NewWOW's ninth symposium took place June 27 through 30, 2010 in Chicago. It focused on how social media enables new ways of working. The previous symposium--on the future of work in year 2020--made it clear that social media is already enabling better and different types of collaboration and is even beginning to take the place of the "water cooler" to bind dispersed workers.
The symposium's emphasis was not primarily on the technology – if for no other reason than that anything said about technology would be quickly out of date. Instead, our unique contribution was in thinking about what organizations can do with the technology. This included a discussion of what’s working so far, how effective is it, and what can be expected in the near future.
Here's a rundown of the main presenters:
Patricia Roberts, National Director / Senior Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle, talked about WORKPLACE + TECHNOLOGY: How will next generation technologies enhance workplace performance?
Tish Kruse, Senior Vice President and the practice co-lead of the Workplace Strategy group in Jones Lang LaSalle’s Strategic Consulting group, spoke on How Social Media is Driving Workplace Change.
David Coleman, Founder and Managing Director of Collaborative Strategies, shared new data that identifies trends and directions in social networking. He helped attendees look at where to apply social networks based on recent case studies, including collaborative supply chains. In addition, he talked about what this meant for the enterprise and the future of work.
A panel from Microsoft discussed "Current and Future trends in Social Networking." They combined research on how customers are using currently available and recently released social networking solutions in Sharepoint, with work that Microsoft Research is doing on enhanced human-human and human-computer interaction using new devices and in virtual spaces. Speakers included Gina Venolia, Sr. Researcher in the VIBE Research Group and Kat Randolph, Director of Customer Campaigns and Customer Evidence Unified Communications Group.
Thanks to Jones Lang LaSalle's hospitality, the symposium was held at their headquarters near the Loop, the heart of downtown Chicago, and walking distance of the lake front, Millennium Park, and the fabulous Chicago Art Institute.
Costs for the symposium were included for New WOW members, but all attendees paid a food and beverage fee.
