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There is nothing like a good old-fashioned economic downturn to get companies to start thinking beyond the status quo and start looking for new and better ways to  work.

I found this article as the top link on Google Finance this morning. It is a USAToday/Gannett article about how social media can be used by organizations to help employees work better together. WOW! What a concept, I didn’t see that one coming.    :-O

Some excerpts:

Social networking is going corporate.

The popular technology used by millions of people to share ideas and photos on MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and others is catching on at companies to improve productivity and communication among workers.

The article goes on to quote, Dan Nye of LinkedIn, Gina Bianchini of Ning, and Ross Mayfield of SocialText, among others. The primary benefits that companies can accrue from these tools, according to the article, are reduction in travel expense, which I believe is a real bottom line saving, and email reduction, which I think the jury is still out on.

But, of course, there is so much more. Over time, I think the real value organizations are going to see by making the shift to collaborative and collective systems, will be in the areas of increased employee engagement, improved employee retention, and ultimately elevated levels of customer satisfaction.

And as it just so happens, I am working on a new webinar series with Near-Time to will address these exact issues, so stayed tuned for details.