Social Networks in the Built Environment

Now that we have established that social media (or Web 2.0) is here to stay, what is the relevance to us as facility management practitioners? When I set out to write this piece, I created a Google Wave and asked my Twitter contacts to participate. I also created the document in Adobe Buzzword. So technically this is not just authored exclusively by me but is in fact, a collaboration through social media tools - all achieved in a single day.

Martin Brown who is a prolific exponent of Web 2.0 in his guise as a founder of Be2Camp.com and @fairsnape on Twitter said, "Social media in the built environment has opened the door for individuals to hold conversations and form relationships across organisational boundaries. This is increasingly important as we enter a new decade where success will come from person-to-person collaboration, rather than past decades of business-to-business focus."

"Leaders and directors of built environment organisations need to address the benefits that social media will bring, building social media into organisational strategies and into individual development plans and competencies. Failure to do so will almost definitely leave them trailing behind their more innovative and successful competitors."

It is clear that this is an enlightened viewpoint, and that there are many who just don't know or don't care about this debate. I personally agree with Brown's perspective. If you want to continue to thrive, then you are going to have to get with the program - and the program now includes social media.

Let's look at the changes in communication that we have seen in the built environment over the last ten years:

• Email is now the principle means of communication;

• File sharing is now common practice;

• Computer-aided design (CAD) is the only form of detailed drawing that exists;

• Visualisations are as standard as perspectives once were;

• Real-time collaboration on the same project is now standard;

• Pre-production time is much shorter due to electronic communication;

• Costs are decreasing due to electronic communication; and

• Sustainability is now at the top of the built environment agenda.

Cloud computing, instant messaging and more
Google Wave, Twitter, instant messaging and others have moved the traditional model of e-snail mail (you write to me then I respond, repeat) to you writing directly to me. In fact, i may start to respond before you have finished and incidentally someone else has joined the virtual conversation. All of a sudden we have shortened the time frame for problem resolution significantly.

Online file sharing (or cloud computing) has now moved on to a higher plane - allowing real-time simultaneous collaboration on the same data from multiple sources. I remember the days when as a young architectural office boy I had to borrow the boss' Rolls Royce, go down to the engineer's office and wait until he drew his input onto the tracing paper drawing. This certainly has changed.

The other significant move forward is the move towards Web-based tools. The cloud computing capability means that no matter what computer you are on, you can still access the tools you need to work. For instance, my business for instance has a Web-based computer-aided facility management system which links to our mobile operatives personal digital assistants and telecoms system, all through the Web. If we had a swine flu outbreak, the team could work from anywhere, including answering the phone. No more desktop-based software.

Designers are now designing in 3-D, using among other free resources Google SketchUp, and consultants are calculating the costs and working out the service routes as the design evolves. I have even seen screens that are 2-metres tall and 4-metres wide (liquid crystal display) with the ability to collaborate through touch while connected to others in remote locations doing the same thing. It is truly something to behold.

New tools and opportunities to consider
The most prolific explosion in communication has been the advent of Twitter. A more useful tool for me is the proliferation of NING networks. These are community-based networks formed by groups or companies to bring together people for projects or subject discussions. They look and feel a bit like Facebook. A good example would be the Be2Camp.com Web site or Arup's Foresight network. They bring together chat, blogs, podcasts, video content and other resources in a visually pleasing and easy-to-use format.

You can see the rise of the profile of social media through IFMA's own activities. You can listen to the FMJ Unscripted podcast on iTunes, visit the association's Facebook page, watch its YouTube channel, follow IFMA on Twitter, join the IFMA group on LinkedIn, see IFMA photos on Flickr and view association presentations on SlideShare. Members can even collaborate on the IFMA online community.

LinkedIn tells us that 55 million professionals use it to exchange information, ideas and opportunities. Although i wasn't so fond of LinkedIn when i first signed up, I'm changing my view. More recently, I have created and utilised corporate links for leads and connections.

I am also a member of a network in Scotland called the Entrepreneurial Exchange which is a network of 450 entrepreneurs who employ 270,000 people and turnover £21 billion sterling. We have a NING network and this is used to collaborate from a business perspective. This is provided by http://network.podcastmatters.co.uk/. This also runs a new media breakfast (NMB) for business professionals to educate them in social media.

I have an amusing anecdote relating to the NMB. I try and attend them all, and I have taken to tweeting from them through Tweetdeck on my laptop. One morning I was busy tweeting during Gordon White's presentation on NING networks (http://tinyurl.com/podcastmatters) when he mentioned NevilleHobson.com - a prolific blogger, podcaster and tweeter as @jangles. I tweeted the reference and within five minutes, I had a direct message from him. He had commented on the presentation which I was able to relay back to the assembled crowd. The inference to the power and speed of the communication was obvious.

What this has taught me is that there are numerous new tools which are creating opportunities in business to collaborate and exchange information far more dynamically than there has ever been before. So, how do we use these tools effectively as opposed to just playing with them as a novelty or for fun?

How social media applies to FM
The answer for me lies in the emergence of new collaboration tools specifically targeted at the built environment. The Be2Camp unconference at Total Workplace Management in London in October 2009 showcased some very interesting collaboration tools. One tool (http://www.asite.com/) allows you to brand and customise a number of applications, all of which are collaborative. A live example of the application is the http://www.buildlondonlive.com/ design competition held over 48 hours in December - a live design competition held online. The system is described as Building Information Modelling.

Recently, I have seen some examples that take this a step further. Take for example, the creation of a virtual design studio which designers around the globe subscribe to and then seek commissions from international clients. The global network of designers uses something like ArchiCAD 13 from http://www.graphisoft.com/ to deliver the design. While one sleeps, another continues to work. It's all about 24/7 productivity and the corresponding speed of pre-production and detailed design.

Did you know that Pepsi did not advertise in its usual slot at the Super Bowl XLIV but instead diverted the US$20 million the company usually spends into a social media campaign?

The Australian telecoms giant Telestra has gone a step further. It insists that the company's 40,000 employees are trained in the use of social media. It has designed an online training program to help them too. See the guide online at http://www.exchange.telstra.com.au/training/flip.html.

There is one other significant technology that could have a significant impact on the built environment if developed appropriately. Augmented Reality is a recent technology available on a Google Android phone or the iPhone 3GS through http://www.layar.com/. It utilises a combination of the device's camera, mobile Web, Global Positioning System and accelerometer (the bit that knows which way the device is orientated). You quite simply open the software, point the camera at something and it tells you what it is. If you are in an unfamiliar city and want to know where the nearest metro or public transit is, simply point it and follow the links on screen.

Translate this capability into the built environment, and imagine a day where you can point a device at a project or building and it will show you visualisations of the finished product, the details for the design team and the opening date. Point it at a facility and get the environmental performance information, the rental costs and occupant Web sites. Take it one step further and imagine pointing it at a wall in a building and immediately seeing the route of the services, the thickness, whether it is load bearing or not. The possibilities are truly endless and tremendously exciting.

"What's in a name," said Richard Byatt, BIFM communications director. "Do you think social media - with all its connotations of personal networking and leisure - puts some organisations off exploring it, let alone adopting it?"

"I guess, those with the motivation will be early adopters and spend time trying different tools. If the familiarisation period is quick enough that's fine. If it takes six months to get the hang of it and then it falls out of favour, that's not so good."

It is leading us to a better place. The advent of CAD, email and electronic collaboration is now considered last decade. We can expect to be working live across multiple platforms, all of which are Web-based and utilise cloud computing, over several time zones, with a large number of professionals on projects which will be procured faster and designed more efficiently, and they will be more sustainable too.

Believe me, if you aren't already on board with social media, you should be.

Murray would like to thank his Twitter and Google Wave friends for collaborating on this piece.

Iain is currently Deputy Chair of Global FM. He can be reached through any of the following social media outlets:

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