Business collaboration, is it possible?

So there are some interesting online tools that have launched this year: GetSatisfaction (my favourite), UserVoice and IdeaScale.

Now each of these tools are similar in their aims: they encourage collaboration and feedback on companies or products in an open environment. I'm guessing most of the people who participate (unless they are employees) are either really happy with a service/product/company or very unhappy. Happiness or unhappiness is more likely to drive participation.

I naturally look at these products (where I belive GetSatisfaction is currently the most successful) and wonder how it could apply to other situations.

What if...

So what if there was a GetSatisfaction that was internal for businesses? It could be for products, departments, etc.

Or what if there was a similar application for internal use, to talk about people?

I think people could (initally) be perceived as a bit dodgy. What if someone talks negatively? Where is the line drawn?

But to be honest, the way I generally approach situations is to believe that the majority of people are generally good people. If problems arise, they can be dealt with at the time. If we live in fear of something bad happening we end up stopping all the good stuff being achieved.

Plus, from experience, some lovely things can happen when you show trust in the people around you.

There is another perceived problem from organisation where the likes of GetSatisfaction give people the opportunity to talk about flaws. These may be flaws which are normally kept secret because of the fear of losing customers (or being found out that their company is not perfect!)

It's all fairly exciting times, where companies have to react, be ethical and produce good quality services or products. If this applies to organisations, I see no reason why it cannot apply to people. Afterall, there are some great 1 man companies out there!