A 24-hour intranet innovation experience: insights from IBF 24

In terms of knowledge-sharing about intranet innovation, the recent IBF 24 online event, organized by the Internet Benchmarking Forum, may well be a first – both in terms of duration and the amount of insight offered through its live intranet tours.

The event ran for 24 hours and was divided into three eight-hour segments – for Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific, running in that order. More than 700 participants from over 300 organizations worldwide attended, getting the opportunity to take live tours "behind the firewall" at intranets belonging to the BBC, IKEA and IBM (among others) and asking over 200 questions in the process.

In the July/August issue of KM Review, I speak to Paul Miller, chairman of the IBF, and to various IBF 24 participants, about the lessons to be learned about virtual meetings from the success of this event. Here's an outline of what he told me.

The technology is ready and the advantages of online meetings are substantial.
No travel and hotel costs, no wasted time, and no carbon footprint – these are just a handful of the benefits mentioned by attendees. Live tours of world-leading intranets, meanwhile, gave attendees the opportunity to "learn by seeing" – a more powerful, conducive route to innovative intranet strategies. And according to Miller, the technology behind virtual meetings is now "so robust that the only real limitation is your own imagination and expectations."

Online meetings can foster a real sense of community between globally distributed teams.
When was the last time you gathered with all those intranet authors in your organization that are spread around the globe? "IBF 24 showed how this can be done in an efficient, social and fun way," says Stephan Schillerwein, a senior intranet consultant and manager of Schillerwein Net Consulting.

According to Miller of the IBF, the "tone" of the conference was a vital consideration in the planning stages. "We wanted it to have a light-hearted, radio phone-in quality in order to encourage participation. There’s no reason why online meetings need to be dull."

Passion is more important than resources.
If you take a look at the modest "headquarters" that IBF 24 used, catering to more than 700 participants in 16 countries, you get a feeling for what passion enables us to do, says Schillerwein. What would be possible in your organization, if your stakeholders, content managers and management sponsors shared the same passion for your intranet, he asks?

It doesn't take much to fuel participation.
The "My Beautiful Intranet" contest at IBF 24 encouraged a good number of submissions among participants. "There was no big prize for the winner apart from the recognition of the other participants," says Schillerwein, but it created a setting that was conducive to contributing and sharing. "Try to take some of that 'spirit' or 'atmosphere' with you to the meetings you go to in your organization – maybe then new ground for open collaboration and information sharing can be prepared," he says.

Running an intranet is a "people business".
Regardless of the technology used, or whether meetings are virtual or 'real world', running and developing an innovative intranet is still a people business, say participants. "These sites are run by people, for people, who need connecting to people. Technology is useful but passion is key," says participant Mark Tilbury, online manager at accounting and consultancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward.

Until next time,

Jessica

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