Collaboration platforms today have a unique ability to connect employees in the workplace on multiple levels. Today that focus is largely around actions that are taken in the workplace. Comments that are made, documents that uploaded, ideas that are submitted, badges that are earned, and a host of other things. But what if we could start to bring together more of of a personal relationship into our workplace? I suppose the first question to ask is, would we even want to do that?
I’ll give you a simple example. I use a device called a Fibit which allows me track my daily activity, think of it as a more advanced “social” pedometer. There is a social networking component built around this which allows me to connect to other people that also have this device. It’s a fun to use because it has a competitive element which makes it engaging. Now what if something like this was integrated into our collaborative work environment where people can see some of my activity data? And better yet, what if my company offered some type of reward or additional incentive for me to be ever more active?
Foursquare could be another example of something that can be integrated into collaboration platforms and for larger enterprises the data could be segmented by location so that it becomes relevant to a local community (from what I recall some platforms have some sort of Foursquare integration). Personally I see a unique and large opportunity for companies such as Fitbit to work with some of collaboration vendors out there to help improve the quality or life for employees.
I happen to be quite passionate about fitness and health and there are a lot of synergies between this and collaboration and it’s an interesting new avenue that I think we can explore to help make collaboration more personal, more real, and even more valuable and engaging.
