Communication is the focal point for all successful interaction within and across organizations. As communication tools and technologies have evolved over the decades, the nature and expectations of the workforce have changed. The figure below shows a collection of sites, services, methods, and technologies mapped along the axes of Location and Collaboration.

In the lower half of the graphic are the traditional, tangible methods of communication, such as company directories, manuals, newsletters, meetings, conferences, as well as the company picnic, hallway discussions, and informal chatter around the water cooler. The collaboration and communication technologies shown in the top half of the figure have grown out of the digital age: in the upper left are those referred to as Web 1.0 and in the upper right are what have collectively been called Web 2.0.

The term Web 1.0 is a “retronym”– a term developed after the creation of the term Web 2.0 in order to refer to the previous state of the Web. Web 1.0 can be generally characterized by the development of static websites with read-only material, widespread computer illiteracy, and slow Internet connections. Some examples of websites that have evolved from the Web 1.0 era are Yahoo! and Amazon.

According to Wikipedia, “Web 2.0 describes the changing trends in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aim to enhance creativity, communications, secure information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web. Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development and evolution of web culture communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies.”The main difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 is that of programmer-generated content versus user-generated content, hence Web 2.0 places a heavy focus on ease-of-use so that users can easily contribute content on a real-time basis.

Web 2.0 technologies cover a broad spectrum of websites, services, methods, and tools such as the following:

Online Marketplace–where buyers and sellers collaborate over offers and purchases, such as pioneer eBay, and later Amazon, Craigslist, Angieslist, and now all major retailers.

Mass Communication Tools–where workers communicate freely in a subscription-based or ad hoc approach, such as RSS feeds, readers, blogs, podcasts, videocasts, YouTube, Flickr.

Instant Messaging–tools that facilitate remote collaboration over the Web through real-time messaging, such as trailblazer ICQ and now Yahoo, AIM, MSN, Google Talk, and Skype.

Social Software–where users network and communicate with others of similar interests, such as MySpace, Facebook, Linked-In, Plaxo, Orkut, Xing, Ning, SelectMinds, and many others.

Collaborative Documentation or wikis–where people contribute knowledge to build a common database, such as pioneer Wikipedia, and others such as Answers, Google Docs, Jive, SocialText, Confluence, and Basecamp.

Web Meetings–screen sharing, audio, and video via the Web allowing users to conduct virtual meetings and collaboration sessions, with such products as WebEx, GoToMeeting, and Dimdim.

VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol)–a method for transmitting voice over the Web enabling real-time conversations, such as Skype, Vonage, and MagicJack.

Web Development Software–collaborative Web 2.0 programming languages and tools that improve the user experience, such as Ruby on Rails, Drupal, Ajax, Flash, Dreamweaver, etc.

Tags and Social Bookmarking–a framework for storing, organizing, searching, and managing websites via metadata and making information publically available to others, such as Delicious and Google Bookmarks.

Smart phones–Web-enabled, multi-function cellular telephones, incorporating telephony, calendaring, Web surfing, music/video, and gaming, such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Palm Treo.

Status Updates–tools that that facilitate staying touch with friends and colleagues, such as SMS (Short Message Service) commonly known as text messaging, as well as microblogging tools like Dodgeball and Twitter.

Crowdsourcing or Community-based Design–taking an activity generally performed inhouse and outsourcing it to a large group of undefined people to enhance work and innovation, such as vendors using potential customers to help design new products.

Virtual Reality Software–software that simulates another world that can be used to create more effective, life-like training scenarios, such as Second Life and World of Warcraft.

Effective leadership of the modern, multi-local workforce requires agility and mastery of skills along many dimensions, from informal chats to networking approaches to formal meetings and written documentation. The figure below summaries key communication strategies common for each of the four groups of workers making up today’s talentforce: local, remote, digital, and virtual.