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Introduction
to Collaboration
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”--George Santayana
What is collaboration? It is a term that has found its way into the press, and, which has been spoken about at conferences on almost a weekly basis. However, what does it really mean?
As part of our research and as industry analysts at Collaborative Strategies (CS,) we track 1,000 tools and services that claim to have some flavor of collaborative functionality However, it has become increasingly obvious, based on the degree of variation in these products and services, that “collaboration” does not mean the same thing to everyone.
There are a variety of definitions for collaboration:
- The art of discovering what
neither of us could produce or invent on our own
- The source of all productivity
- The dance of working with
others
- The joy of engaging in an
“I/ thou” relationship
- The key that will unlock the
solutions to global challenges like war, violence, poverty, racism,
environmental degradation, and human rights abuses
- More than the sum of its parts
- Assertiveness and positive
regard in action
- All of us are smarter than one
of us
- 1 + 1 = >2
Further refinements that help to identify some of the key subsets and elements of collaboration include:
· Synchronous Collaboration: A computer mediated interaction between two or more people that occurs within 5 seconds (i.e. an instant message)
· Asynchronous Collaboration: No time limit on the interaction (i.e. an e-mail or threaded discussion post)
· Semi-synchronous Collaboration: Interaction with intervals longer than 5 seconds but within some prescribed time frame (i.e. a webinar (real-time) that is recorded and saved for a day so those that missed it can see it).
· Data: Bits and bytes
· Information: Data put into context by a human to give it meaning
· Learning: The process of internalizing information, relating it to what we already know
· Knowledge: The application of information, either as action or communication
With the obligatory definitions out of the way, let us look at some of the benefits that collaboration can provide.
