For those who came in late, if Facebook were a nation, it would be one of the most populous nations on earth; Facebook is also gaining a larger share of the user’s time online.  There are no doubts about its utility and influence  and is fast becoming  a threat to Google’s dominion. It is surprising then that there is no corporate version of Facebook to harness the potential of this phenomenon.

Here are some of the reasons why a corporate version of Facebook is needed, and why corporates should look forward to one…

Quick Adoption – Almost everyone is familiar with the Facebook interface and training employees to use a corporate variant of Facebook should be a breeze.

Low Cost and Secure – Facebook has the advantages of a cloud computing solution, most importantly enterprise class security and low cost. As a corporate you are spared the cost of setting up the infrastructure, hiring resources or worrying about security. It also goes without saying that you have a solution that is 24×7 (almost 100% uptime)

So what should the corporate version of Facebook be used for.

Since social media is built into the heart of this platform, this is an ideal platform for collaboration, discussions, user generated content and idea generation.

Departments can use the unified interface to post updates, requirements and best practices.
For example the HR team could post job requirements, new announcement or even motivational quotes; the marketing team could put up a promotional banner and collect leads from within; the corporate communications team can use it to disseminate important news; the sales team could use the platform to seek advice before entering into a big business deal and even announce it once the deal has gone through!.

There are other collaborative systems that are capable of doing all the above (even better), however they lack the affinity to the end user. For all that is worth these collaborative systems aren’t used to its potential and wear off in time.  The bane for most organizations that strive to thrive on ideas is the difficulty in using technology to harness the best out of the employees through a collaborative environment. The Facebook corporate edition should come as a boon here because the interface is familiar and ubiquitous.

From a commercial stand-point, Facebook can charge a subscription fee for the usage. Costs can also vary based on different flavors of the service depending  on size, volume of transactions and utility.

I’m sure corporates are ready for such a solution. Hope Facebook is listening!