There have b een some great articles and blogs published this past week on the power of social networks and online communities within organizations.  Knowledge Infusion takes a similar point of view as these authors on how to effectively leverage social media within organizations today.

In Sunday's New York Times , there is a very insightful piece on how the Obama campaign not only used social networks to fundraise and get out the vote, but also created a new paradigm for mobilizing citizens of this country throughout his term in office.  "As a result, when he arrives at 1600 Pennsylvania, Mr. Obama will have not just a political base, but a database, millions of names of supporters who can be engaged almost instantly. And there’s every reason to believe that he will use the network not just to campaign, but to govern...  Special-interest groups and lobbyists will now contend with an environment of transparency and a president who owes them nothing. The news media will now contend with an administration that can take its case directly to its base without even booking time on the networks...  More profoundly, while many people think that President-elect Obama is a gift to the Democratic Party, he could actually hasten its demise. Political parties supply brand, ground troops, money and relationships, all things that Mr. Obama already owns [through effective use of social media]. "

Last week, BBC online reported the results of a study conducted by Demos in Europe, in which the authors concluded that business ban employees' use of social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., at their own risk.  "They are part of the way in which people communicate which they find intuitive," [said Peter Bradwell, a Demos researcher and the report's author]. "Banning Facebook and the like goes against the grain of how people want to interact. Often people are friends with colleagues through these networks and it is how some develop their relationships... In today's difficult business environment, the instinctive reaction can be to batten down the hatches and return to the traditional command-and-control techniques that enable managers to closely monitor and measure productivity. Allowing workers to have more freedom and flexibility might seem counter-intuitive, but it appears to create businesses more capable of maintaining stability." The most important element to fully leveraging the power of social networks within organizations is to tie use of social media to a business goal (similar to how the Obama campaign tied the use of social media to its goal of not only electing its candidate, but to truly mobilizing the electorate towards the larger goal of changing the world...)

Finally, getting down to brass tacks on effectively using social media within organizations, Charlene Li posted a terrific blog (click on link, then page down to article) on who should own social media and communities within the organization.  Again, the key point is to have a business goal to which the use of social media and community is tied.

What are your thoughts on the impacts of social media - on the election and within your organization?  As many have written, are social media shifting our organizing paradigms?  How are you experiencing these shifts?