Comments on: Going with the flow http://blog.tarn.org/2008/07/07/going-with-the-flow/ Unpicking traditional assumptions about KM and the life of the law Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:43:05 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Doug Cornelius .com · When Should Blogging Be Mandatory? http://blog.tarn.org/2008/07/07/going-with-the-flow/#comment-236 Doug Cornelius .com · When Should Blogging Be Mandatory? Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:54:36 +0000 http://innominate.wordpress.com/?p=46#comment-236 [...] Going with the flow from Mark Gould [...] [...] Going with the flow from Mark Gould [...]

]]> By: Michael Idinopulos http://blog.tarn.org/2008/07/07/going-with-the-flow/#comment-63 Michael Idinopulos Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:36:55 +0000 http://innominate.wordpress.com/?p=46#comment-63 Mark, Great post. The Xerox example is a great illustration of how in-the-flow solutions can be effective. I'm finding that solutions like that one, where knowledge is captured in-the-flow, are challenging traditional conceptions of knowledge management. In theory, knowledge management is supposed to be all about synthesizing and contextualizing. Anything less is supposed to be mere "information", not to be confused with knowledge. But what I'm seeing in in-the-flow wikis is a more informal, less structured exchange of observations. It's more like email threads, meeting minutes, and whiteboard transcriptions--the kind of content that people are creating anyway, but that doesn't usually end up in a place that's very useful. That's where I see the big opportunity for knowledge capture. Mark,
Great post. The Xerox example is a great illustration of how in-the-flow solutions can be effective. I’m finding that solutions like that one, where knowledge is captured in-the-flow, are challenging traditional conceptions of knowledge management. In theory, knowledge management is supposed to be all about synthesizing and contextualizing. Anything less is supposed to be mere “information”, not to be confused with knowledge. But what I’m seeing in in-the-flow wikis is a more informal, less structured exchange of observations. It’s more like email threads, meeting minutes, and whiteboard transcriptions–the kind of content that people are creating anyway, but that doesn’t usually end up in a place that’s very useful. That’s where I see the big opportunity for knowledge capture.

]]> By: Mary Abraham http://blog.tarn.org/2008/07/07/going-with-the-flow/#comment-62 Mary Abraham Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:18:45 +0000 http://innominate.wordpress.com/?p=46#comment-62 Mark - You're right about the risk of forced blogging resulting in unfocused, poor quality content. This definitely is not what I had in mind when I initially endorsed the discipline of regular blogging at work. Undoubtedly, people who blog because they want to blog will produce better content because they care. This is compelling support for a purely voluntary system. On the other hand, how long must we wait to achieve reasonably high levels of good quality knowledge sharing? The promise of these social media tools was that they would facilitate and expedite this sharing. However, we could be waiting a long time for this if adoption is allowed to be purely voluntary. The social media party is probably like any other party: some people come because they were invited, some gatecrash, and others come only because their friends dragged them there. Perhaps we should permit all three methods of participation for social media as well. - Mary Mark -

You’re right about the risk of forced blogging resulting in unfocused, poor quality content. This definitely is not what I had in mind when I initially endorsed the discipline of regular blogging at work. Undoubtedly, people who blog because they want to blog will produce better content because they care. This is compelling support for a purely voluntary system.

On the other hand, how long must we wait to achieve reasonably high levels of good quality knowledge sharing? The promise of these social media tools was that they would facilitate and expedite this sharing. However, we could be waiting a long time for this if adoption is allowed to be purely voluntary.

The social media party is probably like any other party: some people come because they were invited, some gatecrash, and others come only because their friends dragged them there. Perhaps we should permit all three methods of participation for social media as well.

- Mary

]]> By: Mark Gould http://blog.tarn.org/2008/07/07/going-with-the-flow/#comment-61 Mark Gould Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:20:19 +0000 http://innominate.wordpress.com/?p=46#comment-61 I agree, Doug. I ran out of steam somewhat at the end of this post. What I meant to say in conclusion is that blogging is a valuable tool to allow who already have an interest in knowledge sharing to get better at it, and knowledge sharing can be a useful objective for those who already have an interest in blogging. The key thing is that good quality blogging and good quality knowledge sharing are both directed at some focused purpose (ideally one with real value). Unfocused blogging or knowledge sharing is inevitably low quality. Mandatory blogging or knowledge sharing is likely to be unfocused, especially when it is driven by blunt metrics (Dave Snowden has something to say about this too: http://www.cognitive-edge.com/blogs/dave/2008/06/if_you_try_and_set_targets_for.php) or meaningless incentives. I agree, Doug.

I ran out of steam somewhat at the end of this post. What I meant to say in conclusion is that blogging is a valuable tool to allow who already have an interest in knowledge sharing to get better at it, and knowledge sharing can be a useful objective for those who already have an interest in blogging.

The key thing is that good quality blogging and good quality knowledge sharing are both directed at some focused purpose (ideally one with real value). Unfocused blogging or knowledge sharing is inevitably low quality. Mandatory blogging or knowledge sharing is likely to be unfocused, especially when it is driven by blunt metrics (Dave Snowden has something to say about this too: http://www.cognitive-edge.com/blogs/dave/2008/06/if_you_try_and_set_targets_for.php) or meaningless incentives.

]]> By: Doug Cornelius http://blog.tarn.org/2008/07/07/going-with-the-flow/#comment-60 Doug Cornelius Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:51:49 +0000 http://innominate.wordpress.com/?p=46#comment-60 Mark - Obviously I am a big fan of blogging. But I see mandatory blogging as just another out-of-the-flow KM system. I would rather have a project blog or wiki where the project team communicates. Yes, that could be mandatory. It would replace email. "Keep me up to date on the project blog! and don't send me emails except for confidential information!" I think most people are willing to share. They just do not want to go out of their way to do it. Replacing email with platform communication tools can go a long way towards to making it easier to share. Mark -

Obviously I am a big fan of blogging. But I see mandatory blogging as just another out-of-the-flow KM system.

I would rather have a project blog or wiki where the project team communicates. Yes, that could be mandatory. It would replace email. “Keep me up to date on the project blog! and don’t send me emails except for confidential information!”

I think most people are willing to share. They just do not want to go out of their way to do it. Replacing email with platform communication tools can go a long way towards to making it easier to share.

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