compared dissect

Tool / Medium	Collaborative Advantages	Collaborative Disadvantages	Best Suited to Collaborative:
weblog	easy to post & comment; content is subscribable/ publishable	participation limited to comments	Conversations
wiki	anyone can contribute content	harder to learn; can be easily sabotaged; inelegant appearance	Projects / Alliances
whiteboard	real-time; anyone can contribute content	content only persists for duration of call; possible firewall issues	Conversations / Projects
document-sharing	can be real time; anyone can contribute content	possible firewall issues; attention is focused on a document	Conversations / Projects
IM/skype/phone/ e-mail/ videoconferencing	real-time conversations; audio/visual context; speed	content only persists for duration of call	Conversations
mindmaps	shows and documents consensus	can't capture detail	Projects
discussion forums	threading of comments; content is subscribable/ publishable	limited contextual knowledge of participants; can attract undisciplined behaviours; threads can be hard to follow	Conversations
community of practice/ interest spaces	organization; defined membership; multiple collaborative tools	harder to learn; formality can reduce intimacy and level of participation	Projects / Alliances
personal e-mail groups	flexible; personal; easy to use	e-mail overload/spam; threads get lost or hard to navigate and follow	Projects / Alliances
social networking tools	large number of members; good way to find collaborators	most actual collaboration is done using other tools and media	Finding collaborators
in-person collaboration	easy; real-time; context-rich; flexible	expensive; time-consuming	All of the above if time & cost permits

virtual collaboration alternatives