by Angela Guess
A new article offers insight regarding the convergence of master data management and social networks. It begins, “The convergence of Master Data Management (MDM) and social networking is inevitable. Not because we need to jump on the social networking bandwagon to keep MDM interesting and relevant. But because companies like Google (with Google+) and data.com (formerly Jigsaw and now SalesForce.com) have already cemented the relationship between the two.”
It goes on, “The evolving conversation regarding MDM and social networking has two perspectives. One angle considers how to use members of a social network in the management of master data. The other addresses how to use MDM for managing data about members of a social network. The first context for discussing MDM and social networking has been a subject of interest for some time. Crowd-sourcing is the basic social networking mechanism used to accomplish this goal. The ‘crowd’ can be a well-defined group of employees or a coalition of like-minded members of an online service.”
The article adds, “The second recently came to the forefront when Google chairman Eric Schmidt proclaimed that the company will only accept ‘real names’ in Google+. According to GigaOM, Schmidt admitted in an interview ‘Google is taking a hard line on the real-name issue because it sees Google+ as an identity service.’ That sounds a lot like an MDM policy in the making.”
photo credit: Marc_Smith
