Extensive List of over 40 e2.0 Micro-Blogging Case Studies and Resources

Micro-blogging is the social media buzzword that gets some serious mojo going for those of you passionate about social networking for the enterprise (myself included). There are a plethora of tools available, and if you want a quick snapshot, you should read this CIO article on “12 Microblogging Tools to Consider.” In response to my previous post, “Extensive List of over 30 Enterprise 2.0 Case Studies and Resources,” I had an overwhelming request for case studies specific to micro-blogging. So here it is. I hope you enjoy your new bedtime reading material.

• A Case Study of Micro-blogging in the Enterprise: Use, Value, and Related Issues [Jun Zhang, Researching Social Networks in the Business World]
  This is a case study about the early adoption and use of micro-blogging in a Fortune 500 company. The study used several independent data sources:  five months of empirical micro-blogging data, user demographic information from corporate HR records, a web based survey, and targeted interviews.
• A Case Study of Micro-Blogging for Learning at Qualcomm [Slideshare.net presentation]
• PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Careful Yet Comprehensive Work with Social Networking [The Social Networking Roadmap]
• Cases 2.0.com – A  repository of enterprise 2.0 case studies that adhere to E2.0 best practices. Created by Andrew McAfee and hosted by enterprise wiki company Socialtext.
• Enterprise Microblogging Study 2010 (#EMS10) – Excellent study that provides guidance through the jungle of micro-blogging tools and vendors.
• Making The Case for Enterprise Activity Streams (And Why It’s Not Just “Another Tool”) – Really good post by SocialText one value of social streams in the enterprise [SocialText]

List of Case Studies by platform and then categorized by business need. Many of the case studies below apply to multiple areas; however, they have been organized into primary categories for ease of use:

Yammer

Idea Generation

• AAA – Yammer has become an idea hub for AAA employees: a place where questions are answered quickly, new and innovative ideas are discussed, and policies are debated.
• Deloitte AU – Deloitte Australia utilized an employee-submitted tagline advertising instead of hiring an advertising agency to develop the campaign. Since then, Deloitte Australia has used Yammer to start internal discussions about external information, such as reviews.
• SSE – Employees can post a question or idea and quickly receive answers and feedback from the entire company – all public so knowledge isn’t siloed.

Collaboration / Process Improvement

• Active.com – When issues arise on Active.com systems, developers can easily update the global team on bug resolution statuses.
• Dachis Group – Dachis Group has woven Yammer into its daily workflow, allowing easy company-wide collaboration
• Hill & Knowlton – Employees can connect with others who share their interests and expertise – connections that might not otherwise be made.
• IPC The Hospitalist Company – Yammer connects dispersed physicians in various regions of the country, providing IPC a major differentiator from other physician groups: a superior means of collaboration.
• Scribnia – Yammer allows the Scribnia team to maximize efficiency while working on opposite sides of the globe.
• SMG – Collective employee expertise is leveraged, surfacing key emerging topics.
• Suncorp – Overcame barriers to collaboration, providing instant connection for people, teams, informal networks, communities of practice and other shared interest groups.
• Think Brilliant – Yammer integrates seamlessly into the firm’s daily workflow, engineering time and energy can stay focused; Mobile connectivity: the team can stay connected in the office and on the go via Yammer’s mobile applications.

Build Culture

• AMD – Yammer has connected a global company and groups are forming and flourishing to better organize and distribute relevant content.
• Cargill – Employees who rarely post have reported that they’ve gained valuable insights into the company simply by reading and observing the Yammer stream. This is especially useful for new hires, who’ve been able to get caught up faster by participating in the Cargill Yammer network.
• ConnectNet – The ContactNet team has used Yammer to connect to new colleagues, helping to integrate the companies.

e-Learning

• Pitney Bowes – Yammer facilitates and augments the highly valuable “casual learning” that happens every day within Pitney Bowes.

Communication Management

• Nationwide – Nationwide chose Yammer as its primary communication channel in its push toward flattened hierarchy and better management.
• Razorfish – Employees can quickly attain what’s being said within Razorfish by scanning the message feed, rather than opening individual emails, and the globally-dispersed teams feel better connected and can access Razorfish’s institutional knowledge within Yammer.
• Flemish Government – The Flemish Government Communications Division uses Yammer for instant communication and sharing. As the group must stay on top of news stories and current events, the ability to share and consume information quickly is of utmost importance.
• Pepperdine University – Yammer breaks down communication silos by allowing faculty, staff and students to communicate across departments and geographic regions.
• Jordan Baris – Yammer has increased the speed of communication for the company, improving business execution.
• Philz Coffee – Uses Yammer for internal business communication on the management network, and as a virtual office where Philz employees can connect to one another on the Community network.
• Schipul – Employees used Yammer for Crisis Communication, enabling them to stay connected and informed at all times; everyone received alerts, as Yammer messages, via SMS sent from each of their mobile devices.
• Swiftcurrent – Swiftcurrent Strategies began using Yammer for internal communication, quickly realizing that the tool would be useful for clients as well

Socialcast

• Philips connects employees with new online community (Using Socialcast) [Simply Communicate]
• NASAsphere Case Study – NASA and JPL’s public findings about NASAsphere, the Socialcast program and internal social networking study [Socialcast]
• A Case of Piloting NASA’s Social Network [Allbusiness.com]

Socialtext

Idea Generation

• Meredith Publishing – Despite a disrupted industry, Meredith becomes more agile and innovative, and grows both subscribers and revenues.
• ‘mktg’ – ‘mktg’ released work from e-mail inboxes and made it collaborative. Ideation is faster, and all work is now highly leveraged.
• Osborne Transformer – Good ideas now come from all levels of the organization, and the company is freed from “trapped information syndrome.”

Collaboration / Process Improvement

• OSIsoft – 200 global support engineers all pull in the same direction, tap into collective brainpower, and serve customers better.
• Epitaph Records – Customers are more satisfied, with personal service and custom project management, while Epitaph actually saves money.
• The Hospital for Sick Children – SickKids is pioneering new ways to facilitate scientific collaboration; with Socialtext an answer or an expert is just a few clicks away.

Build Culture

• Egon Zehnder – Dynamic, social intranet lets 1,500 employees in 40 countries tap into firm-wide expertise for globalized executive search.
• Davies Public Affairs – Davies employees are now informed, connected and engaged. Ideas cross-pollinate, and new hires onboard quickly

e-Learning

• Echo360 – Fast, iterative learning cycles and real-time feedback loops keep Echo360 sales and marketing teams in lock-step alignment.
• Boston College – Everyone now actively contributes to classroom learning. Courses are higher quality, more up-to-date and interactive.

Communication Management

• FONA International – A more productive staff with a social intranet and 50K fewer e-mails, and happier customers with a self-service extranet.
• St. Louis Public Radio – With microblogging and a social intranet, employees stay informed, respond faster, and serve members better.
• Communote at Communardo – Communote is considered to be the central information and communication channel within the company