Boardwalk for $ 400

OK, I am crustier than usual  because I am 8,000 miles from home, jet lagged, and the flight home is delayed. But two items this week made me wonder if us participants in social network world have forgotten how to distinguish between Monopoly money and reality.

First, there was the debate Dan Farber facilitated between Prof. Andrew McAfee and Tom Davenport around  "Enterprise 2.0" . As I have written before, to call a category of social networking tools “Enterprise 2.0” is way stretching their capabilities. And an insult to innovations in all other enterprise technology categories I showcase on my New Florence blog.

I will tell you one area that will impact the enterprise, far more than social networks, that I have picked up on this trip. If the US Dollar continues to weaken against the Indian Rupee, it will send ripples through the entire IT outsourcing sector. That will affect CIOs far more than Twitter or Techmeme.

Then I see Technobabble rank “Top 50 analyst bloggers.” It uses Google Page Rank, Bloglines subscribers, Technorati ranking as ranking factors (and a subjective factor). All respected metrics in blog world - but mostly removed from enterprise reality. Enterprise buyers represent, maybe, 10% of those metrics – they read blogs sporadically, if at all.

Much as I enjoy Charlene Li’s blog, her peers John Rymer (on SOA) or Stephanie Moore (on outsourcing) are far better known in enterprises. While Redmonk analysts are great guys, their own site shows their client base as largely vendors, not corporate buyers. How can you rank analysts without buyer metrics? 

I am afraid we are creating an echo chamber of “consumery” conversation which is at the periphery of the enterprise, and pretending it is the new "enterprise". Try using that Monopoly money on the Boardwalk.