KM frontiers

This month’s issue of Inside Knowledge is very special, with an exciting cover story (and a welcome return to these pages) from Jan Wyllie, a veritable guru of knowledge management.

In his two-part feature on self-signifying knowledge, Wyllie goes back to basics with his exploration of interpretation, but brings it right up-to-date with the development of new tools and approaches by both Open Intelligence (formerly Trend Monitor) and Cognitive Edge. Next month, he will turn his attention to metaflows and business applications.

Elsewhere, we also have exclusive coverage of Knoco’s latest research into the state of organisational lessons-learned methodologies, which was conducted over the summer months. The findings make for an interesting read and set the scene for some further analysis from Knoco’s Nick Milton next month.

Continuing our ongoing coverage of developments in the adoption of social media, there is also some practical guidance for those seeking to implement Twitter in the workplace. Author Hélène Russell not only provides an overview of how best to use the tool – including coping with potential barriers to success – there is also a glossary of terms for those who may not yet be familiar with how Twitter works, or the jargon used by the fans who have made it practically a second home.

On that note, it would be really useful to find out whether or not you have forayed into the world of Twitter – and if not, why not? Or, perhaps you have been using the tool for months and it is constantly open on your laptop, PDA or phone, whether you are out and about at conferences and meetings, travelling, or just sat in the office. Do you think that it is a must-have tool for the forward thinking, innovative business of the future?

If you have any comments or stories on this or any other knowledge-related topic we would love to hear from you. As always I can be contacted at kclifton@ark-group.com.

Kate Clifton
Head of Editorial

Features

Feature: A practical guide to Twitter This article is for subscribers only
Twitter is one of the few web services that tech-savvy people say they ‘don’t get’. But whether you love it or loathe it, it is a global phenomenon – ranked the 14th most popular global internet site1, with 23.5 million unique visitors2 and growth of 1,382 per cent3. One can no longer ignore its business potential, so this article will hopefully help you to make a more informed decision as to whether Twitter is right for your firm, your lawyers or for you as a knowledge management (KM) professional.

Research: The state of lessons learning Free
In summer 2009, Knoco Ltd conducted a survey of the state of lessons learning in organisations, using an online questionnaire. The purpose of the survey was to gain some background data for the forthcoming book, The Lessons Learned Handbook: a Practical Knowledge-Based Approach to Learning from Experience, which is due to be completed at the end of 2009.
Seventy-four responses were received. The organisations represented fell into the following categories, with 11 respondents not identifying their organisation: academic (one); automotive (one); aviation (two); consulting and services (nine); engineering and construction (seven); insurance and banking (two); IT (four); legal (two); manufacturing and sales (five); military (four), mining (one); oil and gas (ten); pharmaceutical (four); public sector (seven); and, retail (one).

KM frontiers: Self-signifying knowledge This article is for subscribers only
Both the arts and the sciences have come to be dominated by an endless process of interpretation and reinterpretation by more and more people with biases and vested interests. For the purposes of this article, interpretation is not used in the broadest sense, in which all sensory input is assumed to be interpreted and given meaning by the brain. In this sense, all facts are interpretations.

Regulars

The Gurteen perspective This article is for subscribers only
It surprises me that so many knowledge management (KM) projects are undertaken by people with no training or education in KM and little or no project or change management experience.
If you plan to undertake a KM project then it makes sense to understand KM thoroughly, especially as most KM projects fail.

Thought leader This article is for subscribers only
Each 12-month period seems to bring a new piece of must-know jargon to cool-chasing teenagers. Twenty and 30-somethings, on the other hand, replace their buzzwords less frequently, perhaps reflecting that they have priorities other than being completely up to date with this week’s terminology. But this propensity to replace buzzwords less frequently is also a reflection of their increased loyalty to whatever they do adopt.
For example, Facebook has become a global phenomenon, seemingly sweeping up all in its path. Twenty and 30-somethings make up the majority of its membership, although the fastest growing demographic is 45-plus, as parents and grandparents join to stay in touch with their geographically dispersed extended families.1