Virtual collaboration tools comparison
Lately, the internet got us many collaboration and communication tools to use, from blogs to wikis and forums. And more than that, we still have the classic ways, like messengers and mailing lists, so it’s even harder to make a choice in what to use.
And before comparing this software on Iterating you surely have to decide what kind of program you need. So, look what I found on Dave Pollard’s blog:
| Tool / Medium | Collaborative Advantages | Collaborative Disadvantages | Best Suited to Collaborative: |
| weblog | easy to post & comment; content is subscribable/ publishable | participation limited to comments | Conversations |
| wiki | anyone can contribute content | harder to learn; can be easily sabotaged; inelegant appearance | Projects / Alliances |
| whiteboard | real-time; anyone can contribute content | content only persists for duration of call; possible firewall issues | Conversations / Projects |
| document-sharing | can be real time; anyone can contribute content | possible firewall issues; attention is focused on a document | Conversations / Projects |
| IM/skype/phone/ e-mail/ videoconferencing | real-time conversations; audio/visual context; speed | content only persists for duration of call | Conversations |
| mindmaps | shows and documents consensus | can’t capture detail | Projects |
| discussion forums | threading of comments; content is subscribable/ publishable | limited contextual knowledge of participants; can attract undisciplined behaviours; threads can be hard to follow | Conversations |
| community of practice/ interest spaces | organization; defined membership; multiple collaborative tools | harder to learn; formality can reduce intimacy and level of participation | Projects / Alliances |
| personal e-mail groups | flexible; personal; easy to use | e-mail overload/spam; threads get lost or hard to navigate and follow | Projects / Alliances |
| social networking tools | large number of members; good way to find collaborators | most actual collaboration is done using other tools and media | Finding collaborators |
| in-person collaboration | easy; real-time; context-rich; flexible | expensive; time-consuming | All of the above if time & cost permits |
Posted: August 20th, 2007 under Internet, Software.
Comments: 2
Comments
Comment from anonymous
Time: August 28, 2007, 7:12 am
nice summary
Comment from Chris Paul
Time: October 3, 2007, 5:47 pm
I appreciate your insightfulness to review this subject…it is in my opinion its in the comparison of application where innovation is born.
I for one am seeking (and that is what brought me to your door) a combination of some of these applications included in a membership site……. on the drawing board somewhere Im sure …
thanks for this
Write a comment