Professional SharePoint 2010 Development, Second Edition

5

Collaboration and Social Computing

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Details about the new social computing features available in SharePoint 2010
• Managing profiles using the User Profile Service Application
• Using the object model and web services to access social data
• My Site enhancements
• What's new in blog and wiki sites

Social computing refers to the use of technology that allows people to connect with each other. Examples include blogs with reader comments, wikis, and social networks on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. In addition, there are new rating applications, web applications, and social technologies being developed, allowing users to connect to and benefit from the strength and knowledge of a community.

Today, your business users are more socially aware, and social applications can be easily adopted. One of the reasons for the quick adoption of SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 was that people needed to connect as a group to collaborate efficiently. When the 2003 version of the product was released, users had fast PCs, quick Internet connections, and the software tools needed to be productive as individuals. The next logical step was learning to use software and creating new applications to also be productive as groups and organizations.

Microsoft has been experimenting with social technology since before the term “social computing” was adopted to bring social concepts to the Internet. Several releases of Internet Explorer contained ...