, hemos utilizado una herramienta social que incluye algunos de los aspectos de los que tratamos en nuestro estudio. Esta herramienta está diseñada con Ning, una plataforma para la creación de redes sociales que está teniendo bastante aceptación en el mercado. Las ventajas que nos ofrece esta plataforma son: -

Posibilidad de personalizar el contenido a las necesidades propias de cada red Posibilidad de incluir aplicaciones de terceros (Widgets) para enlazar contenido con otras redes sociales. Es una herramienta ofrecida como modelo SaaS, alojada en la nube, la cual no necesita instalarse ni mantenerse en un servidor propio. Está desarrollada con lenguajes orientados a la Web, lo que permite integrar contenido dinámico y enlazar contenido de otras plataformas. Cuenta con una comunidad de desarrolladores que colaboran para el desarrollo de APIs y Widgets de la plataforma, siempre bajo licencias de software libre.

La Red Social, que se denomina ―Grupo de Investigación de Organización Industrial‖, ofrece la posibilidad de crear distintos tipos de contenidos como blogs, foros de discusión, grupos específicos de trabajo, calendario de eventos, sindicación por RSS, integración con otras redes sociales como Twitter o agregadores de contenidos y perfiles personalizados por cada usuario. La plataforma permite además integrar otras funcionalidades y es potencialmente escalable a distintas necesidades. La dirección para acceder a la herramienta es el siguiente http://comunidadupsam.ning.com

Conclusiones Durante el desarrollo del estudio, hemos ido describiendo cada una de las ramas de las que se compone el Mind Map creado como referente de lo que una herramienta colaborativa 2.0 completa debería contener. Cada rama está contemplada como una herramienta que por sí misma podría simplemente cumplir su funcionalidad, pero que integrada y que tejida a la red que conforman todas ellas, es posible gestionar y controlar de una forma óptima el conocimiento de nuestra organización desde arriba hacia abajo y viceversa. Como se ha podido observar, la finalidad de la gestión del conocimiento siempre ha existido de una forma u otra, pero es ahora cuando la tecnología está a nuestro servicio en un mundo que cada vez tiene más ancho de banda y se mueve más deprisa. La adaptación de la gestión del conocimiento a la era de las Nuevas Tecnologías se realiza mediante las herramientas colaborativas y gracias a ellas nos es posible la toma de decisiones rápida y efectiva dentro de nuestras organizaciones. Este trabajo tiene la finalidad de servir como libro de buenas prácticas, como la guía completa, pero bien es cierto que para cada caso en particular se deberá adaptar al entorno y aplicar sólo aquellas herramientas y en la medida en la que ela triple restricción tiempo-coste-alcance nos permita para la que los procesos de la organización sean gestionados con una calidad óptima. El ciclo de la gestión del conocimiento empleado como un ciclo de mejora contínua desde el que el último punto pasar a ser el primero en sucesivas implementaciones, sería el siguiente: Conciencia del problema/oportunidad ->Definición -> Identificación de soluciones -> Experimentación -> Aplicación práctica -> Observación de resultados -> Compartir hallazgos -> Formulación de teoría. ―Gestión del conocimiento es un conjunto de tecnologías punteras que capturan, buscan, recuperan, analizan, almacenan y difunden información con objetivos de inteligencia del negocio‖ Cio.com. Alguna recomendaciones:  

 

No deben copiarse best practices si no se hace de forma integral. No obsesionarse con la obtención de los resultados inmediatos. La implantación de las herramientas colaborativas para la gestión del conocimiento debe formar parte de la estrategia empresarial corporativa y por tanto ser apoyado desde la dirección general. Supone un cambio en la cultura corporativa que afecta a todos, y como tal es necesario asumir y mitigar en la medida de lo posible la reacción al cambio. Reducir la información al conocimiento. La simple caza del dato no nos va a ayudar a tomar decisiones. 55

Bibliografía Kolabora URL: http://www.kolabora.com KM World URL: http://www.kmworld.com IDC - Technology Consultancy URL: http://www.idc.com Forrester – Technology Consultancy URL: http://www.forrester.com/ Gartner – Technology Business Research Insight URL: http://www.gartner.com/ Alfresco - Sistema de gestión de contenido (CMS) empresarial: URL: http://www.alfresco.com CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership URL: http://www.cio.com Microsoft Corporation URL: http://www.Microsoft.com InfoWorld URL: http://www.infoworld.com/ Wikipedia - Free encyclopedia http://wikipedia.com Master New Media - Professional Online Publishing: New Media Trends URL: http://www.masternewmedia.org/ TechCrunch - Blog URL: http://www.techcrunch.com/ Wired – News URL: http://www.wired.com

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Project Management

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Collaborative Writing

for teachers 12

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blist 14 Tablefy Database Publishing Listphile Dabble DB Scribd 15 Issuu Document Publishing Docstoc

Acrobat.com Subversion/Tortoise source control KnowledgePlaza.be Mixedink Microsoft SharePoint PBWiki

Chat

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Instant Messaging

Backboard Creately A.nnotate Diigo 17 uptogo ReviewBasics ConceptShare Octopz Textflow inMotionNow.com 18 Buzzword Cozimo Workflow & Review Friendpaste 19 ProofHQ Colaab Revizr FuzeMeeting Huddle.net Oryx Editor - BPMN Community

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eventbrite Schedgit GCalendar Timebridge any iCal app Chandler Amiando Doodle.com Genbook AgreeAdate MeetWithApproval Cvent Tungle Shiftboard ScheduleOnce

Skype AOL IM Meebo eBuddy Yahoo Messenger Google chat and video ICQ Windows Live Messenger Jabber BigAnt

VoIP - Audio Conferencing Collaborative Reviewing

Creately MindMeister Bubbl.us Mind42 Mywebspiration Spinscape Gliffy LucidCharts Xmind SpicyNodes Creately MindJet Catalyst Comapping

Screen-Sharing

MindMapping & Diagramming

Best Online Collaboration Tools 2009 - Carlos Gonzรกlez de Villaumbrosia & Gonzalo Plaza's Collaborative Map 1

Video Conferencing

File Sharing

Googlegroups YahooGroups Ning Socialcast Friendfeed Cubetree Yammer Groupsite BantamLive Yammer Campfire WizeHive Zenbe

Document Sharing - Wikis

Skype ooVoo Voxox JahJah REBTEL GTalk Vyke 2 Gizmo5 Voxli Voxopop

Gchat Skype 3 TokBox 4 Oovoo Sightspeed VSee Mebeam Flashmeeting EyeJot 5 DoVisio APideo 6 XyKast Palbee Scopia Desktop Meeting24 Persony InstantPresenter 7 Tinychat HP SkyRoom Wetoku VisionKontakt ViVu

GoToMeeting eBLVD ConnectNow Microsoft Shared View Yuuguu WebExNow LiveLook Vyew Crossloop Glance Yugma Teamviewer BeamYourScreen GoToAssist RealVNC GoToMyPC logmein Teamviewer Remote Control TightVNC LiveLook CoBrowsing Proxy Pro6 Skyfex Techinline Acrobat.com Netviewer Mikogo Gogrok PocketMeeting Oneeko (Skype plugin) Present.io ShowDocument Dynno GoGrok

Private Social Networking Platforms

Large Audience Webinars

meetup grouply Broadchoice Workspace WebOffice BarCamps Edmodo.com Microblogging for Education Affinitiz.com Rooms for teams + external blog Colaab Sosius Deskaway Collaber Campfire CentralDesktop GroupmindExpress MindQuarry Ovosuite Clearspace SocialGo Sosius MyNetResearch OneDrum Onehub Huddle.net Ubidesk HyperOffice WizeHive TeamApart Ubidesk Wiggio FMYI Collaboroo GlassCubes

Web Presenting

Slideshare SlideRocket woices.com PresenterNet.com InstantPresenter Vcasmo 280 Slides Livemeetups Freepath 9 Mightymeeting

Multimedia Presentations WorkGrouping

Kineticast

Gatherplace GoToWebinar iVocalize.com HotConference.com Wiziq Live Web Seminar.com

Co-browsing Virtual 3d Immersive Coolaboration

Vuvox 10 Animoto OneTrueMedia Scrapblog bubbleshare Voice Thread Zentation Present.io

Whiteboarding

Dabbleboard Skrbl Vyew Ge Inspiration Cubed Depicto Twiddla Scriblink Groupboard Scribblar ShowDocument Flowchart Virtual whiteboard

Tixeo I-maginer Teleplace

Clavardon Holoday PageShare Showdocument Flowgram asynchronous Wizlite - Page highlighting asynchronous Twiddla

Web Conferencing 8

WebEx Elluminate Wimba Classroom DigitalSamba (free for 3) Centra Elluminate VRoom (free for 3) Adobe Connect Now (free for 3) WebTrain (free for 2) iVocalize DimDim (free for up to 20 people) Spreed WebHuddle Convenos Zoho Meeting Acrobat.com OpenHuddle Microsoft Live Meeting iLinc Genesys Omnovia ReadyTalk e-Lecta Hypermeeting Lotus LiveEngage Live Conference PRO.com Expressway Flexchat WebConference.com DoConference Nefsis OpenMeetings vMukti MeetingPlace OpenConference Wiggio

Notes 1) Best Online Collaboration Tools 2009 - Carlos González de Villaumbrosia & Gonzalo Plaza's Collaborative Map Collaborative map idea by Robin Good of MasterNewMedia.org realized during the LearningTrends 2008 event with the cooperative contributions of over 150 people on November 16th 2008 and during the following weeks. If you want to add to the map new tools please request access to it via email to Robin.Good@masternewmedia.org

2) Vyke Focus is on PC-to-mobile, mobile-to-PC and mobile-to-mobile VoIP communications

3) Skype Only allows video between two parties, but is extremely smooth.

4) TokBox Blocked in UAE

5) EyeJot Blocked in UAE

6) APideo API to embed video chat and interactive features inside any web site

7) InstantPresenter Up to 15 participants - $39/month

8) Web Conferencing Web conferencing is used to conduct live meetings or presentations over the Internet. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the...

9) Freepath Freepath 2.0 is an application that lets you create presentations that are mashups of web content and content from your PC. For example, a Freepath presentation could combine a PowerPoint file along with images, videos, music, websites, PDFs, Word and Excel documents. All of these files are saved into a playlist and are launched from within Freepath; no need to launch other applications. It gives the user the option to present in a dynamic non-linear way. Once you have added your content to a playlist, you can upload your playlists to myFreepath to share and collaborate with others. Currently, we give new users 100mb of storage.

10) Vuvox Create funky slideshows for embedding from photos in Flickr or Photobucket

11) WetPaint Offers more customization options than either pbwiki or wikispaces (without upgrading to the pay version).

12) for teachers All the features and benefits that normally cost $50/year - for free. No fine print, no usage limits, no advertising, no catches.

13) Zoho Excellent, underrated suite of documents and collaboration tools. Try the Notebook for much more than a notebook.

14) blist online database like zohos but better

15) Scribd Hundreds of thousands of documents (Microsoft Office 2003 files, Open Office, etc).Documents can be viewed in Flash 'iPaper' format, and embedded on your website/blog. Can be private or shared. Strict rules about copyright, but often flouted.

16) Filephile P2P cross-platform downloadable software

17) Diigo Diigo is a bookmark sharing service.Â I don't think it is a Collaborative Reviewing application

18) inMotionNow.com inMotion is a workflow & review tool for collaboration on creative content such as video, Flash, web design, graphics and documents. Watche the overview at: http://www.inmotionnow.com/demos/overview/index.html

19) Friendpaste Paste texts or code, add reviews on each lines, see answer in quasi real time.