A couple weeks ago, my company launched its online presence, The Collaboratory. Part of the site contains a feed of our communications activity - whether public tweets, private "yams", or messages emailed. Each channel carries a varying level of opacity, for good reason.
After operating the live stream in public view for a couple weeks, each of us has reflected upon the experience and shared our thoughts. My take:
The Collaboratory made me rethink my perspective on authenticity in social media. For the most part, people live by the old T.S. Eliot quote, "prepare a face to meet the faces you meet." That is, despite claims of openness, most social media presences are carefully crafted, user-controlled portraits of what they want the world to see. As a company that advises clients on social spaces, it's paramount that we push on boundaries ourselves. I'll admit, I was uncomfortable when we turned the feed public - but the more I thought about what was being shared, the more I realized how often legacy thinking can roadblock new ideas...and how much work we have ahead of us before people truly understand the fundamentals behind social business design.
To read perspectives from the entire team, read We Work In Public on the Dachis Group Collaboratory.
And if you find the content interesting, may I suggest subscribing to the Collaboratory's RSS feed.
