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And the Seasons, They Go Round and Round
So The Holiday Season has officially arrived, and with it the traditional mixed feelings of modern
life: a desire to re-connect with the sense of wonder we remember from years past, and a struggle to keep our rising stress levels within tolerable limits. On Knowledge Street, we're also continuing our
own December tradition, with our fourth "holiday" edition. It's shorter and easier to digest, thereby giving a gift of extra time in two ways: less for us to write, and less for you to read!
We'd also like to take this moment to say thanks to everyone who's helped make this a good year for Knowledge Street, be they friends, family, colleagues or customers. Best wishes to all, and we look
forward to continuing the conversation next year.
The Best of 2006
In 2004, we ran our first Directions retrospective, publishing links to articles from the previous 11
months. We did it again in 2005, and being traditionalists at heart, we're doing it yet again!
The selection includes items that we liked ourselves, and some that seemed to interest our readers.
That's shown either by the number of hits on a given title, or by actual feedback. The odds are you may have read some of these before, but probably not all of them. And there's nothing wrong with
reading them again, you know...
The Boomer Blues -- A brief piece that considers the (still) impending problem society will face as the baby boom generation begins to retire. It means an unprecedented loss of tacit knowledge, with potentially serious impacts in public and private sectors alike. Some organizations have recognized the issue, and are developing programs to manage it. It's not clear whether they'll be up to the job.
Getting Three Things Right -- An observation that to succeed in an on-line business, you really need to address the same three things that matter in a brick-and-mortar business. People want the same things in on-line commerce that they do in the off-line world, and if you can deliver the goods, the potential is vast.
One Red Paper Clip -- A report on the adventures of Kyle MacDonald, who in July 2005 set off on a web-based bartering spree. He started with a red-paper clip, and his goal was to keep swapping stuff until he turned it into a house. He did it too, just a few months after this report from May 2006.
Raiders of the Lost Tapes -- A cautionary tale of real world Knowledge Management, telling the story of how NASA misplaced the original video tapes of the first lunar landing. Everyone should keep their eyes open - the tapes are out there.
Tufte's Rules -- Advice on effective presentations from Edward Tufte, author and analytical design guru. These are practical tips that can make everyone better at delivering presentations, whether formal or informal. Start on time, for one thing, and try to finish early. Those are two important ways you can demonstrate respect for your audience.
The Self-Flushing Urinal -- Included in this list because it drew more hits than any other article all year, evidence perhaps, that bathroom fixtures hold an eternal fascination. The article itself considers how quickly the right idea can spread through a system.
If there's an article you remember, that you think should have made the list, please let us know. If we have any reader requests, we'll run them next month.
Revisiting Kiva
In the past two years, we've closed out the December issue with a few links to sites that can help drive money to good causes. The ones we suggested last year (and the year before) are obviously driven by our own ideas of which causes are worth supporting,
but our point has been philosophical, not political. It's a good time of year to see where you stand, and share some of the extra, if you can.
This year, we're following up on something mentioned
in December 2005, because the idea has been in the news lately. Just this week, Muhammed Yunus collected a Nobel Peace Prize for developing a system of microcredit. Through his Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, he's granted small, unsecured loans to the poorest of the poor, helping some 6.6 million people climb out of poverty. In his acceptance speech, Yunus laid out a vision of a poverty-free world, which he feels is possible "if we collectively believe in it."
There's an unaffiliated website that's building on Yunus' vision. It's called Kiva, and with a few minutes and a credit card, you can make
your own microloan to all kinds of enterprises around the world. It's very interesting to consider the kind of life-changing value your cash can deliver, in places where there's not much cash to go
around. Plus, we can report a success story of our own. We helped fund a village shop in Dodoma, Tanzania, and the owner has made all his payments on schedule.
Pay them a visit, make a loan. You'll feel good about it.
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