Socialtext White Paper Sample

Companies are deploying social software solutions – Web 2.0 technologies such as microblogging, social networking, wikis, and internal blogs – because they can dramatically improve decision cycle times and organizational effectiveness. But social software only produces these results to the extent it is adopted by users. Business social software drives group productivity product vs. personal productivity, and because of this large-scale adoption is critical to its success. A group productivity product can only benefit the group if it is used by the group.

Since the success or failure of any social software solution you consider will be a direct result of its adoption rate, it is critical that you have absolute confidence in adoption before you begin. There are plenty of examples of failed social software projects. Why did they fail? Because they were not embraced by users. While certain strategies encourage faster adoption, adoption is not something that can be mandated. Adoption occurs when users decide for themselves that the solution provides them with a net benefit. It happens when users want to use the product, and when they take action as a result. Users very quickly weigh “what’s in it for me?” against any perceived pain, such as giving up the comfort of an old way of doing something.