Forward thinking gives IBM an enviable social pedigree.

Byline: d tebbutt

Forward thinking gives IBM an enviable social pedigree

Can you believe that IBM started a formal social computing research initiative back in 1998? It was partly born out of work by David N Smith on a persistent, chat-like environment called Babble. By 2002, it had been deployed to a couple of dozen groups within IBM. At that time, a web-based successor called Loops was created.

In its first web page, IBM's Social Computing Group said: "Our initial explorations have been embodied in online environments aimed at supporting communication among work groups." Unlike many, who like rewriting history, the group's introduction page has barely changed since.

It all goes a long way towards explaining the phenomenon that was the Lotusphere conference in January. It showed how hundreds of different initiatives can eventually arrive at a point where they are part of a cohesive whole. No doubt some of the slick demonstrations owed something to the smoke and mirrors school of presenting, but the emphasis and direction was clear enough.

Most importantly, the user is destined to be the beneficiary through the pursuit of a common interface. Use one product and you have a good idea of how to use another. Not only this, but remixing different software elements does not jar with the user's experience.

The Lotusphere delegates were primarily large organisations with a commitment to Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino. You could hear the relief as they applauded every new announcement. Far from being pushed to the sidelines, the products on which they had built their collaboration activities were clearly integral to IBM's vision. The company was cheered to the rafters when it announced that it had booked the Lotusphere venue for the next 15 years.