I can barely control my indignation when I read articles about Google Plus as
a tool for “social collaboration”. These articles sometimes come from
writers I respect. I guess we have a difference of opinion on this. Here are
my reasons why I think Google Plus is not a tool for social collaboration
(even remotely).
1. You can’t paste horns on a dog and call it a bull
The last I remember, social collaboration was supposed to be about learning
from the design concepts of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, and
adapting them to a business environment to spur productivity and
collaboration. The key phrase here is “learn from design concepts and adapt
them”. Google Plus is an out and out consumer tool in fierce competition
with Facebook. Can anyone show me even a single change made to Google Plus in
Google Apps to make it adaptable to business? Surely there is s... (more)
After years of rampant speculation, Google has finally released its cloud
storage service, naming it quite what everyone had expected – Google Drive.
For those forever on the lookout for the next exciting internet thing, Google
Drive is not an unprecedented new product out of Google’s hat. Google Drive
is Google Docs rebranded, plus added functionality. That is why your Google
Docs (Documents) tab now redirects to “Google Drive”. Google Docs, I am
guessing, will only refer to Google’s web based office authoring tools
henceforth.
Though not totally new, Google likely saw Google Dr... (more)
So you can’t have enough of your iPad. You use it to browse the net, watch
your favorite video, read the news (or a book), check the weather, tweet your
opinions, find your way and slingshot Angry Birds. You’re basically
inseparable.
Just when you thought you had seen all of iPad’s wonders, iPad’s power
can now be extended to work as well. In Steve Job’s words, “there is an
app for that” – and it is HyperOffice. Without further ado, here are some
business things you can do with HyperOffice:
1. Share and work together on business documents
With HyperOffice you can store and organ... (more)
Do you have a funny feeling that you seem to be doing the same work over and
over in your office? Grand projects are initiated with a flurry of meetings
and earth shaking intentions, but amnesia sets in as soon as everyone steps
out of the conference room. Or responsibilities are handed from person to
person like a baton in a relay race, with a loss in context at every step,
till they end up in the lap of someone who has scarcely a clue about the
original intentions. Or files sent back and forth, till they settle in an
obscure corner of the business never to be found again. And y... (more)
It is a great moment in the history of social collaboration. The moment of
social business is here. The idea itself is not new. Much has been written
over the last 2 years about what enterprise software can learn from the
principles of “social” design of popular consumer tools like FaceBook and
Twitter – the impact on user adoption, on information access, on time
saving, on productivity, and indeed, on the fundamental structure of
organizations.
There are also scores of solutions in the market which specialize in
“social collaboration” – Yammer, Chatter, Podio, SocialText and so... (more)
An MBA by qualification, Pankaj Taneja has more than six years of experience in the SaaS and web collaboration industries. Having seen SaaS grow from a niche sector to the next big thing in enterprise technology, he has a great enthusiasm and passion for the sphere. Pankaj has been working for many years at HyperOffice, one of the earliest players in web collaboration since 1998, an industry which now includes solutions from Google, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, Adobe and more. It is amazing being part of a pioneer in collaboration, riding a wave which only promises to grow. 
Phil Jackson
Bob Burke
Gwyn Clay
Stephen Baumer
Dan Tortorici
Harish Ganesan
Jeff Newlin 
Frank Martinez
