knowledge sweet spots

There is, I believe, a sweet spot for knowledge creation and work - and it is wider than PKM and smaller than KIZ'z.

PKM

A focus on thought organization and personal networking lacks the critical focus on dialog, creative abrasion, collaboration, knowledge sharing and emergence that happens in CoPs. Knowledge is a social construct, when we concentrate on individual skills, personal IP (intellectual property) and branding, we neglect the contribution of colleagues, awareness, trust building and exposure to idea diversity that comes from participation in a community.

KIZs
Knowledge Innovation Zones, (KIZs), concentrate on the larger picture, economics, markets and exchanges at the level of the city and regional clusters. This seems distant from conversations, abstract and subject to distractions from politics, ethnicity and regional alliances that change the dynamics and dilute the exchanges.

"The purpose of a Knowledge Innovation Zones (KIZ) is to optimize human capital, intellectual capital including intellectual property, social capital, relationship capital, and intangible values within a prescribed geographic area."

This is not the optimum environment for knowledge creation IMO and distracts from exploring, learning and inquiry best done in a smaller group with limited objectives and more harmonious interests.

The sweet spot
Knowledge IMO is a small group phenomenon, works best in groups between 5-50, where we can build trust, get to know each-other, find contact points, develop a common language, share meaning & concepts, validate ideas and craft the distinctions that really make a difference.