The 21st Century Intranet

Jennifer Stone Gonzalez sees intranets as more than mere enhancements of corporate communications; she sees them as exciting tools for revitalizing the corporate environment and the people who work there. The 21st Century Intranet is written for people who want to champion the development on intranets within their organization and who want to ensure that the systems developed add value to the organization and excitement to the workplace.

The thrust of the book is on enhancing communication, starting with persuading upper management to implement intranets wisely and support them appropriately. Although Gonzalez discusses the fundamentals of intranet design and management, she does not refer to them for technical matters but for issues of how organizations communicate and learn. She devotes considerable space to determining which features are most valuable on an intranet, getting senior management involved, coordinating the sites of diverse groups, and encouraging employees to use the intranet as their primary communication tool within the organization--including allaying fears that may arise from the organizational change an intranet may represent.

Gonzalez also addresses the professional development of those who manage intranets. She discusses concerns such as how to determine the real success of your intranet development efforts, how to make the success apparent to senior management, and how to develop intranet creation and management as a career opportunity.