Management & Technology
The Intranet is Dead! Long live the Intranet”
Th I t t i D d! L li th I t t”
A tale about time travel, people and intranet 2.0
Matthew Hodgson
ACT Regional-lead Web and Information Management
Regional lead,
SMS Management & Technology
WIC Breakfast, Dec 2008

... if you suffer from time travel
sickness...
www.slideshare.net/magia3e
magia3e.wordpress.com

Last year ...
y

“G” for George
g

Sir Francis Walsingham?
g

Walsingham ‘the Master Spy’
g py
One of the earliest practitioners of:
p
• Modern t lli
M d iintelligence and espionage
d i
• Domestic security p y
y policy
• Foreign policy planning
• Armed forces coordination and communication
• Intranets

Walsingham ‘the Intranet’
g
Walsingham provided Elizabeth with:
• Relevant information
• Trusted information
• Reliable information
• C
Current knowledge
tk l d
• Timely communication
• Intelligence that kept the country safe
Disadvantages:
• Li it ti
Limitations of the physicall - not always around
f th h i t l d

ROI for Walsingham ‘the Intranet’
g

René Descartes
Intranet for Queen Christina of Sweden
Environment:
E i t
• Rapidly changing world
• Scientific revolution
Trusted source of:
• Knowledge
• Information
• Learning – “I think, therefore I am”

William Murdoch
• Scottish engineer and inventor
g
• Worked for James Watt
Invented:
• Gas lighting
• Steam gun
• Pneumatic tube message system
• Steam carriage
• Road locomotive

Murdoch the Intranet
Compliance:
p
• Ensured safety standards were met (mitigating risk of death)
Knowledge sharing:
• For mentoring, training and development of crew
For information:
• S
Single point of contact up to the boss or down to the crew
f
• Someone the boss could trust
• Someone the crew liked and wants to work with

People as intranets
p
In the past, we’ve always relied on people for:
p , y p p
• T t d ti l and relevant iinformation
Trusted, timely, d l t f ti
• A primary source of knowledge
p y g
• Help, learning and personal development
... but then ... we got web technology ...

Where did the term ‘intranet’ come from?
Intranets fuel growth
of Internet access tools
fI t t t l
Term first appeared?
•Stephen L t
St h Lawton, 1995
What
Wh t were ththese intranets?
i t t ?
• People were creating small websites
• Share knowledge and communicate information
• “..underscore the value of knowledge management”

Expectations
p
We had certain expectations about what Intranets
would deliver for us …
1.
1 Better communications 90%
2. Improved processes 80%
3. Knowledge sharing best-practice 72%
4. Improve efficiency
p y 65%
5. Reduction in paperwork 65%
6.
6 Avoid duplication of effort 62%
7. Real-time information sharing 55%
8. Cost savings 55%
Source: Melcrum Intranet Survey (2001)

When we focus on technology, not people
gy p p
Information
Out-of-date,
Out-of-date incomplete or inaccurate information
Doesn’t reflect how people think about information
Browse paths to information are inconsistent
Governance
No formal roles for managing the intranet
Publishing processes are lengthy & full of gatekeepers
Inadequate people resourcing – who’s going to edit all
that stuff?
Technology
Major source of internal communication is often not
technology, but word of mouth Source: Step Two Designs (2002)

The result ...

How do I know if my intranet is dying?
y y g
Symptoms may include:
y p y
• No idea who the information is for!
• No requirements for the intranet – what is it for and
how will you deliver it?
• No strategy about how to meet users’ information
needs
• You CIO thinks the intranet is just an
information resource
• Lack of pulse – no one trusts information & no one
cares

The future for intranets?

People want to use social media
p
“…represents a full-fledged …
“ t f ll fl d d
communication channel that will
evolve with or without you.
l ith ith t
It s
It’s another accepted form of
communications that people want”
Steve Krol

New intranet strategic building blocks
g g
Source: G Smith, 2007

Social media for intranets
Some examples of the future used today
p y
Wikis:
• User contribution without the roadblocks
Twitter:
• Instant messaging just like a cocktail party
Blogs:
• Storytelling the ‘old fashioned way
old fashioned’
Delicious:
• Sharing the research I’ve found

Wikis as intranets
Corporate wikis:
• US Intelligence Community – for communication
• Qld Public Libraries – for building and sustaining
community y
• Department of Defence – ‘sharing unrestricted’
information in almost real time
real-time
• National Library of Australia – managing IT projects
• AGIMO – keeping internal policy up-to-date

Twitter – the new face of Corporate IM
p
What are you
working on?
Sharing info
with my team

Twitter – the new face of Corporate IM
p
…as a
browser-plugin
browser plugin

Twitter – the new face of Corporate IM
p
…take it
take
where ever
you go!

Blogs as part of the intranet
g p
Communicating
project status &
j t t t
lessons learned

Delicious – sharing what you value
g y
Share important
research for a
project

Put these tools all together …
g
RSS RSS
‘Self’ – profiles,
contact details
RSS RSS
Intranet Home Page
RSS RSS

ROI for my organisation?
y g
Improved engagement, collaboration, communication:
• Better communication – reaching out to employees
• Improved processes – responsive communications
• Improved organisation social cohesion
Increased productivity:
• More effective collaboration (KM) – aligns to people’s social
behaviour
Cost reduction:
• Open source, open APIs, easy re-use of content

ROI = staff retention (esp for Gen‐Y)
( p )

ROI and WIIFM?!
Referent power:
p
• I look good!
• P l llook up t me
People k to
• People listen to me, my comments and my ratings
p , y y g
Expert power:
• I look like an expert
• People can see my expertise
• People turn to me for expert advice
Source: French, J.R.P., & Raven, B. (1959)

The Future: Intranets behaving like people
g p p
I know what you write about Can I suggest …?
gg
I know what you like
I can learn
I know who you trust I know where I am
I know what you read I know what time it is
I understand
I know where you are the context
I can talk to
I know who you trust
other devices

Conclusions
The intranet is dead!
• We killed intranets with technology
Social media has regenerated it!
• Returning to people accessing people
• Timely, relevant, trusted, current information
For intranets to be fully effective:
• Gi people access t communicate with each other
Give l to i t ith h th
• Focus on people’s needs & wants for being social
• Make it more than just an electronic filing cabinet

Take home messages
g
People, not technology:
p , gy
• Collaborate – virtually or physically
• Conversations – share knowledge
• B ild relationships and t t iin iinformation
Build l ti hi d trust f ti
Supporting these activities will
make your intranet live!

...when we focus on technology not people

Management & Technology
Fin
Questions?

Management & Technology
“The Intranet is Dead!
Long live the Intranet”
Long live the Intranet”
A tale about time travel, people and intranet 2.0

Management & Technology
Matthew Hodgson
ACT Regional-lead, Web and Information Management
Regional lead,
SMS Management & Technology
Blog: magia3e.wordpress.com
Twitter: magia3e
e ag a3e
Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/magia3e
YouTube: www.youtube.com/magia3e
Email: mhodgson@smsmt com
mhodgson@smsmt.com
Mobile: 0404 006695