Social Technology for Business is the Ultimate in Collaboration Software

What is social technology for business? Simply put, it is an integration of technology and social interaction in a business environment. Similar to but, thanks to technology, less time consuming, less expensive, more efficient, more effective and more all embracive than (you guessed it) meetings.

Instead of gathering all your papers to go to a meeting room, which may even be in another building, city, or country, you hook up with team members online to report, inform, share, teach, discuss, update, collaborate and plan, from your computer at your desk (or anywhere else in the world.)

Instead of forming focus groups to spec out your new products, social technology for business gets you the info you need in a fraction of the time from a less biased public. It's the ultimate focus group - you get to 'meet' with hundreds or thousands of people, each of whom is afforded the opportunity to give feedback, ask questions, provide answers and make suggestions.

What are the tools used in social technology for business? To name just a few features and functions:

• Blogs to keep people regularly updated on news and views
• Wikis that provide an always-current knowledge base
• Discussion boards where questions are asked and answered and problems solved
• Instant messaging for immediate help and coordination
• RSS to keep everyone abreast of the latest news, activities and changes
• Podcasts that enable team members, customers and prospects to listen to important information, live or recorded, even if they're in their car
• Social bookmarking so you can search, store, organize and manage relevant reference materials and other information from the Internet
• Social networks that keep you in touch with what your peers and competitors are up to, what the public is saying about your company and product, and affording you the opportunity to act and react in record time
• Calendars and task lists that let you see who's doing what when and coordinate schedules - all at a glance
• Email for personal communications

Best of all, it's mediated, permission-based, and as transparent as you want to make it. Everyone who needs to know can do so easily with social technology for business, and without endless meetings.

To gain or maintain the competitive edge in this tough economy, speed is of the essence in every respect. Social technology for business builds real teams that get things done in record time and with record-breaking cost savings. And it marks the end of endless meetings.