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Never Too Late To Learn
We often think about learning as a transitional concept, in that it's something one goes through in order to get to the
other side. We finish school, or complete a seminar, or receive a professional certification, and then we put the learning process behind us. Having learned, we believe that we know.
In fact,
learning is as much a mindset as a process. It's a matter of recognizing that everything we know represents a vanishingly small spec of what there is to be known. Even within areas where we have some
expertise, the churn of progress is always bringing new things to the surface. You can never stop learning.
We're starting to read more about the convergence of Learning and KM, which is an interesting development. Part of it is driven by the move away from
classrooms and toward distance learning systems, which parallels in some ways the move in KM away from knowledge repositories and toward expertise management. On both sides, there's an increasing
interest in understanding how explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge interact. If you're interested, Brandon Hall Research has a good white paper on this topic.
As individuals, the best thing we can do is keep our eyes and
minds open. We should always be willing to look at something new, recognize something unexpected and say: "Huh... I didn't know that!"
Got Skype?
If you're not already aware of it, Skype is a peer-to-peer networking technology which lets users talk to each other, anywhere in the world, for as long as they like, for free. It also includes text messaging and file transfer features, like an IM client. All you need is a sound card, speakers and a microphone, although a headset is probably a better option. Depending on your situation and calling habits, it's a no-brainer. Headsets can be had for as little as $5.
You can also set up an account that will let you call out of network, connecting to any conventional telephone. "SkypeOut" calls aren't free, and may not have the same sound quality,
but they’re still likely cheaper than conventional long-distance. Skype is able to deliver this service at no charge, by borrowing the computing resources of Skype users while they're connected to the
system. Sharing this collective resource allows Skype to be a self-sustaining phone system with no central capital investment. It works because people are willing to use it, making it "almost like an organism," in the words of Skype CEO Niklas Zennström.
What's interesting in a KM
and Communications context is how Skype users are finding that this kind of resource allows for new kinds of communication. Like blogging, the Skype technology can support a new kind of connection, with
people you already know, and with those you don't. (It's probably not surprising that Skype also has a blog for Skype users.)
Find a fellow user in a city you're planning to visit, and ring them
up to say hello. Practice your Spanish by connecting with someone in Madrid. Interview people with Skype, record the results, and become a journalist in the world of pod-casting. If you want to know more, check the Wikipedia, which has all the
details, as well as a nice collection of related links. And if you see Chris Riemer (of Morristown, NJ) on line, feel free to say hello!
KM’s Not For Wimps
We've been laboring in the fields of Knowledge Management for quite some time now, and on many levels
it's still as fascinating as it was when we stumbled into it ten years ago. But it's also sad how little progress has been made in advancing the cause. A lot has happened in the past decade, but KM
remains an uphill battle.
Most large organizations are still built on a top-down, hiearchical model that‘s derived from the military. It's a model in which most people are expected to execute
the instructions of others, rather than think for themselves. It may make a lot of sense on the battlefield, but it's the wrong model for business in the age of the web.
Sometime in the late 1990s, a colleague sent us a quote from Machiavelli's The Prince, which seems as true of KM now as it did then: "There is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more
doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things; for the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those
who would profit by the new..."
The title for this article is from a discussion posting by Martin Roulleaux-Dugage, in which he observed that most KM professionals are genuine
activitists, seeking to make their own organizations more effective and the world a better place. We're frustrated by the fact that to outsiders, KM seems a little faddish and slippery. But we still
believe. And Martin is right -- KM is no place for wimps!
And now for something completely different...
A special bonus item, for entertainment value only.
LeCielEstBleu is a
French multimedia firm which (among other things) offers something it describes as a "sound toy and compositional tool" designed to encourage musical experimentation. You're presented with a
fanciful assembly board, and a conveyor belt that brings you an assortment of parts. You select parts and put them together, while little jelly bean thingies are blown through them. Different parts
produce different sounds, and by adjusting tempo, volume and pathways, something like music happens. It's easier to see it than describe it, and you'll find it either strange, or loveable. Or both. (Macromedia's Shockwave player is required.)
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