ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the value of communications mechanisms and considers the groupware combinations of communication streams. Mathematician Robert Metcalfe expressed the value of a communications network as proportional to the square of the number of users of the system. Social networks exemplify the ability of well-coordinated groups to produce a more effective or efficient outcome than the individuals can produce without communication. The effectiveness of collective intelligence systems will vary based on the level of interaction, coordination, and communication between its members. Technology-mediated communication extends throughout the modern network enterprise, providing synchronous and asynchronous modes of information exchange. Asynchronous modes of communication employ store-and-access forms of information interchange. These technologies include standalone applications such as e-mail and Wiki servers, or as components in more complete business groupware solutions that couple functionality such as calendaring and task management with basic messaging, threaded discussion boards and other forms of stored communication.