Future Changes

What do Acupuncture and Web 2.0 in Business Have in Common?

Craig Cmehil on the key to successful Web 2.0 use in business:

They are all looking for the silver bullet and there isn’t one. Blogs for one might not work for another. It’s matter of finding out first “Who is my audience” and how are they going to react, what are they going to be able to relate to and then once you start, start asking that all over again and do it often to ensure you are on the right track.

He explores this point in more detail on his blog, suggesting that choosing the right tools, and uses for those tools, needs to be done in a holistic way, like acupuncture:

Often times I hear “just start blogging”, what the conversations are supposed to flow automatically? This is where the idea behind acupuncture comes into play. Once I’ve determined my goal and chosen the “root” tools to use now it’s time to to observe and question. It’s time for you to sit back and determine the nature of the those you want to blog, what are their strong suits? Their weak ones? What style of blog? Should the blog but just a text one or should you employ rich media as well? Who should blog?

By asking these questions and looking closely at the whole one can determine the best and most appropriate path through the massiveness that is Web 2.0 and what it offers today. Blogging to Blog or using a wiki to say “we use a wiki” is like sticking a needle in my big toe – it might do something and it might not but it doesn’t mean it’s acupuncture!

The salient point here is that you need to give these tools careful thought. Wikis are different because they don’t have specific uses, and the accompanying rigid workflows.

And that’s their chief advantage.

People can find the best uses for a wiki, and it’s flexible enough to accommodate countless uses in just about any situation. That flexibility makes it infinitely useful, and the best uses emerge as you become familiar with the power of a wiki.

No Comments

Leave a Comment



Wikipatterns book: a practical guide to improving productivity and collaboration in your organization Future Changes is Stewart Mader. He wrote the book on wiki adoption, and he has led or advised enterprise-wide wiki deployments in Fortune 500 companies, universities, nonprofits, small and medium size companies.

Advisory Services include: adoption strategy and timeframe, vendor/product analysis, content structure and templates, roles and permissions, data migration, and workshops. Linda Ziffrin of Valley View Ventures handles bookings. Contact to discuss your needs.
RECENT COMMENTS

MOST POPULAR
Enterprise Wiki Software Guide

Why Businesses Don't Collaborate - Research Report

21 Days of Wiki Adoption - Video Series
BOOKS & ARTICLES
Wikipatterns book: a practical guide to improving productivity and collaboration in your organization Wikipatterns
A practical guide to improving productivity and collaboration in your organization.
Buy the book
Using Wiki in Education wiki book Using Wiki in Education
10 case studies from education show how to collaboratively build curriculum, guide students' teamwork, and manage research projects.
Buy the book
Your Wiki Isn’t Wikipedia: How to Use It for Technical Communication Your Wiki Isn’t Wikipedia (PDF download)
How to use a wiki for technical communication and project management. Published in the January, 2009 issue of Intercom, the magazine of the Society for Technical Communication.
5 Effective Wiki Uses and How Companies Benefit From Them 5 Effective Wiki Uses (PDF download)
Five ways your business can benefit from using a wiki. Published in the August, 2008 issue of Website Magazine.

All Articles

THE BEST OF FUTURE CHANGES


USEFUL WEBSITES