The Future of Collaboration

NetworkWorld tackles an interesting question on whether the younger generation's tendencies to use technology to collaborate will actually increase the amount of collaboration in the workplace. The writers contend that tools such as text messaging, instant messaging and Twitter facilitate collaboration, but only low level forms of it, especially given that the younger generation often prefers such methods over face-to-face communication.

The conclusion is that such collaborative tools might prove useful for things like telling co-workers you may be late for a meeting, but not useful for tackling large problems or projects in the workplace.

Still, I see this issue as becoming less and less of a generational one, especially as older generations in the workplace increasingly embrace text messaging and Web 2.0 tools. Collaborative tools also are not limited to text-messaging and Twitter, and their usefulness is generally not limited to internal communication but also to external communication with relevant stakeholders.

So are the writers correct? In the future workplace, will face-to-face interaction still prevail as the best means to solving problems and completing projects?