Thanks to Liz Williams, Brett Miller, V Mary Abraham, James Monroe, Stan Garfield, Juha Krapinoja, Allison Maguire, Ryan McClead, Ben Hack, Kelly Craft, David Wallace, Joe Raimondo for joining the dialogue.

Here’s the complete transcript:

Greetings #KMers! Before we kickoff the discussion on Social Computing and #KM, please introduce yourself. #KMers

October 4, 2011 8:59 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Liz Williams here in London #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:01 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@liz_with_hat

Liz W

My name is Jeff Hester, and I'm a #KM business analyst at Fluor in SoCal. I'll be moderating this TweetChat today. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:01 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Brett Miller here in St. Louis, MO #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:02 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

Mary Abraham from AboveandBeyondKM.com in transit in NYC. Hope my connectivity holds up as I travel during the next few minutes. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:02 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

James Monroe From Chicago,Il #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:02 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@shinkakida

James Monroe

Hi, Jeff. Stan Garfield with Deloitte in Detroit. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:03 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

Welcome @liz_with_hat @gbrettmiller @VMaryAbraham @shinkakida #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:03 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Juha Krapinoja, Helsinki, Finland. KM/ECM/SoMe Consultant German/Finnish/English spoken #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:03 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

Allison Maguire from Reading, UK #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:03 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@maguireap

Allison Maguire

Excellent! Some familiar and (to me) new faces. Let's dive in. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:04 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Q1: How do you define social computing, and how does it differ from KM? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:05 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Ryan McClead in NYC. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:05 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

I think of social computing as an enabler for KM. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:07 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@maguireap

Allison Maguire

Social computing is a process by which people interact to make things happen... #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:07 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

...KM is how organizations leverage and exploit the results of those interactions. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:08 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

Participating in kmers.org TweetChat. Answer to Q1: Social computing is very useful for KM, and it is has other uses #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:08 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

"Exploit" in a non-pejorative way, that is. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:08 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@maguireap Social computing enables KM... can you elaborate? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:08 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

First thought: SocComp is more relation- & network-centric and KM more asset-centric. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:09 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

@JuKra59 The unspoken flipside to Q1 is "How do you define KM?" For many it is asset-centric. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:10 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

RT @JuKra59: First thought: SocComp is more relation- & network-centric and KM more asset-centric. -> agree #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:10 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@gbrettmiller agreed, but KM can also be one of the things people make happen using social computing. Can be involved at either end. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:10 am via DestroyTwitterReplyRetweetFavorite

@liz_with_hat

Liz W

Social computing: creation and exchange of user-generated content - very useful for KM within an organization #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:11 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

By some (older?) definitions, #KM is a database for capture and reuse of explicit knowledge. Most of us believe it's much more.. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:12 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Social computing enables people to make connections, share knowledge and create new knowledge. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:12 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@maguireap

Allison Maguire

@liz_with_hat absolutely #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:12 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

I hear several of you saying social computing is a means to #KM, and possible more. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:13 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

social computing could also be seen as a generic name for the interfaces and activities, which take place within the KM process. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:13 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

@jeffhester @Jukra59 2G KM is also network-centric, tho. It's not just assets, it's the ppl who generate them and how they interact #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:13 am via DestroyTwitterReplyRetweetFavorite

@liz_with_hat

Liz W

@jeffhester Bernhard Hack here, with GIZ / CGIAR #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:13 am via Twitter for iPadReplyRetweetFavorite

@benhack

benhack

Which leads to Q2: What social computing tools and approaches are working well for you? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:13 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

A1: is it as simple as saying that social computing covers tools & ways of interacting while KM is abt how we handle specific info? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:14 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

@liz_with_hat You could say that those people and their interactions are themselves "assets", at least from an org perspective #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:14 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@liz_with_hat Great point! The real value of #KM comes through the interaction of people. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:15 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

A1: Soc Comp is the modern communications infrastructure. It can be used for KM, but is not KM by itself. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:15 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

@gbrettmiller @JuKra59 #kmers Wouldn't anything with "Management" in its title be more asset-centric?

October 4, 2011 9:15 am via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@moehlert

Mark Oehlert

@gbrettmiller true, but people usually aren't motivated by language that they perceive as objectifying them #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:16 am via DestroyTwitterReplyRetweetFavorite

@liz_with_hat

Liz W

@jeffhester Trying to define #KM is like voluntarily jumping down an endless rabbit hole! #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:16 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

RT @rmcclead: A1: Soc Comp is the modern communications infrastructure. It can be used for KM, but is not KM by itself. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:16 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

Q2: threaded discussions, blogs, wikis, team spaces, microblogs, videos, tagging #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:16 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

I dislike the "tools discussion" and like to keep the people in the focus. KM projects are like psychoterapy for organisations. ;-) #Kmers

October 4, 2011 9:16 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

true RT @VMaryAbraham: @jeffhester Trying to define #KM is like voluntarily jumping down an endless rabbit hole! #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:16 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@krcraft

Kelly Craft

True! RT @VMaryAbraham: @jeffhester Trying to define #KM is like voluntarily jumping down an endless rabbit hole! #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:17 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

RT @VMaryAbraham: @jeffhester Trying to define #KM is like voluntarily jumping down an endless rabbit hole! #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:17 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

A1: Social computing is about presence and conversations - what might activity streams say about #innovation potential? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:18 am via Twitter for iPadReplyRetweetFavorite

@benhack

benhack

@JuKra59 I understand yr reluctance 2 focus on tools, but the tools have contributed 2 the ability 2 B social online #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:19 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

The means to and end? PRT @benhack: Social computing is about presence and conversations... #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:19 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

SocComp mostly happens 'now', KM mainly has its reflections in the past and in the future and the interactions (SocComp) happen now. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:19 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

@JuKra59 is social computing all about the tools? Or is it about how we connect? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:20 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

As follow up to my A1: KM in a large diverse organization without Social Computing is almost impossible. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:20 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

@jeffhester Social computing is abt the network we build and interact w/ via specific tools #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:21 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

A recurring theme seems to be that Social Computing enables effective #KM. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:22 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

RT @VMaryAbraham: @jeffhester Social computing is abt the network we build and interact w/ via specific tools #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:22 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@VMaryAbraham "tech-first" initiatives often underestimate the non-tech aspects. If they are 'OK', technology is quite uncritical. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:22 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

@rmcclead KM is not entirely impossible, but certainly more difficult w/o social computing #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:22 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

Some organizations utilize social computing tools to build ad hoc "communities." Which leads to Q3... #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:23 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

I may have overstated. :) RT @VMaryAbraham: @rmcclead KM is not entirely impossible, but certainly more difficult w/o social comp #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:23 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

Joined #KMers. Excited to be with you! I think new kind of digital workflows are desperately needed for better society.

October 4, 2011 9:23 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@jessesoininen

jessesoininen

Social computing is not about the tools, but how we use the tools. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:23 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@JuKra59 Absolutely agree. I don't endorse a " tech-first" discussion but acknowledge that these tools are special #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:24 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

Q3: Where do informal social computing "communities" or team rooms fit in the context of communities of practice? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:24 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

@rmcclead Well, when you have only 140 characs, it's easy to do. ;-) #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:25 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

If the "tribe" finds the motivation and their will to share, they'll find a way to do that. The informal communities are the best CoP #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:25 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

A3: the communities and teams are critical to social computing -- it's the network #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:26 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

Back to Q1 via Q3: Social computing is (at its heart) a "bottom-up" activity, while KM is more of a "top-down" activity. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:26 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@VMaryAbraham I think #KM without a soc comp component may be more effective, but very limited in reach and persistence. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:27 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

RT @JuKra59: If the "tribe" finds the motivation and will to share, they'll find a way. The informal communities are the best CoP #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:27 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@gbrettmiller I'd argue that both social computing & KM can & should work in both directions. Depends on context. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:28 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

KM - per definition /shouldn't/ be top down. However, it unfortunately often is - and fails being so. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:28 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

A3: I differentiate between community sites, websites, & team spaces. Communities should be open, and team spaces are often closed #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:28 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

@gbrettmiller Unless, of course, you involve different layers/strata of execs, line workers, customers -- social beats hierarchy. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:28 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@deedubya

David Wallace

@gbrettmiller Is #KM really a top down activity? Should it be? I guess I don't think of it that way. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:28 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

@jeffhester A3: It would be hard to sustain any #COP wihtout the feeling of connectedness the social tools can give you #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:29 am via Twitter for iPadReplyRetweetFavorite

@benhack

benhack

@VMaryAbraham I think they can both work at both levels, but not so sure they work in both directions #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:29 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

Team spaces are useful to a project team or work unit to collaborate, but should not be used to isolate knowledge useful to others #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:29 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

@rmcclead I agree that social computing can reduce barriers to #KM and increase participation/ reach #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:30 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

KM and SocComputing are like Nitro and Glycerin. Each alone, so-la-la but together; oh-la-la! 1+1=3 (at least) #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:30 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

@rmcclead goes back to how you define KM. If you see it as a "management of assets", as I tend to, top-down seems appropriate #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:30 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

Interesting perspectives on top down vs bottom up. Approach may depend on the nature of the knowledge and expertise shared. @jukra59 #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:31 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

@benhack @jeffhester KM top-down rep comes from yrs of failed mgmt efforts to harvest brain contents. Social/COP more open, invite #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:31 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@deedubya

David Wallace

@gbrettmiller Can you say more abt this? I've seen social computing mandated/modeled at the top & grassroots #KM #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:31 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

@deedubya Agreed. Ideally, KM should be collaborative, not hierarchical. Gets better co-operation, if for no other reason. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:32 am via DestroyTwitterReplyRetweetFavorite

@liz_with_hat

Liz W

IMHO "management of assets" is just one part of KM. Activity, cultural awareness and trust are needed top-down as well as bottom-up #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:32 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

@stangarfield how do you help get knowledge from a closed team room to an open community? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:32 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Personally, I see both: provide strategy from the top down; enable innovation and collaboration from the bottom up. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:33 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

@liz_with_hat Yes, collaboration is good. Hierarchy may help align/reinforce link btwn knowledge flow & strategy #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:33 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

@deedubya if you define #KM has "harvesting brain contents" you've already failed. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:34 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

@jeffhester @stangarfield Need to identify the boundary spanners and get them to share in their COPs #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:34 am via Twitter for iPadReplyRetweetFavorite

@benhack

benhack

#jeffhester I agree. I see the challenges in KM initiatives mainly in the management of cultural change, what is needed in between #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:34 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

@VMaryAbraham social computing can be mandated from the top-down, but only actually executed from the bottom up. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:34 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

Help users choose the right tools; encourage posting to open repositories & linking from team rooms; help move content into the open #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:34 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

Since we're discussing top-down/bottom-up approaches, this leads to Q4... #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:35 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

gotta go, will catch up tomorrow. Thanks @gbrettmiller @deedubya @JuKra59 for interesting discussion and @jeffjester for moderating #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:35 am via DestroyTwitterReplyRetweetFavorite

@liz_with_hat

Liz W

@benhack Agree #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:35 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

RT @stangarfield: Help users choose the right tools; encourage posting to open repositories & linking from team rooms; help move content ...

October 4, 2011 9:35 am via Twitter for iPadReplyRetweetFavorite

@benhack

benhack

Q4: Should social computing tools be "managed?" Why or why not? To what degree? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:36 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

RT @VMaryAbraham: A3: the communities and teams are critical to social computing -- it's the network #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:36 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@mijori23

Michael J Ricard

@gbrettmiller I've seen powerful social computing executed @ the top of the hierarchy. Perhaps it's abt context-appropriate execution #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:37 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham

I think if you only take a bottom up approach with no links to business drivers from top, you will fail to get real benefit. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:37 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@maguireap

Allison Maguire

A4: The more such "management" means restrictions, the more of the "tribe" flees to other channels of their choice. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:38 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

RT @stangarfield: Help users choose the right tools; encourage posting to open repositories & linking from team rooms; help move content ...

October 4, 2011 9:38 am via Twitter for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

@jeffhester A4 Suggest policies/practices more than tools -- platforms are like smartphones, tablets everyone finds their faves. #Kmers

October 4, 2011 9:38 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@deedubya

David Wallace

RT @stangarfield: Help users choose the right tools; encourage posting to open repositories & linking from team rooms; help move content ...

October 4, 2011 9:38 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@deedubya

David Wallace

#KM #KMers KM Chicago October 11th meeting, with Jeff Merrell http://t.co/m8PM0Lli

October 4, 2011 9:39 am via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@knowledgetank

knowledgetank

@VMaryAbraham I would say that the actual location in the hierarchy isn't important, people engage in SocComp because they want to #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:39 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

A4: social tools should be guided, governance is necessary to avert chaos but its a delicate balance.#KMers

October 4, 2011 9:39 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@maguireap

Allison Maguire

A4: There are tradeoffs betwen open/uncontrolled and managed/controlled social computing. Some management is helpful to avoid chaos #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:39 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

A4: Back to defining. Define Managed. It depends. Too much control stifles collaboration and creativity. Not enough limits usefulness #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:39 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

@deedubya Great suggestion. Also allows flexibility, since the tools are constantly evolving and new tools emerging. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:39 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

The alternative channels are probably non-manageable so I (European... ;-) consider it better to offer a relatively free environment #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:40 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

This is a contentious topic: some people want no limits, & some want to tightly control. Get all views, use common sense, be flexible #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:40 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

A4: I think "guided" may be a more appropriate approach than "managed". #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:41 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

RT @maguireap: A4: social tools should be guided, governance is necessary to avert chaos but its a delicate balance.#KMers #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:41 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@maguireap so some governance helps build trust, reliability and credibility? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:41 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Effective KM with social computing requires a commitment to openness from top tier executives. w/out that, soc comp can not work #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:41 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

Amen! RT @gbrettmiller A4: I think "guided" may be a more appropriate approach than "managed". #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:42 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@deedubya

David Wallace

Good choice of words. RT @gbrettmiller: A4: I think "guided" may be a more appropriate approach than "managed". #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:42 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Agree RT @gbrettmiller: A4: I think "guided" may be a more appropriate approach than "managed". #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:42 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

My Enterprise Networking Policy: 1. Respect the company values 2. use common sense. The rest can be regulated offline #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:42 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

A4 Perspectives are changing, @marciamarcia wrote a very insightful piece on the "social enterprise" http://t.co/P8EOVuYE #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:42 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@JoeRaimondo

Joe Raimondo

@rmcclead Agree #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:43 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

@stangarfield Depends on sensitivity of content/strategy. Worked on Open Inno programs where lower-value stuff cd be crowdsourced #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:43 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@deedubya

David Wallace

Yes governance can build trust in the tool integrity but equally could breakdown trust if mishandled.#KMers

October 4, 2011 9:43 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@maguireap

Allison Maguire

enlightened RT @JuKra59: My Enterprise Networking Policy 1Respect the company values 2 use common sense. The rest can be reg offline #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:44 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

Provide guidance, rather than management. Keep a light touch, but provide direction to avoid chaos. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:45 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

@jeffhester precisely! #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:45 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

Q5: So when does social computing and collaboration become KM? Is there a boundary between the two at all? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:46 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

RT @jeffhester: Provide guidance, rather than management. Keep a light touch, but provide direction to avoid chaos. #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:46 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@jeffhester Provide guidance to the SocComp process, then manage the output of that process for business value (a restatement of A1) #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:48 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

If you were to draw a picture of the relationship of social computing and KM, what would it look like? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:48 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

A5: Social computing supports KM, but it also supports marketing, recruiting, PR, customer relations, etc. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:49 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

Q5 Really is a matter of strategy. Is strategy about promoting social expression or about strategic capture amplification & reuse? #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:49 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@JoeRaimondo

Joe Raimondo

Social Computing & Collaboration and KM go together like ham and eggs. Well consumable separately but taste best together. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:49 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

KM can make good use of social computing, but it can also make use of many other people, process, and technology components. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:50 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

Participating in our first Advanced KM Working Group here in Santa Clara #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:50 am via Mobile WebReplyRetweetFavorite

@tracyconn

Tracy Conn

A Venn diagram would show two circles which intersect, but also have non-intersecting areas. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:51 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

@stangarfield You read my mind. Fits with @jukra59's ham and eggs analogy, too. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:52 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

A5: I don't think SocComp/Collab ever "become" KM, they are two separate but complementary things (ham and eggs - @JuKra59) #kmers

October 4, 2011 9:53 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

RT @stangarfield: A5: Social computing supports KM, but it also supports marketing, recruiting, PR, customer relations, etc. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:53 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@thelaurenklein

thelaurenklein

@tracyconn Hi, Tracy. You can let the other #APQC advanced working group members know the weekly KMers.org TweetChat is going on now #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:54 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

Addendum to the ham&eggs analogy: The plate underneath is the technology. Size and color don't matter as long as H&E taste ok. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:56 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

Q6: In an ideal world, how would you provide guidance on social computing and would it relate to how you manage knowledge? #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:57 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Enjoy the beautiful California sunshine! RT @tracyconn Participating in our first Advanced KM Working Group here in Santa Clara #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:57 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@candicedeforest

Candice

+1 RT @JuKra59: Addendum to the ham&eggs analogy: The plate underneath is the tech. Size & color dont matter as long as H&E taste ok. #KMers

October 4, 2011 9:58 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

A6: I see the connection e.g. in adding value by "liking", tagging and commenting, which should be endorsed as a SOP for everyone. #KMers.

October 4, 2011 9:59 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

A6: Make people aware of available tools, explain when to use each, integrate with KM/intranet, make easy to use, listen, improve #KMers

October 4, 2011 10:01 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

Q6 The set of core skills at an individual level for being effective at "social" that is still emerging. Social media literacy. #kmers

October 4, 2011 10:02 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@JoeRaimondo

Joe Raimondo

A6: Social computing is going to affect speed of know sharing, know creation, innovation, networks and in turn how we manage results. #Kmers

October 4, 2011 10:03 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@maguireap

Allison Maguire

That went by quickly! The hour is upon us. Thanks to everyone for joining the discussion today. #KMers

October 4, 2011 10:03 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

An interesting cross-section of KM and SocComp is BI and Mgmt consulting based on Social Network Analysis. A future chat topic? #KMers

October 4, 2011 10:04 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

@jeffhester Thank you #KMers

October 4, 2011 10:04 am via RockMeltReplyRetweetFavorite

@rmcclead

Ryan McClead

Please feel free to continue the dialog. I will capture the transcript and post on KMers.org#KMers

October 4, 2011 10:05 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

Thanks @jeffhester #Kmers

October 4, 2011 10:05 am via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite

@maguireap

Allison Maguire

@jeffhester Thanks for a great discussion. I learned things about my own opinions on KM and SocComp that I never realized before. #kmers

October 4, 2011 10:05 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

@JuKra59 Sounds like a great topic. Are you volunteering? #KMers

October 4, 2011 10:05 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

@gbrettmiller Thanks. It helped crystalize my thinking as well. #KMers

October 4, 2011 10:06 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@jeffhester

Jeff Hester

@jeffhester What is it they say, "you don't know what you think about something until you actually say it"? That was me today. #kmers

October 4, 2011 10:06 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@gbrettmiller

Brett Miller

Thanks, all. The past hour was a blast! :-) #KMers

October 4, 2011 10:08 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JuKra59

Juha Krapinoja

If you’ve got a KM-related subject you would like to discuss, get involved! Volunteer to moderate a TweetChat at KMers.org.

Related posts:

1. Social Computing and Knowledge Management Social networking tools have taken off in the past five...
2. Social Media and Knowledge Management Social media is often cast as being at odds with...
3. Knowledge Management, Highways, Byways and Cars Chris Collison (which I keep wanting to read as collision...

Social networking tools have taken off in the past five years.

Social computing is a broad term that encompasses a range to tools, including blogs, wikis, profiles (with social/professional connections), microblogging and discussion forums.

Are you an advocate for social computing? A knowledge management practitioner? Join me on Tuesday, October 4th for a Twitter Chat I’ll be moderating at KMers.org. To participate in this Twitter-powered discussion you can use your favorite Twitter app with the hashtag #KMers or even easier — just sign in with your Twitter account at the live chat page on KMers.org. The chat will begin at 9am Pacific and run for an hour.

During this chat we will discuss the differences and similarities between the social computing movement and knowledge management, how to reconcile and integrate the two, and the implications for KM over the next five years.

Agenda

• How do you define social computing, and how does it differ from KM?
• What social computing tools and approaches are working well for you?
• Where do informal social computing “communities” or team rooms fit in the context of communities of practice?
• Should social computing tools be “managed?”
• When does social computing and collaboration become KM? Is a boundary necessary or even beneficial?

Interested? Join us, and you can follow me @jeffhester and keep the discussion going.

Related posts:

1. Social Media and Knowledge Management Social media is often cast as being at odds with...
2. Knowledge Management, Highways, Byways and Cars Chris Collison (which I keep wanting to read as collision...
3. Knowledge Management is Not a Software Solution At Fluor, one of our favorite sayings about knowledge management...

Every month a terrific group of bright minds meets in Los Angeles to share, challenge, drink and discuss how we can live an enlightened life. The gathering is known as Mindshare, and if you live anywhere within driving distance of downtown LA, I highly recommend it.

This past Thursday, Mindshare hosted a preview screening of Tiffany Shlain’s new film: Connected.

Connected takes on what it means to be connected in the 21st century. How does technology factor in? Why do we connected? Is our growing interdependence the next step in human evolution?  Shlain went in with this vision, but as so often is the case, life gets in the way. In her case, it was the cancerous brain tumor in her father, and her own high-risk pregnancy that caused her to tweak her vision for the film in a personal way.

The end result wasn’t revolutionary or mind-bending. The key premise is that we are evolving as a species, specifically by becoming more interdependent. To continue to grow, we must connect with each other — rely on others — and build stronger connections not only between the two hemispheres of our own brain, but between each other. The ideas are not ground-breaking. But Shlain tells the story in a way that is both personal and memorable.

Connected is currently playing in Los Angeles at the Arclight in Hollywood. If you get a chance, check it out.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related posts:

1. Social Media and Knowledge Management Social media is often cast as being at odds with...
2. What is Memolane? It’s been said that everything you do or say on...
3. Happy 5th Birthday, Twitter It’s been five years since Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey officially...

Knowledge Management is a term laden with baggage.

Not that they need to “get it.” The term itself was invented by academians and consultants conspiring to elevate their science. But when the rubber meets the road, KM is simply about sharing and leveraging knowledge intelligently. The typical knowledge worker isn’t usually familiar with the term knowledge management or even knowledge worker. They just know that they need to tap into knowledge and expertise to help them do their job.

And so, we KM professionals are tasked with providing a systematic approach to KM that doesn’t burden knowledge workers with learning a whole new language. Taxonomy, vocabulary, subject matter experts, communities of practice — all are misguided labels that serve the KM professionals (we know what we mean) but obfuscate the message to the engineer on a project.

We need to put the process into terms they already know and understand. In many ways, Enterprise 2.0 concepts come closer. Blogs, social networking, profiles and discussion forums are all part of our common experience of the web. And they all fit nicely into a community-centric approach to knowledge management.

I’ve said many times that KM is not about the tool. Successful KM is more about the processes and behaviors that drive collaboration, knowledge sharing and reuse. Show people how they benefit when they share their knowledge and it doesn’t matter what the tool is. As long as that tool doesn’t impede your ability to connect with knowledge and the people who have or need expertise, which tool is almost irrelevant. Not exactly the message that the big software vendors want you to hear, but it’s true.

Which got me thinking: if it’s not about the tool, why not choose some tools that are readily and freely available? Could this not make KM accessible to many more companies, and perhaps spawn a new era of extra-enterprise collaboration?

Thus was born The WordPress KM Project. The goal is to create a community-centric knowledge management platform that leverages freely available and easily deployed technology — WordPress.

WordPress is primarily considered blogging software, but it can be much more. A single WordPress installation can now support multiple sites or communities. Plugins such as the BuddyPress suite add discussion forums and extensible user profiles. And the core WordPress system is already well-suited for content creation and management.

What are the key requirements for the WordPress KM Project?

• User Management – Each user must have a profile that can contain contact information as well as skills and expertise. This is important in establishing context and building trust among people who may not know each other.
• Communities – The core management of knowledge and expertise is delegated to domain experts. People interested in that domain are the primary participants of these communities.
• Enterprise scope - Although knowledge and expertise is delegate to communities, the partipants have access to the full breadth and depth of knowledge across all communities.
• Search – For most people, this will be the primary method of retrieving needed knowledge or expertise. For that reason, search — by default — must cross community boundaries.
• Discussion – The primary medium for ad hoc collaboration and knowledge sharing. Each community will have discussion forums centered around the subjects relating to their domain expertise.
• Blogs – This could also be considered news, but carries the advantage of allowing community participation through comments.
• Knowledge – This is experience codified. Explicit knowledge stored in web page or other electronic form.

The goal of the WordPress KM Project is to build a working prototype environment, and then share the results with the world. To do this well, I need your help.

Do you have a passion for KM, WordPress, enterprise systems or just contributing to the greater good? I want to hear from you. Get involved, share your ideas, and join the team.

Let’s begin. Start by leaving a comment below.

Related posts:

1. Another WordPress Project Launched Most people, when they think of WordPress, assume it’s for...
2. APQC 2011 Knowledge Management Conference Knowledge Management (KM) is a phrase that confounds many. Many...
3. Social Media and Knowledge Management Social media is often cast as being at odds with...

Collison suggests that the highway represents the mainstream tools, techniques and functionality that are widely regarded as intrinsic to any decent KM environment. But you also find winding country roads that take you off the beaten track but are worth the detour. And occasionally you are delighted to discover a spectacular view open up while exploring some uncharted corner of the world.

There are also parallel routes — canals and railways which might compete with or provide an option to the highway. And finally there are the swamps, quicksand and dead-ends that we wish we had never turned into.

I was dumbstruck when Collison asked the group what the highways consisted of, and very quickly the answers that came back were technology solutions. KM is much bigger and broader than any wiki, blog or discussion forum. It’s bigger than Sharepoint or Yammer. It involves first and foremost the people. Engaging people, giving them a reason to share their knowledge and expertise. Making sense of KM so that they can answer the WIIFM* question.

I wrote about this a couple weeks ago after I read Nick Milton’s post on Knowledge Management before IT. KM isn’t really anything new. We’ve been doing it for centuries. We may have called is something different, but the key need was the same; to pass knowledge from one person to another.

Simon Burnett summed up the risk with “shiny objects” (i.e. cool tools) nicely:

Q5: Death by Information Technology - you don't get the cultural stuff sorted out, no tech will bail you out no matter how shiny... #KMers

March 1, 2011 10:46 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@Simon_Burnett

Simon Burnett

So many IT-led KM initiatives have failed, mainly because of their focus on the tools. Which led me to think. The tools we use to manage knowledge are analogous to the car that we use to drive down that KM highway. There are all kinds of cars. Expensive cars. Fast cars. Sexy cars. Safe cars. SUVs. And even plain cars. Any of them (assuming proper working order) can get you from Point A to Point B. Possessing the car, even a top of the line model, will not help you reach your destination if you don’t know where you’re going or how you’re going to get there.

The kind of car you drive matters much less than having well-defined goals and a plan to reach them. Without a plan, that shiny car will just help you reach your dead-end faster.

Join the Discussion

Are you involved in knowledge management? Join the discussion at KMers.org each Tuesday on Twitter. You can view the upcoming schedule  and learn how to participate at KMers.org. Thanks to Chris Collison for moderating this week’s discussion (and good luck on your keynote!), and thanks to Jeffrey Brandt, Randy Ramsey, Leonard Kish, Mary Abraham, Tom Menke, Matthew Loxton, Roxanna Samii and many others for the stimulating discussion on the KM landscape.

And special thanks to Stan Garfield for his Trackback Tuesday tweet:

Trackback Tuesday: Social Media and Knowledge Management by Jeff Hester @jeffhester http://bit.ly/eGo22e #KM #KMers #SM #socialmedia

March 1, 2011 9:50 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

Photo credit: Benny Lin

*What’s In It For Me?

Related posts:

1. Social Media and Knowledge Management Social media is often cast as being at odds with...
2. Knowledge Management is Not a Software Solution At Fluor, one of our favorite sayings about knowledge management...
3. APQC 2011 Knowledge Management Conference Knowledge Management (KM) is a phrase that confounds many. Many...

Social media

The subject of this week’s KMers.org tweet chat emphasized this tension: Corporate Social Media vs. Intranets. The implication is that social media and knowledge management are at odds and one is destined to be the solitary victor.

Reality Check.

Social media and knowledge management aren’t at odds at all. In fact, the most successful knowledge management systems embrace social media, but with a business mindset. The smart KM implementations leverage blogs, subscriptions, communities, discussion forums, and member profiles. They tie it together with search in a single working environment. And they look for opportunities to tie in other tools to streamline knowledge sharing — everything from instant messaging (i.e. Sametime) to micro-blogging (i.e. Yammer).

A few of the comments that really stuck out in our discussion today bear this out. We were asked for tips on optimizing the integration between social media applications and intranets. Here are a few notable responses:

Q4: first start with the people...their natural processes or needs...then the tech. Get all the stakeholders to agree, then solve. #KMers

February 22, 2011 10:32 am via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@TKBeard

Tammy Bearden

Tammy Bearden hits the nail on the head: it all starts with people.

Q4: Use blogs to replace email broadcasts and newsletters. Offer email alerts and RSS feeds for all content. #KMers

February 22, 2011 10:38 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@stangarfield

Stan Garfield

I like Stan Garfield’s advice to meet people where they are, which for many is still the email inbox.I’ve found the ability to subscribe and get email notifications to be an invaluable tool for engaging the workforce. I would even say it’s essential, and we’ve found it to be a tremendous attraction at Fluor.

Q4: Single sign-on & pre-populated profiles are critical. Don't ask people to remember yet another login and password. #KMers

February 22, 2011 10:37 am via TweetChatReplyRetweetFavorite

@BarbaraFillip

Barbara Fillip

Barbara Fillip reminds us to take the member eye view. Remove barriers to participation, where possible. Single sign-on is just one example.

Thanks to Stan Garfield, Liz Williams, Tom Menke, Ryan McClead, Sean Brady, Tammy Bearden, Antoon van het Erve,  Matthew Loxton, Barbara Fillip, and the other participants who shared their knowledge and insight. You can read the entire tweet chat transcript online, as well as check the schedule of upcoming discussions on KMers.org. We gather via Twitter every Tuesday at noon Eastern time. If you’re a KM professional, you should be a part of the discussion.

Related posts:

1. Knowledge Management is Not a Software Solution At Fluor, one of our favorite sayings about knowledge management...
2. APQC 2011 Knowledge Management Conference Knowledge Management (KM) is a phrase that confounds many. Many...

This face-to-face KM immersion did two things:

First, it allowed them to focus on what they where learning, without the distractions of the everyday office activities around them. Sitting and working side-by-side with the KM team gave them an opportunity to really absorb a great deal of knowledge that wasn’t necessarily a part of the training outline.

But the second, and even more important result was the relationships that were built. In most cases, this gathering was the first time we worked together. In addition to spending most of the work week together, we would eat lunch together and even go out afterwards for dinner or go sailing. The bond that formed provided a solid foundation for an ongoing working relationship. They felt comfortable coming to us because they knew us well. They trusted us, and knew we were there to help them. They understood the gravity of their new role as knowledge managers. They reached out for help or to brainstorm solutions for integrating knowledge management into their community’s work processes, and gladly participated when we asked them to help us with an enterprise KM initiative.

Doing this via video teleconference has required a change in approach. Sessions are shorter, with more pre-reading and pre-work. There are exercises that require multiple touch points with the KM team, ensuring that they will talk with someone on the team on a fairly regular basis. Will this suffice? Not a chance.

Fellow KM-er David Gurteen recently shared a great article on Harvard Business Review via this tweet:

Why Face-to-Face Meetings Make All the Difference http://bit.ly/heOt6i

February 18, 2011 6:39 am via bitlyReplyRetweetFavorite

@DavidGurteen

David Gurteen

In his article Why Face-to-Face Meetings Make All the Difference, Stephen Greer describes how use used face-to-face meetings to build and strengthen relationships with his leadership team. Greer concedes that after the relationships had been established, he was able to reduce the frequency of meetings, and conduct more of them remotely.

“Over time, once personalities gelled and relationships bonded, we were able to scale back the frequent flyer miles by making it a quarterly face-to-face meeting, with monthly conference calls in between. Today a videoconference would be the preferable alternative, as technology is definitely bringing distant operations closer together.”

Note that he didn’t jump straight away to conference calls. He notes that it took time to build and bond relationships with face-to-face meetings. Only after those relationships were bonded could they scale back the frequency and begin leveraging alternative technology like video teleconferencing.

Yes, face-to-face still matters.

The challenge is this: What do you do when face-to-face is not an option? How do you build those relationships that are necessary to create trust between people who don’t really know each other that well?

Related posts:

1. APQC 2011 Knowledge Management Conference Knowledge Management (KM) is a phrase that confounds many. Many...

Conversing with our colleagues at other companies, participating in best practice studies with APQC, through industry KM groups and informal discussions with other KM professionals — both inside our industry and beyond — have reaffirmed this point.

Technology is not a critical factor to successful knowledge management.

Today on Nick Milton’s Knoco stories blog, he poses the question: What was KM like, before IT?  How did we manage knowledge in medieval times? A provocative concept, since so many people immediately jump to technology when thinking of KM.

Overwhelmingly, the organizations that struggle to achieve success with KM do so because of this inappropriate focus on technology. The theory goes, “if only we had SharePoint (or Yammer, or Wikis, or fill-in-the-blank), sharing knowledge would be easy.”

And it’s true, to a point. Today, we have an abundance of tools that do indeed make it easier to share our knowledge, and many of them are excellent. We don’t have a technology problem.

It’s the difficult part that people either overlook or give inadequate emphasis; the soft part… people.

For KM to deliver value to an organization, the people who possess the knowledge and the people that need the knowledge need to connect. The right behaviors, motivators and a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing needs to be nurtured. Leaders must determine how they can weave these principles into their work process, or transform those processes completely in ways that deliver value and ultimately supports the organization’s strategic vision.

This has implications that reach far beyond knowledge management. If you examine the success of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, you’ll find that the people who get the most out of them are not necessarily the most sophisticated techno-geeks, nor the ones with the most “friends.” They are the ones who use technology to help them build and strengthen relationships — be they personal or professional. Once again, “it’s the people.”

I share this to remind myself, as well as stimulating one or two you. Tomorrow I’ll be training four, bright new knowledge managers. On this, their third day of training, we will be looking at (you guessed it) the tool.

Personally, I love tools. They can be a godsend, and enable global collaboration in a way that wasn’t possible when I began my career. But just as it’s not possession of the tools that makes a master craftsman, success in KM has far more to do with people and process.

Photo credit: Hans Splinter

Related posts:

1. APQC 2011 Knowledge Management Conference Knowledge Management (KM) is a phrase that confounds many. Many...

Larry Prusak speaking at the 2010 APQC KM Conference

Knowledge Management (KM) is a phrase that confounds many. Many companies and organizations that attempt to “manage their knowledge” fail miserably. The problem, it seems, is not so much with the concept as it is the terminology.

Simply put, knowledge management is a systematic approach to helping people share knowledge with each other. My friends at Shell sum it up with the  succinct phrase — “Ask, Learn, Share*.”

Knowledge management helps people connect with the knowledge and the expertise they need.

In that spirit of sharing, I invite you to join me at APQC’s 2011 Knowledge Management Conference. This 16th annual conference will be held in Houston on May 9-13th, 2011.

The APQC KM Conference is one of the most valuable  I’ve attended. There is a strong emphasis on practitioners sharing their real-world experience with other practitioners. Being able to build and strengthen connections with other change agents sets APQC apart from the usual vendor-heavy conferences.

I’ll be sharing my knowledge, and will be speaking with John McQuary, VP of Knowledge Management at Fluor on Friday morning. Our session? It’s titled “The Future of Knowledge Management: A Vision for 2020.” Here’s the synopsis:

Over the past ten years, Fluor’s knowledge management program has achieved success and recognition both inside and outside the enterprise. KM is no longer an initiative, but simply the way we get things done and drive strategic value. Looking ten years into the future, what is the next step in the evolution of KM? Using a “day in the life” perspective, this session will look at the implications and opportunities for KM in the future, with specific actions you can take now to begin making that vision a reality in your enterprise.

Working in the knowledge management realm over the past ten years, I’ve seen tremendous growth and success. Yet even with the success we’ve achieved, the opportunity in the decade ahead grows larger still.

I’m excited about the opportunity to share my passion with you. If you or your organization or company is involved in knowledge management (or considering doing so), I urge you to join me at APQC.

Planning to attend? Please introduce yourself now! Let’s begin the dialog today (here or on twitter), and we can continue face-to-face in May.

*Bonus!

For reading down this far, here a video produced for Shell that illustrates their Ask-Learn-Share approach. It’s a fine explanation of knowledge management in real world terms. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

No related posts.

Photo credit Jill Clardy

Before we developed written languages, storytelling allowed us to pass down our history and knowledge from one generation to the next. Even today, storytelling remains a powerful medium. A well-told story with a meaningful message is easier to remember, internalize and share.

Earlier today I chatted with fellow knowledge management (KM) colleagues at KMers.org on the subject of corporate storytelling and knowledge management, and I promised to share my storytelling story.

At Fluor, storytelling almost always takes a written form. Naturally, people share their stories in person or in teleconferences, but our emphasis is on written stories. This definition of “storytelling” is different from many other organizations.

Our stories are real-world examples that illustrate the value of knowledge management. I recognize that there are stories that do not involve either success nor any form of knowledge sharing. While they can be valuable in their own right, they fall out of my organization’s scope.

These KM success stories are collected both informally and formally. Informally, we simply ask people to share examples of how knowledge sharing (a more accessible term than KM) and collaboration has benefited them, their project or the client. This past year we asked this question in on of our KM discussion forums and had over 30 responses — some good, some great and some everyday examples of KM at work. The best of these were identified and more formally captured.

Our formal success story process encourages people to share stories year-round. Each year during the month of Knowvember we review the stories shared over the past 12 months, selecting a list of finalists. These are presented to a panel of C-level executives that select the winning stories. There is no fixed number of finalists or winners, but in 2010 we collected roughly 300 stories, culled this down to 20 finalists from which the executives selected six winners. If you’re success story is selected as a winner, you get to select a local charitable organization to which a $500 donation is made in your name.

Sharing Success

We use a specific form designed to guide you through the success story process. It asks for a description of the story and how it brought value, and prompts for supporting metrics, quotes and details.

Our guidelines are pretty simple:

1. Share your success story in the most appropriate knowledge community (our virtual communities of practice). If you’re not sure where it best fits, we help guide you.
2. Read the instructions on the success story form, filling it out completely.
3. Define what specific elements make the story a success. What internal or client value was generated?
4. Add images and quotes to give the story added credibility.

We supplement these basic guidelines with a few good examples from previous years.

Some of these stories are shared with a well-written narrative voice. Others have obvious value, but need to be rewritten in a way that really tells the story with impact.

Along the way, these stories are shared though our KM system, with new messages displayed a couple times each week providing a regular and not-so-subtle reminder of how knowledge sharing can generate value.

During the final judging for the annual contest, the exposure these stories and the people involved get at a very high level of the organization serves two purposes: it provides recognition to folks who are often from far flung offices, and it reminds our executives of some very concrete ways KM strengthens and improves our company. And we’ve found that these stories provide the most tangible measure of the value of knowledge management — much more than the number of clicks and downloads.

What’s Next for Storytelling?

We conducted a very low-budget experiment last year, and was a big success. We asked our local KM champions to use their smartphones and video-capable digital cameras to record a few employees — very informally and without rehearsal — answering just a three questions:

1. What was the last thing you did in our KM system?
2. What was their favorite knowledge community (CoP) and why? And
3. Who encourages you to share and leverage knowledge?

These low-budget, quick-and-dirty video recordings were reviewed and we created a series of short, 2-3 minute compilation videos. The results are compelling, and we will likely do this again, perhaps with different questions. While they won’t replace the more formal success story process, they do provide a compelling story for other employees.

Of course, there are many ways to tell a story. This is just ours, and as with all KM efforts, we are constantly evolving and adapting to improve the process.

What’s your storytelling story?

Thanks to Lilly Evans for moderating today’s KMers.org tweet chat! You can read the complete transcript here.

No related posts.

Knowledge management

One of the ways I sharpen my own KM mindset is through discussion and collaboration with other KM professionals and evangelists. Early today in one of those groups — KMers.org — we discussed how we would run things (from a KM mindset) “if I were the boss.”

Rob Swanwick moderated this tweet chat, seeding the conversation with three questions on “how we would run things (from a KM mindset)”:

1. If I ran conferences…
2. If I ran all meetings…
3. If I controlled the direction for social media in my organization…

This led to a lively discussion with Rob Swanwick, Kate Bowers, Stan Garfield, Barbara Fillip, Liz Williams and others. While there were some excellent, practical tips for running conferences, meetings and managing social media, there was one key concept that particularly stuck out above all else:

THE REAL VALUE LIES IN RELATIONSHIPS

I used to get excited about what I would learn at a conference. It’s taken a few years, but now I understand that the real value isn’t in the content of any particular presentation or discussion, but in the relationships forged and strengthened. Recent research at IBM and MIT confirms this, even going so far as to put a dollar value on those connections. In their estimation, each contact is worth $948 in revenue.

Putting aside the absurdity of assigning a dollar value to a relationship, I suggest that the real value is much, much higher. And we understand this, intrinsically. During our tweet chat, I posed the following question to illustrate this point:

While this in no way diminishes the value of the chat, discussion or presentation itself, it does drive home the point that what really matters is the connections. In knowing you, I am a better person. And vice versa. Together we are smarter, more productive, more interesting, more capable than we could ever be on our own. Our diverse perspectives and experience blend to create a wonderful collaborative stew.

If you’re interested in more, you can read the full tweet chat transcript, and continue the dialogue. If you are a KMer, please join is each Tuesday at noon Eastern time for our weekly tweet chat, hosted at KMers.org, and share your thoughts on the future of KM.

No related posts.

“Failures don’t plan to fail; they fail to plan.” – Harvey MacKay

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

These quotes share a common thread and illuminate a problem that is far too common. I see it in companies struggling to implement knowledge management. I see it in communities of practice. You can find it in businesses, organizations, clubs, and even the personal lives of people we care about.

The problem? The absence of a plan.

Historically — and with comic certainty — the gyms overflow in January as we collectively resolve to shed those holiday pounds and get healthy. By the end of the month, the crowd subsides and it’s back to business as usual. What happens? Do people decide that they really don’t want to lose the weight they tacked on? Do they discover that their health really isn’t that important to them? No, the problem is that they have a goal in mind (i.e. lose weight), but only a vague idea of how to get there. What they lack is a plan.

Goals are good and necessary. Goals give us something to strive for, and achieving our goals — be they personal or professional — are largely how we measure success. To get from where you are to where you want to be, you need two things: a goal that is well-defined and measurable, and a plan that — if followed — will help you reach that goal.

The Power of Planning: A Personal Illustration

For years, I had a long-standing goal to hike the John Muir Trail for a second time (the first time being in 1980). This is an arduous undertaking requiring tremendous amounts of planning, preparation and training. I had my goal: hike the entire 211-mile trail, three decades after my first epic journey on the JMT. My goal was well-defined and measurable. And I created a plan that would help me reach my goal.

My plan required coordination my schedule with work; recruiting others to join me on the epic backpacking trip; training my body and getting in shape (I lost 40 lbs. in the process); creating a day-by-day itinerary; planning the meals; getting permits; coordinating transportation, and so on. It was not easy. But it was worthwhile, because it helped me succeed at achieving this longtime goal. In August 2010, 30 years from my first JMT trek, I completed the John Muir Trail for a second time.

Whether personal, professional or business goals, the key is to define your goals, write them down, and create a plan that will help you get there.

A Challenge to You

Here’s my challenge to you. Think of three goals you would like to achieve, either personally, professionally or for your  business or organization. You might want to travel to Paris, launch a new initiative at work or go back to school. Whatever the goals, write them down, making sure they are well-defined. They should stretch you or your organization beyond what you know you can easily handle. Then sort out what it will take the achieve those goals. These steps must be something that you have control over, so if you’re counting on winning the lottery, think again. Write these steps down. This is your plan. Follow it, and you can reach your goals successfully.

What goals do you have for 2011 or beyond? Have you create a plan? I’d love to hear them.

Oh and by the way, one of my recruits for my 2010 JMT trek is now my sweetheart. Sometimes success brings unexpected rewards!

No related posts.

A word cloud generated from my RSS feed

Earlier today I participated in the weekly KMers.org tweet chat. This week’s discussion was hosted by Kate Bower, discussing the role of self management and self regulation in personal knowledge management (PKM). There was some dissent as to whether PKM required a certain level of obsessive compulsive disorder — OCD — or whether there it was possible to use more of a mad scientist approach to PKM.

To answer the question, you must first define personal knowledge management. What exactly is PKM?

Wikipedia defines PKM as: “a collection of processes that an individual carries out to gather, classify, store, search, retrieve, and share knowledge in his/her daily activities and how these processes support work activities.”

In my view, there are three dimensions to personal knowledge management.

First, you need an awareness of your knowledge. You have to know what it is that you know. This is challenging for many people, whether out of modesty or a lack of self-awareness, but technology is helping. Tools like desktop search and word clouds can help surface the subjects that we have a keen interest in — our likely areas of expertise and knowledge.

Next, you need to be open to learning. Equally important to knowing what you know is knowing what you don’t know, and being open to learning and growing. None of us have a monopoly on knowledge. Some might argue that PKM devalues the need for knowledge sharing with others, but the opposite is closer to the truth. As we understand what we know — and do not know — we see where we can contribute to the larger group. At the same time, we see how we can leverage the knowledge and expertise of others in that group where we have gaps in our own knowledge.

Finally, you must be open to sharing. Unless your tacit knowledge is applied, is it really knowledge at all? What is the value of knowledge that goes unused and unshared?  And the beauty of knowledge sharing is that there is an infinite supply. If I give my knowledge to you, I still retain possession. It’s simply multiplied.

As personal knowledge is shared, the entire organization grows and benefits.

During the course of our chat, several members (myself included) described their approach to PKM as that of an mad scientist. I’m not particularly rigorous about folders, hierarchy and information organization. I’d much prefer to leverage technology to help percolate my knowledge to the top.

There are two excellent tools that can help with this.

First, personal search. Simply being able to search my hard drives for the information is often much faster than navigation down a series of folders, especially since search can look beyond file names into the actual content. Search is built into both my Windows 7 PC and my Mac. For email, I use Gmail, which provides super-fast searches through my entire email archive. There are also third-party search tools that will index your hard drive, but I’m quite content with the simplicity of the built-in search.

A word cloud generated from my Delicious bookmarks

Second, word clouds. Wordle.net will take your blog or your Delicious bookmarks and automatically create a word cloud based on the topics that appear most frequently. Word clouds are a great way to visualize the relative importance of topics, as the size of each word is determined by the number of times it appears.

These tools are simply aids that will help you divine your interests (and theoretically areas where you might have some budding expertise). The next steps — growing and sharing — are up to you.

What does PKM mean to you, and what tools and techniques have you found useful?

No related posts.

Having been involved in discussion forums, developing online communities such as BigBlueBall as well as enterprise communities in the context of knowledge management (KM), what’s interesting to me is how Quora takes the traditional threaded discussion format and completely reinvents it, with some excellent results.

Granted, there are important differences between Quora and a discussion forum. Quora is specifically and exclusively suited to a question and answer format. Forums can serve a much broader purpose, including open discussions, brainstorming and ad hoc, asynchronous collaboration. But when you look at most forums, a large percentage of the discussions begin with someone who needs help (they have a question) and subsequent responses (answers, in the best case scenario).

How does Quora do this differently? First of all, forums typically require the participants to begin by navigating to the category that is best suited to their topic. This alone can quickly become a barrier, as the way I would categorize something might be very different than the way other people would. In Quora, you simply ask a question. You have the option of tagging a question with one or more keywords (roughly analogous to categories). Other Quora users can follow (think subscribe) specific questions if they are curious about the answer, or they can follow a tag and get notified of any activity tagged with that keyword.

Second, where forum are typically listed in either a threaded view (i.e. Slashdot) or chronological view, Quora allows the responses to be resorted. Other Quora users can vote on the best answers, and they percolate to the top.

The Q&A type site isn’t really anything new. Google tried it before, and failed. Yahoo! Answers is another service that has hung in there, but the quality is spotty. So far, the quality of the responses has really set Quora apart. It’s not uncommon to see a CEO or founder of a company jump in with a response to a question about their business model. The particpants, by and large, are a higher caliber than I’ve seen in similar systems.

What happens next? Last week at the Social Media MasterMinds meetup in Orange County, we speculated that the opportunity for Quora has already come and gone. The theory is that once it goes mainstream, the quality suffers. The noise level increases as people look for ways to “use” Quora to improve their SEO, market their company or service, or insert spam links for pharmaceuticals.

I’m still in discovery mode on Quora. I’m following a few topics — some personal (hiking) and some professional (knowledge management). I’ve voted up a few good answers, added an answer, and asked a couple questions (with mixed results so far). The process has been interesting and even useful, but the jury is still out on whether I’ll stick with it. For now, you can me find here on Quora.

If you work with forums, online communities or KM, Quora is worth looking at. Consider it food for thought.

No related posts.

The knowledge extraction helmet

I’ve been directly involved in knowledge management — the science of collecting, sharing and leveraging knowledge — for nearly ten years, and indirectly much longer. Knowledge management, or more simply KM, is often unknown outside of the organizations who practice it. Sometimes KM is disguised with a different moniker — knowledge sharing, collaboration, team rooms, Enterprise 2.0 and so on. And among those who do practice KM, there is often a misperception that KM is a tool — a software solution.

The reality is that even after ten years of revolutionary KM, it’s still primarily about connecting people. Cutting through the digital noise and making a connection with that person whose expertise intersects with my need.

Now for the next ten years. How do you see knowledge sharing changing between now and the year 2020?

No related posts.