On The Smarter Office blog at Plantronics, I just posted on how people make the collaboration, not the specific tools being used:

“With the many types of collaboration tools available, it’s tempting to think that you have to use a certain collaboration tool in order to be “collaborating.” This line of thinking – which comes across strongly from vendors of the newer collaboration tools, as well as early adopters who get a buzz out of promoting new things – says that if you aren’t using a team workspace, a social community, activity streams, or screen sharing then you aren’t collaborating. Phooey.

As I stated in my second post, collaboration means people working together. This was made up of joint action, an outcome-orientation, communication, and agreements. When you see those four elements coming together in a team or group of people, you have collaboration taking place. It’s the presence of these elements, not a particular “flavour of the month” technology, that make for collaboration.

But technology does have a role to play in supporting and enabling collaboration.“

Read more: People Make the Collaboration, Not the Tools – But Tools Have a Friction Profile