*Update: This blog is really old! Check out a more recent post on this topic here.
Bob Buckman, chairman of Buckman Laboratories, wrote his ideas for the ultimate idea-sharing system back in the 80s--before the web existed.
His seven points, as I read in If Only We Knew What We Know, describe the perfect intranet:
1. One transfer step in the transmission of ideas between individuals, to avoid distortion.
2. All employees have access
3. All employees can contribute content
4. Available anywhere, 24/7
5. Search function that indexes every word
6. Users contribute in their native language. Translation provided where appropriate.
7. Content updates automatically.
I can't get over how prescient this list is. Or that it's taken this long for "idea-sharing systems" that meet most of this criteria to be widely available. In fact, I'm not sure if there are more than one or two systems that can fulfill step #6. (We can.)
Have questions? Get in touch! We're always happy to hear from you.