Growing social media projects
from the ground up
Some observations for information professionals
Lee Bryant & Ruth Ward :: Perfect Information, May 2007

About Headshift
• headshift
is a social software consulting and
development group who apply emerging
tools and ideas to the real-world needs
of organisations:
consulting & engagement
prototyping and experimentation
development and integration

About Allen & Overy LLP

About Allen & Overy LLP

The world of social software (aka web 2.0)...

... is entering the enterprise
Blogging tools Wiki platforms Newsfeeds / RSS
Sui Sui Sui
Combined suites Custom build
• Systems integration
• API connectors
Sui Sui
• Intranet-based
• Blended solutions
• “Situated” software

Where enterprise social tools are heading
• Lightweight, social interface
onto corporate info
• Social newsreading and
filtering to create collective
intelligence within the firm
• Feeds and flows, not content
objects or knowledge stores
• Business social networking
• More intimate, personalised
information and analysis to
support client relationships

Key characteristics of social software
• “Applications that harness network effects to
get better the more people use them...”
• Fast, iterative delivery - not mega-IT projects
• Networked individualism - not centralisation;
self-interest drives uptake and growth
• Leverage network effects for collective benefit
• Combination of ecosystem of tools, data and
services, not ‘one tool to rule them all’

A few existing use cases for social tools
• External communication
• Information & knowledge sharing
Issue management
Ad hoc conversations and Q&As
Participation via extranet / website
Competitive intelligence
Recruitment
Employee to employee communication
Thought leadership
Sharing knowledge within groups
Storing and finding information
• Internal communications
Working with contractors or partners
Internal issue management
• Team collaboration Intranet development/replacement
Leadership communication
Creating and editing documents
Training and personal development
Documenting and organising work
Project collaboration
• Marketing and PR
• Innovation and R&D Campaign management
Engaging with customers and media
Innovation networks
Monitoring brands and markets
Prediction markets
Promoting a product or service
Rapid prototyping
Social networking
Social newsreading and bookmarking

Are firms ready for this ?

... and are information professionals needed ?
• Social software promotes a culture of DIY
consumer self-service and disintermediation
• We are seeing a desire and ability among younger
people to manage their own information flows
and publish their own opinions
• Where does this leave information and
knowledge professionals as the guardians and
gatekeepers of business information?

Yes! But the role gets more interesting...
• Information professionals already understand the key
issues and behaviours that will make social tools
relevant to the business
• Other key knowledge networking roles (e.g. Library,
PSLs in law firms, analysts in financial services) will also
be more important in feeding the firm with information
• We are moving from individual request handling to
managing feeds and flows within the business

Our experience of social tools in a law firm
ik v9i10.qxp 21/07/2006 18:39 Page 26
26 Case study: Allen & Overy
A
llen & Overy LLP is an
international legal practice
with offices in 19 countries
on three continents, 4,800
staff and 450 partners. The firm was
founded in 1930 and today advises
governments, banks, major corporates
and institutions operating around the
world. But notwithstanding its
tremendous growth in recent years, Allen
& Overy still retains the feel of a smaller,
more intimate partnership, with a strong
collegiate culture and reputation for
innovation – as recognised in the Financial
Times’ ‘Innovative Lawyers’ report.
The allure of social media for Allen
& Overy was superficially clear. But
initially we were not too sure what we
needed or, indeed, whether something
so cutting edge would really fit-in
among our lawyers. This article
•
therefore documents the journey we
Our project began as a 3 month pilot for 3 groups: took from those tentative first steps
20 months later we have approx 30 active groups when we first floated the idea, to the
global roll-out that is going on today.
• Blended solution using two products + custom Social media and professional services
code + integration with internal systems (e.g. SSO)Jabbari, Allen & Overy’sout the
David chief
Case study –Allen & Overy
knowledge officer (CKO), set
Wiki’s law
strategic context for knowledge
• Seen within the firm as a great success that will management (KM) at Allen & Overy in
inform the next generation of knowledge and
his recent ‘Know it all’ case study in
Inside Knowledge in May 2006. Allen &
information sharing systems Overy, like other professional-service
Allen & Overy found implementing so-called ‘soc
firms, realises that it is a knowledge-
relatively straightforward process – but one that
centric organisation in which its greatest
and highly profitable.
knowledge assets are its people.
However, the traditional legal KM model
By Ruth Ward
has focused more on documents –
acquiring them and storing them – rather
than on people, putting them together To begin with, we sought outside and programm

Group blogging as the centre of gravity

The importance of trusted communities

Newsfeed aggregation

Wiki spaces: Library Services

Wiki spaces: Enquiry handling

Social bookmarking & tagging

How we started
• Explore:
- group cultures
- tasks, goals & needs
- information landscapes
- interaction styles
• Try to build a system around
real concrete needs
• Importance of real workflow
examples for new users

Addressing common scenarios

Current success measures
• Increasing number of posts over first year
• High readership on receipt of alerts
• Diversity of readers and contributors
• Meeting initially defined business objectives:
• Self help and shared ownership – less admin
• More member awareness and action
• More pro-active communication
• Success is surprisingly visible: 30% of the
organisation are members of one or more groups
(Overall we measure value not usage)

Our top 10 tips
1. Start small and work with just a few groups
2. Focus on groups who are enthusiastic and committed
3. Identify and involve the main site owner and other champions as soon as
possible to develop a sense of shared ownership
4. Manage expectations of site owner(s) in terms of initial site support
5. Identify the group's business objectives for the site at the outset
6. Review with the group how they currently try and meet those objectives
and what software they use to do so
7. Ensure the group understands the business and cultural implications
8. Select software to meet business needs, not the other way round
9. Don’t compromise ease of use - key selling point for users and editors
10.Monitor the sites and give ongoing support and feedback

Questions ?
lee@headshift.com
ruth.ward@allenovery.com
http://www.headshift.com
Photos courtesy of Flickr using Creative Commons license
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dplanet/94442623/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arbron/77094898/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/105123875/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kacey/252912749/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/victoriapeckham/164175205/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markrjones/47761183/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgt_spanky/35811144/
+ screenshot from http://labs.digg.com/swarm