In search for the Social Enterprise

For many years by now I have fought a futile battle against the bonanza of definitions in the field of Information Management (for a summary see article here) . I am getting inclined to embark on a similar route with regards to “The Social Enterprise” (and possibly the concept of Big Data). However, before anything more is said; when I talk about Social Enterprise I do not refer to companies that, according to Wikipedia, “apply commercial strategies to maximize improvements in human and environmental well-being, rather than maximizing profits for external shareholders”. No, I refer to companies that are struggling or succeeding in implementing tools as well as work procedures that enable their staff to truly leverage each other’s expertise and capabilities, disregarding organizational boundaries or mandates.

Not too many years ago, this was simply referred to as collaboration. The best “organization model” was suggested to be communities of practice. Available software (or, rather, the lack of it) was perceived as the key problem but the concept as such has been around for long. Already in 1999 I wrote a white paper on a topic labeled “Intelligent Communities”, so the context is far from new. Then, in the mid 2000’s, came the “social media internet” that has since changed our lives forever. The current giants are of course Facebook and Linked In. Google+ does its best to compete and others are following. With the true proliferation of smartphones throughout all age groups and professions around 2010+/-, the social connectivity was a fact. Teenagers today simply do not know any other world. Instagram, SnapChat, Kik, WhatsApp, etc. are now in everyone’s pocket. This latter insight seems to be the key driver for many corporations these days to “go social”, in order to attract young people to their organization and also, of course, reap the benefits of the obvious efficiency gains which will be the result if we all work better together.
Now, any new need, real or perceived, from the world of business always results in an immediate reaction from potential providers of products or services meeting such need, in this case how to make companies “go social”. A very quick search provided the following list of labels on various offerings targeted at that purpose:

• Collaborative Enterprises
• Content Collaboration
• Enterprise Social Content
• Enterprise Social Networking
• Enterprise Social Software
• Social Collaboration
• Social Content Management
• Social Enterprise Collaboration

My intention is to address this field in a similar way as I did with Information Management and Knowledge Management in the article referred to above, but before I start, I’d like more input on this range of definitions. In the commentary field below; please add any other “labels” you know of. What do they call “this” in your company? Do you have an outspoken definition, policy or strategy in this field? I am eager to hear your thoughts!