The new knowledge

David Weinberger gave a fascinating presentation, http://www.kmworld.com/conference/2012/ (last presentation under tab “KMWorld 2012 Keynotes). Well worth the 45 minutes…

He talked about how knowledge is changing. One example he uses is a book vs. a web article. When a book is published it’s a completed product. It’s done and won’t change. It was what we considered knowledge in the past. However, when an article is published on the web, the webpage can be updated, people can link to it, conversation can add or detract from it. He talks about power of the knowledge network that is created around that article.

His insights on taxonomies are also worth considering.  I won't steal his thunder here...

Speaking of a knowledge network, I’d be interested in your thoughts on his presentation

KM and mobile devices

I watched a presentation by Clayton Grigg, CKO for the FBI on their knowledge management program. You can see this and a large number of the KM World presentations at:  http://www.kmworld.com/conference/2012/.

One point that came up during the question and answers was: How do you handle employees using off the shelf technology (i.e. moblile devices such as  I-Pads, smart phones …)? He made a couple of comments that include:

·         People will use this technology. You can’t stop it…

·         These systems are advancing rapidly and can be easier to use and powerful than network systems

·         Users are much more IT savvy and can bring new ideas from using these systems.

·         A big challenge is maintaining security.

·         The KM challenge is how to integrate off the shelf devices with your organization’s IT

The old adage “if you can’t beat them, join them” rings true. I’ve heard from a number of utilities that they’ve started providing field crews with smart phones and/or I-Pads. By providing this technology and providing updates and training they can gain some level of control while providing technology to improve efficiency on the job.  

This point was reinforced as I was updating my website and got a message from GoDaddy (my web host) that my webpage was automatically updated to work on a mobile phone.