Virtual Collaboration
Encyclopedia
Virtual collaboration originated with the advent of video conferencing technologies provided over the Internet
. It involves two or more people working together to accomplish a task without the use of face to face interaction. Early examples of virtual collaboration
include Audio Conferencing, Video Conferencing, Telepresence
, 3D platforms or Computer mediated communication, and the more recent example of Mobile collaboration
. With the advent of web 2.0
interactive capabilities virtual collaboration took on a much broader meaning, allowing for the full spectrum of activities and behaviors that are required for two or more people to come together and co-create new work through a process similar to stigmergy
in living systems
.
Virtual collaboration allows many people to collaborate on many idea's, topics or projects in both synchronous and asynchronous time. The essence of Virtual Collaboration is sharing. By creating an environment to share idea's related to infinite topics, Virtual collaboration taps into a global network of intelligence. In today's gobalized markets, with their distributed corporate functions and complex supply chains, old boundaries – physical, cultural, and organizational – are melting away. Virtual collaboration enables flexibility, creativity and innovation without benefit of a physical environment associated with traditional organizational structures of the 20th century.
Some of the most common uses of virtual collaboration include interactive meetings, virtual training, and onboarding new employees. Many educators use virtual collaboration in their course work. Life sciences companies are turning to virtual collaboration as a way to facilitate poster sessions with participants from around the world . Many companies also utilize virtual collaboration technologies as a means to reduce travel expenses and boost employee productivity as a result of less travel. The explosion in telecommuting and remote working has led more companies to seek virtual collaboration solutions.
In the late 20th century and early 21st century numerous organizations began to realize the possibilities of virtual collaboration. Wikipedia is itself a product of one branch of virtual collaboration, called Open Virtual Collaboration.
Open virtual collaboration is based on the theories of living systems
and includes concepts such as self-organization
, chaos theory
and emergence
. Open virtual collaboration allows persons with a connection to the internet to seek out participation from others in the design and development of new ideas, processes, products, and services for personal and commercial purposes. Information technologies such as tagging
and filtering
ease the process of finding collaborators online. International Business Machines (IBM) and Procter & Gamble
were early commercial beneficiaries of the practice of open virtual collaboration. By accessing the collective intelligence and wisdom of non-affiliated humans connected via the internet companies are able to access knowledge and expertise that might otherwise require significant cost and effort.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. It involves two or more people working together to accomplish a task without the use of face to face interaction. Early examples of virtual collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
include Audio Conferencing, Video Conferencing, Telepresence
Telepresence
Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location....
, 3D platforms or Computer mediated communication, and the more recent example of Mobile collaboration
Mobile collaboration
Mobile collaboration is a technology-based process of communicating utilizing electronic assets and accompanying software designed for use in remote locations...
. With the advent of web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
interactive capabilities virtual collaboration took on a much broader meaning, allowing for the full spectrum of activities and behaviors that are required for two or more people to come together and co-create new work through a process similar to stigmergy
Stigmergy
Stigmergy is a mechanism of indirect coordination between agents or actions. The principle is that the trace left in the environment by an action stimulates the performance of a next action, by the same or a different agent...
in living systems
Living systems
Living systems are open self-organizing living things that interact with their environment. These systems are maintained by flows of information, energy and matter....
.
Virtual collaboration allows many people to collaborate on many idea's, topics or projects in both synchronous and asynchronous time. The essence of Virtual Collaboration is sharing. By creating an environment to share idea's related to infinite topics, Virtual collaboration taps into a global network of intelligence. In today's gobalized markets, with their distributed corporate functions and complex supply chains, old boundaries – physical, cultural, and organizational – are melting away. Virtual collaboration enables flexibility, creativity and innovation without benefit of a physical environment associated with traditional organizational structures of the 20th century.
Some of the most common uses of virtual collaboration include interactive meetings, virtual training, and onboarding new employees. Many educators use virtual collaboration in their course work. Life sciences companies are turning to virtual collaboration as a way to facilitate poster sessions with participants from around the world . Many companies also utilize virtual collaboration technologies as a means to reduce travel expenses and boost employee productivity as a result of less travel. The explosion in telecommuting and remote working has led more companies to seek virtual collaboration solutions.
In the late 20th century and early 21st century numerous organizations began to realize the possibilities of virtual collaboration. Wikipedia is itself a product of one branch of virtual collaboration, called Open Virtual Collaboration.
Open virtual collaboration is based on the theories of living systems
Living systems
Living systems are open self-organizing living things that interact with their environment. These systems are maintained by flows of information, energy and matter....
and includes concepts such as self-organization
Self-organization
Self-organization is the process where a structure or pattern appears in a system without a central authority or external element imposing it through planning...
, chaos theory
Chaos theory
Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...
and emergence
Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems....
. Open virtual collaboration allows persons with a connection to the internet to seek out participation from others in the design and development of new ideas, processes, products, and services for personal and commercial purposes. Information technologies such as tagging
Tag (metadata)
In online computer systems terminology, a tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information . This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching...
and filtering
Filter (software)
A filter is a computer program to process a data stream. Some operating systems such as Unix are rich with filter programs. Even Windows has some simple filters built into its command shell, most of which have significant enhancements relative to the similar filter commands that were available in...
ease the process of finding collaborators online. International Business Machines (IBM) and Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
were early commercial beneficiaries of the practice of open virtual collaboration. By accessing the collective intelligence and wisdom of non-affiliated humans connected via the internet companies are able to access knowledge and expertise that might otherwise require significant cost and effort.