In an insightful article called "How to Hit the Enterprise 2.0 Bullseye," Professor Andrew McAfee (Harvard's Business School) offered a summary view of what Web 2.0 technologies can offer businesses.
The use of various Web 2.0 tools are based on four types of relationships within the enterprise, from the "small group of close collaborators," to those that don't know each other or may be professional acquaintances. Based on these four types of ties (strong, weak, potential or no ties), appropriate application of Web 2.0 tools creates four types of emergent benefits:
| Tie Strength | Potential Benefits | Technology Example | What is Emergent? |
| Strong | Collaboration, Productivity, Agility | Wiki | Document |
| Weak | Innovation, Non-redundant information, Network bridging | Social Networking Software | Information |
| Potential | Efficient search, Tie formation | Blogosphere | Team |
| None | Collective Intelligence | Prediction Market | Answer |
The notion of a prediction market got me asking around. Generally, the concept is well illustrated in sites like Intrade.com or the Iowa Futures Market. In McAfee's case, the term applies to how well the enterprise will do in certain ventures, with certain projects, or against certain deadlines. Interesting.
Labels: emergence, enterprise, relationships, web 2.0
¶ 12:49 PM
