Social media is a huge part of the modern working environment. It has become a way for employees to connect with each other and share important information.
But sometimes, it can be hard to know where to start. There are so many different social media tools out there—which ones should you use? How do you get started?
This guide will help you answer those questions and more. We’ll walk through some of the most popular social media tools that can be used in an enterprise setting, and discuss how they can help your business grow.
Social Media Tools That Promote Knowledge Sharing In An Enterprise
Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management Volume 13 Issue 3 2015
other hand knowledge workers and managers are still waiting to get involved in this collaborative world, because theymay not feel motivated or may not be aware of the advantages of using these tools for work purposes.
4.2.1
Relationships
We also investigated the correlation between individual characteristics and willingness to use the external socialmedia technologies. From the external social media tools only one relationship was encountered. Regarding theexternal social networking service (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn), the higher the position, the more frequent the work-related application is. 68% of top management, 59% of middle level managers and only almost the half (49%) of whitecollar workers use this tool for knowledge sharing during work. It is important to make a distinction betweenFacebook and LinkedIn. On Facebook less members from top managers but more from lower positions can beassumed, but on LinkedIn more and more top managers and experts appear because it is known that the executivehead hunting companies often gather information from that site. The surprising result can be explained by the factthat the lower the position, the external social networking is typically not for professional usage rather than formaintaining friendship. Consequently, there is no reason to use this tool for work or for the purpose of knowledgesharing (Gaál et al, 2014).
4.3
Practical implications
Table 2 presents the possible social media tools that can be used by the communities with the aim to share knowledgewith the wider audience and within the organization.
Table 2: Usage possibilities of external social media tools for knowledge sharing
Social media tool DescriptionFacebook
Facebook, as an external social networking service enables for a community to create aprofile (and topic groups) with the aim to share information/knowledge to the followers(partners, potential customers) of their community page. Specific information should beshared only with the members; for a wider audience, commercials, news, etc. can bepublished.
LinkedIn, as an external social networking service can be used for professional way, couldbe a perfect tool for finding information and experts.
MeetUp
Meetup, as an external communities of practice has online portals that facilitate groupmeetings in various localities around the world. People are contacting with othersgenerally with the professional aim.
Skype
Skype, as an external instant messaging service is also an online conference tool, whichcan promote the instant communication and knowledge sharing between the communitymembers. There can be numerous negotiations take place across national borders, andthis tool means a more cost-effective solution.
GoogleDocs
GoogleDocs, as an external groupware supports collaborative creation of knowledge. Itcan be used for sharing the documents without sending them via e-mails, but only sharingthe link of the document. Other community members who have access to the GoogleDocshave a chance to modify the materials.
Weblog
Weblog, as a professional blog is an informational site published on the web and consistsof posts typically displayed in reverse chronological order. Weblogs of the communitiesare focusing on partners, employees or everyone with the aim to share information orknowledge.
YouTube
YouTube as an external video sharing site allows users to upload, view, and share videos,and it makes use of Adobe Flash Video to display a variety of individual or corporatewww.ejkm.com ©ACPIL194
Zoltán Gaál, Lajos Szabó, Nóra Obermayer-Kovács and Anikó Csepregi
Social media tool DescriptionFacebook
Facebook, as an external social networking service enables for a community to create aprofile (and topic groups) with the aim to share information/knowledge to the followers(partners, potential customers) of their community page. Specific information should beshared only with the members; for a wider audience, commercials, news, etc. can bepublished.
LinkedIn, as an external social networking service can be used for professional way, couldbe a perfect tool for finding information and experts.media video.
SlideShare
SlideShare as an external presentation sharing is a web-based slide hosting service. Userscan upload presentations privately or publicly. The website can be used for businesses toshare slides among employees more easily. SlideShare also provides users the ability torate, comment on, and share the uploaded content.
5.
Conclusion
This research was defined to find out more about the relation between social media tools and knowledge sharingwithin organizations. We can state that all generations (Bellefroid, 2012) of knowledge sharing can be found in theHungarian organizations, but third one is rather at the initial step as most of the organizations do not allow theiremployees to utilize the benefits of the social media tools and not support to develop social networks through thesetechnologies. Amazingly rapid expansion of the content sharing technologies has led to many of social mediatechnologies becoming an integral part of many people’s daily routine. We can easily collaborate and work with ourcolleagues at the opposite side of the world with the help of professional, fast instant messaging services in aneffective way. Communities of practices’ “Meetup” video can be accessed almost immediately after the event on avideo sharing site. Companies have to clearly identify what information and knowledge is to be kept confidential andwhat is to be shared and made available to others. Such practices as crowd-sourcing and open innovation practiceshave demonstrated the value of sharing information and knowledge that has previously been considered to beconfidential.In future, we expect that both the internal and external usage of the social media tools will increase. In our study,social media emerges a new perspective. Enormous information and knowledge can be shared using powerful tools toa world in which the social factors play an essential role. In our new accelerated world, numerous technologies havebeen developed to support social capital connections (social networking services like Facebook, LinkedIn) and tocommunicate in a more effective way (instant messaging services like Skype, Viber).For organizations that ensure value to knowledge sharing, integrating social media tools into their daily business life isessential to enable for the employees an easy access; and offer trainings to inexperienced users. For exampledeveloping document- or knowledge management systems while ignoring the power of social media that everyoneuses daily would be wasteland. A numerous opportunities exist using social media tools in action:
Communication between employees can be encouraged to support problem solving: if organizationneeds an expert for a specific task, a post can be placed on a blog and likely receive a response fromanother employee or search on LinkedIn to find the a person, who can help.
Convert personal knowledge to organisational knowledge: if the senior employees record videos abouttheir work and share it with the new employees, the organization can use these videos instead ofexpensive training programs to explain the details.
Discuss professional problems: with a group of people who are active practitioners in a particular area,professional communities (communities of practices – CoP) can be useful because they are neutral andcan provide a way to share best practices, ask questions of and provide support for each other outsidethe organization.
www.ejkm.com 195ISSN1479-4411
Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management Volume 13 Issue 3 2015
Reduce time and money through integrated system: using a “new” technology, the calendar, but notbecause of the calendar function, but organizing and sharing events, meetings, making appointment in ashorter time (instead of phone calls or sending lots of e-mails).Several managerial implications can also be utilised. It is recommended for management to support introducing socialmedia technologies, establish the terms and conditions of usage, communicate the benefits and provide the necessarytrainings. Moreover, organizations should develop a reward system to encourage employees’ willingness to use socialmedia tools for knowledge sharing.We have hypothesized that younger generations have a greater willingness touse social media technologies. After ourinvestigations we can state however that the members of Generation Y (younger generation) or employees with lowerlevel position are less likely social media technologies in the workplace. We would postulate that this is because socialmedia tools are more common among young people but they use them for private purposes, while using these toolsfor work (mainly for knowledge sharing or professional development) is more typical forGeneration X and Baby Boomers (elder generations).In 1993 Drucker predicted how Knowledge Economy will need to progress in order to obtain competitive advantage.He stated that “the productivity of knowledge is going to be the determining factor in the competitive position in acompany, an industry, an entire country. No country, industry or company has any ‘natural’ advantage ordisadvantage. The only advantage it can possess is the ability to exploit universally available knowledge. The only thingthat increasingly will matter in national as in international economics is management’s performance in makingknowledge productive” (Drucker, 1993:193).It seems that he predicted the rise of the online, open source, social media tools that can become widely available andprevalent in our modern business life. The willingness to use these technologies by Generation Y (and later forGeneration Z) will not be enough. These new generations must be encouraged to make use of these technologies forwork as well as for non-work related activities.Our research could be expanded, as it would be interesting to make a comparison between knowledge sharingpractices and usage of social media tools in other countries. The authors have already got in touch with otherresearchers to find out the way how we can conduct a mutual survey
knowledge sharing tools
May 6, 2019
15 Must-Have Knowledge Sharing Tools
Knowledge Management
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Disclaimer: I am not paid nor am I a representative of the companies mentioned below. These recommendations are solely based on thorough research and my own personal experience.
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GOOGLE DRIVE
Features: Access to the entire Google Suite which includes Google Docs, Forms, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Sites, Calendar, Hangouts and Google+ for all of your collaborative and storage needs.
Why You’ll Love it: With Google’s state of the art encryption and security, eDiscovery vault for storing chats and emails, and tons of other integrated apps, you’re getting lots of bang for your buck.
Cost: $12 a month per user (Business Plan)
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DROPBOX
Features: 2T of space, file recovery, invite-only links/permissions, comments/feedback on documents, special shared folders (great for storing training material or sensitive information for certain employees)
Why You’ll Love it: File-back up, two-way authentication and more. It’s perfect for both micro and small businesses. Oh, and Dropbox is also in compliance with HIPPA standards.
Cost: Standard plans start at $12.50 starting at 3 users and $20 a month for comprehensive needs and advanced features.
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CAGE
For the creatives, Cage is a visually-pleasing project-management platform that boasts “making sharing work with clients easy.”
Features: Ability to leave feedback, set sharing options, create to-do lists, monitor revisions, give approval on projects, and more.
Why You’ll Love it: Real-time pop-up captions for videos.
Cost: Basic Plans for small teams (8 members) start at $49 a month with 5 GB, and unlimited projects, tasks, notes and clients, and PLUS plans with 15GB for 20 members starting at $89 a month.
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MICROSOFT ONE DRIVE
Features: Provides businesses with the tools to co-author and collaborate on projects in real-time, store and sync files, and restore/recover important deleted files.
Why You’ll Love It: OneDrive lets you connect with colleagues, see what they’re working on, and discover other documents and information across the social media feed-like platform.
Cost: OneDrive for Business OnlinePlan 1 is $5.00 a month/per user for 1TB of storage, desktop synchronization, secured sharing and office integration, but the OnlinePlan 2 offers additional features such as advanced encryption, and eDiscovery.
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ZOHO
Features: Offers a collection of productivity platforms such as writing, presentation, spreadsheet, and sync applications; In-app chat feature, SSL security, Dropbox integration, business reporting, server-recovery integration, website-builders and lots more.
Why You’ll Love it: Zoho Showtime is a great option for training with its interactive presentations, polls, surveys and mobile ability. Plus, Zoho Social (which mimics a social media interface), allows document management, create networks with your partners/clients, chat and exchange ideas with your employees.
Cost: $5 Pro Package (billed annually) per month/user for Workplace Bundle
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SLACK
Features: Private conversation channels (hashtags), direct messages, drag-an-drop file uploading, and video chat/calls
Why You’ll Love it: You can start a video chat in an actual channel, and the integrated search feature allows you to search the entire archive
Cost: Free trial for teams for unlimited time; Standard plan starts at $6.67 a month/per user (annual pricing)
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CONCEPTBOARD
Features: Create unlimited visual image boards for projects or brainstorming, easy upload and sharing capability, PNG + PDF export function, comments, e-mail alerts, team/user roles, and activity streams to monitor productivity; board video conferences, interactive presentations for collaboration
Why You’ll Love it: Live Pointers (which act as a computer mouse) allow you to present the boards to your audience
Cost: Free for trial period; $28.50 per month for 3 users + 9.50 additional user (annual pricing)
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MOMENTUM
Features: Account synchronization, customization for backgrounds and themes, Countdown timer, Custom quotes, Notes, and third party integrations
Why You’ll Love it: You can manage multiple To-Do Lists such as Inbox, Today, and Done
Cost: $2.50 a month (billed annually)
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ICLOUD DRIVE
Features: Enjoy web app iOS programs such as Pages, Numbers, Keynote, for real-time collaboration, sharing, and commenting; secured file storage for all videos, photos, notes, reminders and more
Why You’ll Love It: Available to Windows users and you can edit and view on all devices and computers
Cost: 50 GB for 0.99, 200 GB, $2.99, 1TB $9.99, and 2TB $19.99 per month
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MINDJET
Features: Mind-mapping, knowledge capture, transfer and documentation, and visual concept boards/diagrams
Why You’ll Love It: It helps you to transform your written knowledge into visual formats that make the processes much easier
Cost: MindManager 2017 – Perpetual License is $347, and for Mac $179
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ASANA
Features: Task + project management tools such as subtasks, calendars, custom dashboards, tags, comments, document uploads, notifications and subscriptions, team pages, and more
Why You’ll Love It: Lots of integrations with major third party applications; mobile-friendly
Cost: Free for up to 15 members with unlimited projects, task and conversations; $9.99 per month/per user unlimited team members with advanced search and private teams
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TRELLO
Features: Invitation-only boards, multiple app integrations with Google Drive, Slack, Evernote, etc., comments, attachments, bug reports, picture attachments, voting, checklists, and more
Why You’ll Love It: You can create interactive training manuals and illustrate other knowledge-based resources (processes, procedures, etc.)
Cost: Business Class $9.99 per user/month (annually)
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MINDNODE
Features: Easy-to-create mind-mapping diagrams, colorful icons, notes, side-bar outline, and easy sync to iCloud Drive with the ability to turn maps into tasks
Why You’ll Love It: You can create and share an interactive document version in the MyMindNode service
Cost: $29.99 via the Mac Store
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FRESHDESK
Features: Private knowledge base, auto-suggest solutions, gamification badges, community forums, survey and feedback apps, social media integration
Why You’ll Love It: You can control what knowledge is visible to specific audiences (customers vs employees) and publish/optimize special knowledge base articles for Google
Cost: Blossom Plan (for small teams) $19 per month/per agent, Garden Plan (for growing teams) $35 per month/agent
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CLINKED
Features: Audit trail for documents and activities, online document editor with comments/feedback, microblogging, activity streams, content revision/notification, Google apps integration, discussion forums, private cloud and more
Why You’ll Love It: You can literally create your own customized portal with documents, videos, images, calendars, tasks, etc.
Cost: Starter package $15 per month with unlimited guests, Collaboration package $49 per month (all features +)
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PROJECTPLACE
Features: Gannt planning chart, kanban boards, Desktop/Google integration, social-media inspired communication tools, high-end security, to-do lists, calendar sync, charts and more
Why You’ll Love It: The kanban boards give the ability to visual your project, and organized it in a way that makes sense for you and your team
Cost: Pro Package $4.90 per month/per user (annually) for 10 users, Enterprise package pricing by request
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MONDAY.COM
Features: Booking Management, campaign planning / management, CRM Integration, calendar synching, client management, discussion boards, etc.
Why You’ll Love It: It’s a powerhouse platform for all your knowledge-sharing needs – desktop notifications, customizable templates, electronic workflows, and more.
Cost: $17 a month for 2 users / additional options per user available
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FTOPIA
Features: Public and private rooms for document storage and uploading, custom branding, permission settings, tags, document recovery, metadata searching, public download links, activity reports, and more
Why You’ll Love It: You can really keep an eye on the information and how its being used in your data rooms with intensive monitoring and auditing
Cost: Standard Plan $2.50 per user/per month (annually), Premium Plan $9.90 per month/per user (annually)
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DIIGO
Features: PDF and website annotation, save and tag online resources, link organization, add sticky notes, groups, archived web pages, tags, and more
Why You’ll Love It: You can create a personal library with specific knowledge you’ve collected around the web. Plus, the collaborative web and PDF annotation for teams makes sharing and reviewing knowledge an interactive and educational experience
Cost: Standard: Business Plan $10 a month/per user (annual)
YAMMER
Features: Private and public groups, group conversations, knowledge base, Discovery feed for information, activities and announcements, file uploads, integration with Microsoft Office, Inbox notifications, search and more
Why You’ll Love It: The social feel of the platform is very user-friendly, and the searchable knowledge base
Cost: $5 per user/per month
Are you interested in learning how to create a culture of knowledge management in your organization? Download our free guide to get started.
Conclusion
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