FCW Insider: Why aren't more orgs using Facebook?

This is a classic study in the zealotry of a new convert.

Last night I decided to take the leap and join Facebook. Initially, I friended two friends but ended up with more than a dozen in just about half an hour. In that short span of time, I realized that the power of this application -- especially for the work setting.

The key function is the news feed. For newbies like myself, this is where you get an automatic feed of Facebook posts from anyone on your friends list (and where your posts show up on their pages). For personal use, it is a great way to keep in touch with the activities of your friends and families. If you post a note about watching a DVD ("John watched Contact…again), they see it immediately (or whenever they login) and can respond on the page (wall-to-wall posts) or send you a personal message. It's that simple.

Now imagine this in a professional group setting, such as a project team (or a newsroom, for that matter). The first key is for each team member (manager included) to "friend" every other member. That way each person's news feed would show posts by everyone else. The second key is for each team member to religiously post updates on their activities (we're talking one sentence here, not formal reports). The net result would be total transparency, both for team members and the manager.

Meanwhile, the personal info section could be used to list professional skills and experience, which might be a handy, if low-tech, knowledge management feature.

I understand the values of wikis, but really, once you are up and running, Facebook is really effortless. Anyone can type in a text box and hit enter. And for basic non-sensitive content, the security is good, since only approved friends can access it.

I still have a lot to learn about it, but folks, I am a true believer.