Companies often talk about how they want their Intranet to

reflect the heartbeat of their organization, but if the Intranets I have seen

in the last few years are any indication, then many of them are dead.

Why is that?  I think

the main reason is that any web site is a living document and organizations

often forget about the care and feeding that goes along with that living

document.  You have seen this before and

you know the drill.  A great big noise is

made about the Intranet for its launch, and then over time it goes quiet.  Not much of an investment is made in it

because it is “DONE”.  The people

assigned to update its contents have “real” jobs that keep them busy, and

Department Execs are busy shepherding their units, concerned about budgets and

priorities, not whether their department’s info is up to date.

Go ahead; take a look at your Intranet or even your

organization’s Internet presence.  How

much of that material is material from the launch?  How much of it is more than a year old, 3

months old, a month old?

I have always felt that the Intranet needs to have people

dedicated to it full time whose responsibility it is to keep the content fresh

and relevant to the employees.  Where

these people come from and where they exist in the organization is entirely

flexible, but they need to exist.

What do you think? 

Has your Intranet straight-lined? 

 If so, what do you think is wrong

and how would you improve it?  If not,

tell us how and why you manage to keep yours fresh.  Your peers I am sure would be eager to know!