10 ways a social intranet cuts down on email

I’m going to show that many things you accomplish with email can be done more efficiently using internal social networking applications.

I think these apps often do an even better job than emails, especially if you want immediate response or better archiving.

1. Task: Follow up on a report.

Instead of sending email, send an instant message.

Your message will pop into your co-worker’s screen and get their attention immediately. They can respond much more quickly via IM than through email. And you’re not taking up additional memory in your company servers.

2. Task: Get comments on a draft document.

Instead of emailing the draft document, upload it into a folder.

Emailing drafts back and forth can get confusing very quickly. Soon, nobody knows which document is the most updated version. Or you all work on the draft at the same time, and then somebody has to merge everyone’s revisions into one document.