From the editor: Feeling shy?

Welcome to the November 2009 issue of Inside Knowledge magazine.
As any of you who follow me on Twitter may have noticed, I’m not really very good at this social networking malarkey. Well, it’s not that I’m no good at it… rather, I’m fine when I’m in my Facebook comfort zone with friends, but when it comes to professional tweeting I struggle to come up with anything useful. I’ve mentioned this before.
As the editor of an influential knowledge management publication, which spends much of its time waxing lyrical about the benefits of social media tools – and providing advice as to how best to integrate this way of working into day-to-day business processes – I realise that this might be an issue.
You see, the thing that most concerns me is finding the right balance between posting useful commentary, regularly enough to keep my ‘followers’ happy, while not being irritating. Others have this down to an almost effortless art and I find myself clicking on links to amazingly insightful articles and conversations – and happy that I was pointed in the right direction. While there are also days that my Tweetdeck seems to be an ongoing, minute-by-minute serialisation of someone’s day spent cooking, cleaning and thinking of useful things with which to fill their time.
Going back to Facebook, which I use as a personal networking tool (I would not let any business associate I wanted to impress anywhere near my profile page), I find it hilarious which topics get people going. I’m sure that if I were to post a comment about something meaningful – a current news story that didn’t involve a celebrity, for example – my status would sit lonely and unchanged for days at a time. But the minute that I pledge my allegiance in the context of The Twilight Saga (Team Edward, if anyone is interested) or update an opinion after a glass or three of wine, I couldn’t be more popular. And it feels great.
So, I have categorised myself as a weird hybrid, sitting on the proverbial fence somewhere between technophobe and comfortable Web 2.0 user. Note to self: must improve.
As always, if you have a story that you would like to share, do get in touch. I can be contacted at kclifton@ark-group.com or, if you’re lucky, I may pluck up the courage to find you on Twitter…

Kate Clifton,
Managing editor

Features

Case study: Clifford Chance LLP This article is for subscribers only
Sam Dimond and Cora Newell on the role of the KM professional in successfully deploying Web 2.0 tools.

Case study: NHS This article is for subscribers only
Chris Collison and Rachel Hinde discuss the creation of 'knewspapers' to support world-class commissioning in the NHS.

Cover feature: Is social media transforming KM? This article is for subscribers only
Social software pilots at Devon County Council are producing real results. But the implications of success are far broader for business and its understanding of knowledge management. By Caroline Poynton.

Regulars

The Gurteen Perspective: To clarify matters... Free
So, just what is a knowledge cafe? David Gurteen explains all.

Analysis: Q&A: Technology democracy Free
Before the arrival of the internet, IT was firmly in control of technology. Rik Ferguson speaks to Kate Clifton about the shift to 'technology democracy', which has been brought about by the introduction of social networking tools and personal devices.

Thought leader: Knowledge briefs - The social value of knowledge Free
First, let’s face it: there is *no way* to automate the creation of meaningful knowledge flows. Academic information scientists and AI proponents have been trying to crack the problem of automatic classification for more than 20 years, with little success, after wasting what must be hundreds of millions in dosh. People still mostly interact with sources using shot-in-the-dark word searches.