Chatter.com released yesterday (1/31/2011) and IT managers of companies and organizations large and small should pay attention. In December last year, I wrote an analysis piece on social media in the enterprise. That article was inspired by an opinion piece where I lamented the limitations of social media for business use. That’s all changing.
In December I wrote, “IT vendors, including Salesforce.com, Socialtext, Socialcast, Yammer and a host of others, have taken notice of the social media explosion by releasing a new wave of social media tools for the enterprise. The big bang that is the birth of social media platforms includes the initial formation of specifications and integration tools that seek to ease interconnection problems, while maintaining the fast-flowing and lightweight nature of social media interactions.”
With the release of the no-cost Chatter.com, which enables private, secure microblogging based on a users corporate email identity, social media in business has expanded significantly. Chatter has been a part of the various Salesforce.com editions for a while, so the idea itself isn’t that new. What’s new today is that anyone with a business email address can sign up to use the service at no cost and without necessarily signing up for a Salesforce.com license.
I’m working on a full review of the offering now, but it’s worth checking out Chatter.com. Feel free to drop me a note and tell me about your experience with business-class social media services.