In his article Is “My Dow Network” a “Social Network”, Dennis McDonald describes a series of reasons for a company to want to offer the social networking experience to a limited internal audience.
In the collaboration systems space there are plenty of examples of private platforms. Systems such as messaging, newsgroups, document sharing and information portals, and especially the old mainstay email are commonly used in a closed environment. Companies can supply them internally (or have hosted on their behalf) and they match well the need for internal consumption and privacy whilst allowing an interface to and from the outside world. But what about the particular dynamic that is fulfilled by online social networking?
Are there any social networking platforms that can host a private instance for clients who want such features in a ring-fenced social sphere?
Or are there any software providers or open source projects that allow companies or societies to deliver an internally housed service to their stakeholders?
And increasingly the more important questions will be:
- how can such systems provide interfaces to leverage information, connections and features that already exist in external (or partner) social networks?
- How could the private system allow a limited flow of information out into third parties, or onto the public domain?
- What provision could there be to allow new joiners to import information, and individuals to retain a copy of information they might want to take elsewhere?
I’m afraid I don’t have any answers to these questions right now, and perhaps that’s a shame. After all, the bulk of our modern economy is based upon information, and unless the entire world of commerce turns around and says “nah, its just hype – there’s not really any lasting value in information about people, their relationships, and anything they share or transact!” then I’m certain there will be a lot of attention (and by consequence cash) being focussed in this area in the coming months and years.
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Learning to network 
Arthur, do a web search for the two phrases “white label” and “social network” together and you’ll see quite a few examples of self-hosted and remotely-hosted services that might begin to meet your requirements.
As with any system, though, it pays to spend up front time asking the types of policy and planning questions you raise before wading into software selection. I’ve used the term “strategic planning” to refer to the type of process you might follow in such a planning exercise.
Also, I applaud your mentioning email as part of the mix. It’s becoming somewhat fashionable to beat up on email due to its lack of basic collaborative features but, like the term “Web 2.0,” we seem destined to have to coexist with it!
Dennis
Comment by Dennis McDonald — May 5, 2008 @ 2:56 pm