Really? Because one fantastically productive team I was once on implemented this practice by eating lunch together most of the time. I have never seen a more effective way of keeping everyone up to date and synced. Sure, they mostly talked about movies, TV, or WTFever, but whenever something critical was in play, it was all about work.
And of course, the manager of that team has not been promoted in over 1.5 decades.
The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
No, not mandating stand ups and open offices, but it's used to justify those things...