Online Communities in Business: Past Progress, Future Directions

PRESS RELEASE



NEW YORK, New York, August 6, 2004 -- SageNet LLC and BTC today announced the release of "Online Communities in Business: Past Progress, Future Directions," a survey report focusing on how companies and other large organizations are using community and collaborative technologies. The full report is available at: http://www.sageway.com/ocibreport.pdf.

Among the findings:

  • Participation in online communities, networks, and teams is growing (82%)
  • Technologies for online groups are continuing to improve (79%)
  • Retention of participants is not a significant problem (63%)
Despite these positive signs, some familiar problems persist:
  • Most organizations can’t measure return on investment (72%)
  • Many people still don’t understand what online community is (72%)
  • The discipline of creating and managing communities is poorly defined (59%)
On the technology front, communities aimed at customers continue to expand their platforms, with weblogs showing dramatic growth in the one-year timeframe. By contrast, employee communities are consolidating to a smaller set of tools; only wireless/mobile, teamrooms, and expertise location are expected to grow over the next five years. In their free-text comments, respondents confirm that the field of online communities is in a period of transition, with the rise of networks both invigorating and challenging current efforts.

The survey was conducted in the spring of 2004 under the aegis of the 7th International Conference on Virtual Communities. Respondents included 135 managers, sponsors, vendors, and researchers involved in community and collaboration efforts, from organizations including (partial list): AARP, Agilent Technologies, Akiva Corporation, Apple Computer, BBC, Cisco Systems, Congruity, Consumers Union, Ernst & Young, Groove Networks, IBM, IEEE, Intel, Interbrew, J.P.Morgan Chase, MIT Sloan School, Nomura Research, Novell, Inc., SAP, SAS, Schlumberger, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, and Sun Microsystems

Additional information on the survey is available on a wiki workspace provided courtesy of Socialtext and Congruity. The workspace currently includes:

  • A list of the questions asked in the survey.

  • A complete set of responses to the two free-text questions.

  • A browsable list of the people, communities, and organizations identified by respondents as influencing their efforts ("Influencers").

It also allows readers to post their thoughts and reactions to the survey findings. Those interested in accessing the workspace should send a request to cothrel@comcast.net.


CONTACT: Jenny Ambrozek of SageNet LLC, jenny@sageway.com, or Joseph Cothrel of BTC, cothrel@comcast.net.



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