Enhancing Productivity through Social Computing

Background

In very simple terms, productivity is a measure of output per unit of input. In economic terms, productivity is crucial as the growth of productivity determines the growth of a country’s material standard of living (Field, 2008). Concerns over the increasing popularity of social computing and its impact on productivity have prompted discussion and analysis from multiple perspectives and research groups. In this section we sample salient viewpoints and work that examines how various forms of social computing is affecting productivity. These forms include social networks, collaborative tagging, and multi-user virtual environments. We start by reviewing efforts to study the aspects of social computing technologies that may enhance productivity, as well as to provide forums for discussion and analysis. Next we focus on learning as an area of opportunity for social computing applications. Then we consider social bookmarking (or collaborative tagging) and its potential to support knowledge-intensive activities. We then center our attention on immersive virtual environments, which typically have been used for recreational purposes, and refer to work intended to introduce professional and productive applications into these environments. Finally, we review briefly work aimed to help organizations take advantage of social networks in the workplace.