HP announced last week that it is launching a social network specifically aimed at IT professionals. The website, called 48Upper, includes popular social networking tools and collaborative knowledge sharing, all aimed at bringing down the stereotype of IT professionals as "being introverted, pessimistic loners," according to the website. The social network even includes a video showing IT professionals laughing, dancing and cartwheeling, leaving other workers asking, "What is up with IT?" and "Have you ever seen an IT guy happy?"
The website will not be limited to HP products, allowing all IT professionals to network with people in other organizations to solve problems and identify solutions. "The combination of function and fun will transform the way IT professionals work, connect, share, and ultimately succeed," the website states.
As the federal government looks to embrace social networking and Web 2.0 tools to transform the way it does business, could a social network geared specifically towards federal IT professionals be useful in helping to solve problems across agency lines? What about for other career fields, such as cybersecurity or human resources?
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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