hubbub

The Resocialization of IT

OK, just a couple of weeks ago, the technology blogging world went atwitter with disbelief that Cisco had made yet another acquisition in the social-networking world. First Cisco acquired Five Apart. Then it took Tribe. The big news today is that Cisco has nabbed Webex,and paid a whopping $3.2 billion to close the deal. If anyone wondered if Cisco was merely dabbling in Enterprise 2.0 and collaboration, they stopped doubting the company today. This is the real deal. Cisco means business.

(Many will argue that Webex is old school, but as a part of Cisco’s Unified Communications strategy, it may become a lot more.)

And Cisco not alone. A pattern is emerging: old world IT companies are funding expeditions into the new world. Not too long ago, Intel announced SuiteTwo, an "Enterprise 2.0 in a box" offering that stitches together a number of social-media platforms and tools (full disclosure: hubbub represents Socialtext, one of the companies in the SuiteTwo suite). And recently, IBM announced Lotus Connections, which the company claims is "the industry's first platform for business-grade social computing." The clue to this pattern comes from the IBM press release: the phrase "business grade." The "big iron" companies are entering the 2.0 marketplace by promising to bridge two worlds: the business people who want 2.0 to happen with the more conservative folks who worry about things like security, integration and regulatory compliance.

It was bound to happen. The business case for social media has already been made, but large, unwieldy businesses do not know how to respond. They do not know how to respond for a variety of reasons. But perhaps the biggest reason is that social media has not been entirely socialized in the enterprise. Companies like Cisco, Intel, and IBM have lots of experience speaking to the many constituencies that make up the contemporary enterprise.

I expect the big-iron companies to make a difference. But to succeed, they will have to become adept at socializing themselves into the world of social media. Just as media companies and businesses have struggled to build credibility in the world of blogging, the incumbent IT companies may struggle for credibility in the new IT world order. Already they are (struggling). But that doesn't mean they won't succeed.

See also:

the press release

Cisco news blog

Michael Arrington

Om Malik

Let a Thousand Googles Bloom

So, as many of you know, Hubbub recently began work with FAST Search and Transfer. The ride has been thrilling. First "deliverables": we got the honor of pre-launching FAST AdMomentum -- a fresh new take on contextual advertising -- and the job of co-managing the flow of news inside and around FASTforward 2007. As the kids say, we're stoked, but for not-so-obvious reasons. Let me lay them out here:

--Several folks at Hubbub developed their marketing chops working for scrappy, smart and successful start-ups in the search and contextual advertising market. It's good to get back into the conversation, and with such a great new client.

--Several folks at Hubbub developed their PR chops working for the current market leader in business intelligence. It's great to come back to this market with a company that has such a different-yet-compelling idea.

--Practically everyone at Hubbub has a rebel heart, and we are tickled to be participating in what we believe is the next chapter in the story of search. Chapter One was about a company that won wealth and fame by helping to develop one of the most useful paradigms for information access. Chapter Two, we're betting, is about further developing that paradigm and providing the tools -- and the revenue models -- to the larger population of businesses, non-profits and consumers that make up the networked economy. Google was the hero in Chapter One, but now it's time to let a thousand "Googles" bloom. In our opinion, the bloom is inevitable; the development of the networked economy will make it happen. You're going to hear a whole lot more on this subject in the coming year, and some of it will come from us. But most of it will come from our new client and its many customers.

graphic: Matthew Hurst

What is Enterprise 2.0?

What is Enterprise 2.0? Because of the Intel deal, lots has been written on this subject over the last few days. I like how Kris Duggan -- client Socialtext's VP of sales -- framed it at the conclusion of a very good story in Business Week:

Corporate America isn't just embracing the new Web, but also shaping it. "They said Web 1.0 was about content. Web 2.0 was about conversation and how do you foster conversation," says Duggan. "And Enterprise 2.0 is how do you get those same technologies inside a company so we can break down walls and communicate better and foster more trust and productivity."