Knowledge-at-work

Blogs & bicycles

We are about to launch a separate brand, introduce a new market price-point and are using blogging to do this.

Flash-Point development blog

If you are an avid bike rider and would like to particiapte in our F-P 'fanatics' blog, (& perhaps get a pair of wheels for your troubles), you can get in the loop here.

The Flash-Point  website will be going live shortly where we hope to keep you informed and excited about this new brand. Our plan is to start with a blog and expand into podcasting, involve a core group and jump start a conversation around the wheels, experiences and perceptions.

If you know of any bike bloggers please point them in our direction.

KM disappointments

A reflection on ideas that never quite made it.

Topic maps
KM has always been about access to information in some form (for learning, awareness, problem solving, decision making....). Topic maps seem to be a useful, intuitive representation and standard with great potential for arrangement, organization, showing, relationships, search and navigation. There are obvious and immediate advantages for learning, search, improving understanding, mapping and synthesis.

As far as I'm aware the major software tools are all European and topic maps has gained little traction here in US. Discussions around topic maps quickly turn to code and standards and there are few texts covering the basic ideas and explaining their utility IMO.

Topic map links from Dmoz.org will help to locate the web literature. Steve Pepper's tao paper is perhaps the best entry point.

Somehow topic maps just have not caught fire, could it be the expensive software?, poor promotion?, slow social adoption?, lack of clear demos?, technology focus?, or just an idea whose time has not yet arrived

Knowledge augmentation
It seems that KM has failed to pay sufficient attention to the very basic practices needed to lift collective thinking and to the inherent social nature of knowledge itself. Sure we examined  AARs, lessons learned,  PKM, peer assists, knowledge cafe's, virtual exchanges & forums - but have we really explored patterns, distinctions, narrative, collaborative writing, core documents, mentorship, creative abrasion and tacit exchanges to the depth they deserve?

My impression is we have neglected sense-making, intuition, deep dialog and the role of shared understandings in our rush to build grand KM frameworks, expound self-serving KM models, advocate  half-baked standards and promulgate certification.

What think you??

Collaborative filters & playlists

Been compiling playlists using iTunes and thinking what this aggregation means. Here are some ideas and questions.

Do my music preferences reflect memories more than interests?
If others like my song choices does this mean we share other common interests (aside from the music) or do we share a common time-frame? - we were listening to the radio during a comparable formative period (12-22 years old?). Will my music buddies share my interest in KM or my curiosity for Internet collaboration? - uncertain.

Does a shared music taste provide a sufficient introduction and 'hook' to lead to deeper sharing?
Often wonder if on-line affinity depends on a broad interest profile match or if strongly shared preferences for just books, only music tastes or photo images is able to jump start future collaboration, exploration and learning?

What is the exact role of a common goal vs. a shared genre taste, contributing to on-line work comfort?
On-line compatibility seems to be a strange mix of similar purpose, affinity for written or audio clues and language / tone attractions, while trust, social capital and reciprocity tend to muddy the waters here.

Interesting to see tools for playlists starting to emerge, compare their qualities and features. David Jennings has a useful table.

Playlist comparison matrix

Feedback, comments, ratings, profiles enhance the community that is developing around swapping playlists. Links to blogs and music portals (iTunes, Odeo), download, uploads, exports, sequencing, ripping and mixing seem to be common functions. A growing need is for portability across spaces, players and PCs.

I'm still uncertain what a playlist really represents, how much it tells us about the owner, the exact role a playlist has in defining other qualities and the position a playlist will come to play in personal digital portfolios.

Any ideas to share?

Mistakes & failures

In our hurry to master the next big thing, we often pass up the opportunity to learn, leverage and profit from deep reflection. Clearly there is new knowledge to be had from review, reflection and recognition of our current failings.

This piece from Scott Berkun offers a map for understanding an area that is difficult to traverse.

How to learn from your mistakes

Beyond and before AARs, we need to take a deeper look at how we approach failings at a very personal level.