Enterprise 2.0 Technologies: they're not going anywhere anytime soon

Thanks to Bill Ives and his Portal and KM blog, I've been able to get the gist of the Forrester TechRadar For Vendor Strategists: Enterprise Web 2.0 without paying the $379 it costs to read the whole thing (hurrah!)

Bill reviewed the report and his highlights mention that usage of Enterprise 2.0 software has produced significant success with social networks and wikis, moderate success with blogs, forums, mashups, prediction markets, RSS and widgets (don't they make your beer bubbly?) and minimal success with microblogs, podcasts and social bookmarks.

I'd agree that people appear to connect with social networks and wikis more than, say, podcasts and RSS (vastly underutilised if you ask me), but I would have to read the report to know why the distinction between social networks and forums. Any road up, the top and bottom of it is that in terms of these collaborative software applications "Some were just starting on their journey (microblogs), others had reached their high point (podcasts and forums) but none were on their way down". So the fact that the public sector is only just opening its doors to these tools is not necessarily bad - looks like enterprise 2.0 is no fad.

CILIP event - web 2.0, knowledge management and the corporate librarian

I had a bit of an epiphany last night, a bit late for the biblical sense (the end of the 12 days of Christmas) but definately a sudden moment of understanding that caused me to think differently...

I was speaking at an event run by CILIP (Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals) in London. It was in a rather nice "proper" pub, part of the Cilip in London Sekford Arms programme of meetings. I had originally envisaged doing a powerpoint presentation, image based of course, with videos and examples of blogs, wikis etc. However the group has a "no technology" rule, requiring only that the speaker, well, speak.

I was, to be honest, dreading this, as I've always used powerpoint and similar as a prompt to help me remember where I am, what I was going to say, to give me some place, as I'm a bit of a waffler. To be without said prop filled me with dread. But I was amazed (cue epiphany moment).

I felt incredibly comfortable with just sitting there, talking to people, without thinking about what my slides said, without worrying about whether I'd missed bits, whether the videos would work...all that distracting stuff you get with technology. I could listen to what I was saying, listen properly to questions, watch the group for non-verbal cues (like nodding off, head shaking, frowning) which I'd probably have missed had I been concentrating on the technology I was using to present with. I felt like, almost anyway, a storyteller. I'm going to try to avoid powerpoint in future...

For those who couldn't make it - I did promise I'd put my key points here, so here they are:

• Educationalists and librarians have the same basic objective - to help people gain knowledge. Educationalists focus on the how of learning, information professionals on the what, the information, but the end result is the same - we're all helping people to learn. The more we work together to do this, the more helpful we will be to our customers.
• Technology can help, but we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water. Face to face interventions have served us well, and I think we should use technologies to supplement what we already know about people and the effective ways we've developed of working for and with them and not forget about this knowledge by focusing solely on technology. I know some would disagree, but for me it's not about the technology per se, it's about how we can use and leverage it to best effect.

The evening was a great experience, the audience were fantastic. What a great group of clever, thoughtful, open minded and responsive people.

There were some very interesting questions about the philosophical nature of knowledge. I'm fascinated by this topic, but I do feel that when considering the practical uses of knowledge, it's about what we can do to help one another learn, as much as it is about understanding what it is we know, and what is knowing. It was also great to see and hear from health based individuals who struggled with issues of access, skills, understanding and also excellent examples of the uses of technologies such as wikis and blogs in a medical library.

After (another) rubbish day at work I was really pleased to read Anne Welsh's post on the event, and to hear that those who were more negatively inclined were more engaged by the end. I feel like I did something really useful, and sparked some debate, whilst thoroughly enjoying myself and learning more about the role of the librarian in the corporate world. I also discovered (thanks to Ruth Rikowski), that there are some fabulous books published by Chandos which are right up my street in terms of knowledge management, so I encourage you to have a look at their catalogues.

The sausage and chips were great too :-)

Thanks to Ralph for the invite and looking after me while I waited for my taxi, and thanks to Anne for contributing definitions in such a concise and accessible way...huge respect to you missus.

Blogs in plain english - another CommonCraft offering

I'm a real fan of these CommonCraft videos, so here's the latest on blogs...

What can blogging contribute to the training and development of project managers

UPDATE - 2nd Jan
A very nice person has just commented that the link to the dissertation is no longer working. I've put it instead on a wiki - here's the new link to my dissertation

Right, I've set up a website so that I can actually put my dissertation online and link to it - what a faff! I just wish blogger allowed you to upload documents, instead of only linking to them. Hey ho.

Apologies for the rather, er, basic site, and all the ads...it's a free site, you get what you pay for (or don't pay for) I guess. Avoid the advert popup nightmare by just going to the dissertation (see link below).

Abstract
This action research study examines the contribution a group blog can make to the training and development of project managers and indicates that blogging effectively supports knowledge sharing and learning.

Three cycles of research provided evidence that blogging has utility as a tool for informal learning, enabling the capture and dissemination of experience based knowledge. Project managers taking part in the study realised benefits such as access to previously unattainable knowledge and information, and increased exposure to alternative practice. The similarity of the context of the experiences, advice and guidance submitted to the blog and the project managers working context enabled effective learning transfer.

Postive reactions to anonymous posting indicated a culture which does not support the open sharing of mistakes and failures, preventing project managers to learn from and mitigate against these mistakes recurring. Anonymity provided a degree of protection to those concerned about possible repercussions from contributions but prevented the development of more productive collaborative relationships.

Participants were reluctant to post, a possible indication of an inability to identify good practice with value to others. Although interview responses indicated that the blog encouraged reflection on practice, further development of project manager’s skills in reflection may facilitate an increase in the sharing of tacit knowledge and good practice.

The need for management support was indicated throughout the study. The relative importance of learning must be raised to encourage the prioritisation of learning and managers need to show their support by allowing more time for participation on the blog. The management of the blog itself was received positively, indicating the need for facilitation and moderation, however the community responded negatively to over and under management indicating that a light touch is required when facilitating a group blog.

The study demonstrates therefore, that a group blog has considerable potential as a tool for informal learning and may be effectively used alongside formal training interventions. However, a well developed ability to reflect on practice along with an open, supportive culture of sharing are required to maximise the potential of blogging for learning and knowledge sharing.

Click here for the full dissertation

The impact of blogging on offline relationships - Real Life 2.0 anyone?

I want to highlight a recent post by Jon Husband, KM and Friendships - Blogging, Listservs, Forums, Moderation, etc. in which he returns to a blog post from 2002, showing remarkable insight and a considerable amount of vision, in terms of the potential of blogging. In particular this comment resonates with me...

...the sociality that blogging enables and creates is a critical component of the effective construction, exchange and use of knowledge, and I truly believe that many if not most organizations should move more quickly and more seriously to experiment on purpose with ways to use blogging (inside and outside the firewall) to enhance responsiveness, effectiveness, productivity and innovation.

I agree completely with Jon. But I wonder if when writing this he was thinking about the construction, exchange and use of knowledge offline, as well as online? (maybe he'll let us know?)

I've noticed recently that my involvement in blogging, particuarly internally, is having a real, positive impact on my face to face work relationships.

People I have met on our internal blog already know me to some extent - I'm much happier to ask them for advice, info and input, they seem to be much happier to give me what I ask for. We've developed a level of trust even though we haven't met in person. We've connected on a level that has increased the degree to which we share knowledge and experience, the degree to which we collaborate.

This isn't necessarily on a blog, it's because of a blog. We're collaborating and conversing in emails, on the phone. The blog facilitated and enabled the open, collaborative working relationship we now have.

To some extent, this is problematic, as not everyone has access to the knowledge we are sharing, it's offline and between just us, but in terms of a broader knowledge sharing process, knowledge is being shared, and between people who may not have done so without the blog acting as an enabler.

I don't think the power of the blog can be underestimated here, particularly when those participating are unlikely to meet face to face, yet still benefit from sharing.

I guess what's really starting to interest me is the impact of online activity on offline reality. If anyone has seen anything of note on this, it'd be great to hear from you.

...and no, I don't really think we should call it Real Life 2.0, considering a recent post, that would make me a hypocrite.

Internal blogs - just another tool

I think of blogs as electronic notebooks - it doesn't matter what you put in them, they are essentially just a platform for expression, communication, publication.

James Dellow has posted a quote from Jim Vinson in his post Internal blogging is just one example of open information sharing inside an organisation that sums this up for me.

"In a recent discussion on the ACT-KM discussion list, someone mentioned that blogging is just one means of communication - that it isn't the be-all, end-all of knowledge sharing. I like this reminder because promoters tend to fall all over themselves with fantastic claims. On the other side, blogging provides a means of communication that people may need and don't currently have within their organization."

Just as a notebook has potential, but without anything in it, it's just a notebook, a blog has potential, but in reality it's just a platform, an enabler, it's what you do with it that matters.

Blogging from the Backroom event, CILIP event

Tomorrow I'm speaking at an event run by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, Blogging from the Backroom. I'll be talking about my experiences with the Project Managers Knowledge Cooperative shared blog. Also on the programme are Drugscope, St. George’s Medical School, University of London, Home Office and the National Library for Health (NHS). You can see the full programme here.

I'm looking forward to being able to enthuse about the power of blogging, after all, I think blogs are the notebooks of the 21st century, a fantastically flexible tool, but I'm also keen to point out the problems of using blogs for knowledge sharing and learning.

My key points are that

• Knowledge alone is nothing, it's how it's applied that matters, so a blog is merely an enabler for improved practice
• A blog can aid reflective practice as by the very act of writing about experiences, people create a concrete example onto which to hang theory
• Collaboration is key in a group blog - if only one person posts, and few people comment, the value of the group element of the blog is lost and it becomes a different animal
• Trust and confidence are vital for participation, if this is lacking, and a culture change is required, it will be an uphill struggle to gain benefit from a shared blog

I'm sure it will be an interesting and thought provoking event and despite a few nerves (I've not presented on this area before, as my research isn't complete) I'm looking forward to it.

Barriers to Sharing 1: fear of being seen to be incompetent

In interviewing participants for my research, certain key areas came up again and again, one of which is the issue of confidence.

When discussing knowledge sharing and blogs as a vehicle for knowledge sharing, it was clear that what they said about the usefulness of sharing, wasn’t reflected in practice. They were keen on the concept of sharing, and said they enjoyed reading what others had posted, even that this led to some extent on their reflecting on their own practice.

What interesting was that they wanted to read about others thoughts and experiences, but weren’t willing to describe their own...

When questioned about why they thought people weren’t posting, participants felt to some extent, that people weren’t posting due to a lack of confidence. In digging deeper, this appeared in some part to be due to the perception that as Project Managers, they should be able to do their job, to manage projects. If they are seen to be asking questions about project management, or stating something that others may think is incorrect, they will look as though they are incompetent.

Chris Argyris has said that people will talk about what they do in terms of their espoused theory, what they believe is the best answer to the question, but what they actually do doesn’t necessarily reflect what they actually do, their theory-in-use. This does appear to be the case with the study participants, and they appear to be demonstrating what he calls Model I behaviour.

This behaviour, by which theories-in-use are oriented towards winning, and avoiding embarrassment, Argyris believes leads to deeply entrenched defensive routines (Argyris 1990; 1993). He believes that sharing action, thoughts and feelings can make people vulnerable to the reactions of others – a no brainer there, who hasn't at some stage felt nervous about saying what they think, but it seems this behaviour, very simply, can be attributed to a lack of confidence and fear of being seem to be incompetent.

“Acting defensively can be viewed as moving away from something, usually some truth about ourselves. If our actions are driven by moving away from something then our actions are controlled and defined by whatever it is we are moving away from, not by us and what we would like to be moving towards. Therefore our potential for growth and learning is seriously impaired. If my behaviour is driven by my not wanting to be seen as incompetent, this may lead me to hide things from myself and others, in order to avoid feelings of incompetence. For example, if my behaviour is driven by wanting to be competent, honest evaluation of my behaviour by myself and others would be welcome and useful. (Anderson 1997)”

If we consider that these people are working in a health context, where competence, particuarly medical competence, is seen as the bedrock of the organisation, it may be that project managers are very aware of the need to be competent.

It seems a viscious circle ensues, where the need to be competent drives the need to learn, but this need is thwarted by the fear of being perceived to be incompetent.

It’s been suggested that the professionalisation of Project Managers in the NHS would help practitioners acknowledge that they are continually learning. This might also put even more pressure on them.

Interestingly, I read a post by Andrew Latham on the subject of confidence and blogging, in his experience, in terms of software development, which seems to reflect the issue. In his situation it seems that it's acknowledged that people need to continutally learn, to progress in order to do their job well, and that colleagues can help this process.

Encouraging a learning culture and making opportunties for continuing professional development may be a way around this (sounds simple doesn't it), but until a culture of learning becomes the norm, I’m not convinced that knowledge sharing through online communites and blogging will be effective.

As Argyris says, it’s only by interrogating and changing the governing values, that new action strategies can be produced that can address changing circumstances.

Working from home and the joy of blogging

It's Friday, and I'm working from home to avoid the commute from Sheffield to Leeds, particularly to avoid the train - a huge incubator full of germ ridden suits. I really need to kick this cold! It's over a week since I could breathe.

There's still a decidedly chilly reaction to my decisions to work from home, and I know why, but I honestly get more done at home. I start earlier, as I have no commute, no need to get dressed (yes, I work in my dressing gown until about 11am) and I stop later, as I've no need to catch that train and I can cook and work at the same time in the evening. It's great. I seem to have far more time at home to sit and ponder, reflect, generally gather my thoughts than I do at work, where there is constant distraction and a not very comfy chair.

My ponderings today were primarily around how useful this blog has been for helping me formulate my thoughts on my dissertation. It's also been great for helping me reference interesting and helpful blog posts and articles. I just need to link to them, and they're there for ever. Much more fun than just making lists on email, they actually come to life for me. As Chad says in his post on blogging for new bloggers...

"Putting your thoughts out on blog is great for you (writing really helps clarify thinking) and its great for others who might learn from what you have to say, or who see that you’re wondering about something and either have the answers, or often a different perspective on the topic."

A good point well made.

Knowledge and Citing Blogs

Watching the particularly touching Starter for 10, something James McKavoy’s character Brian Jackson said struck a chord. “I want to know everything” he states. How is that possible, I wonder.
University Challenge is a beautifully archaic institution, representing the historical academic principle of knowledge as “truth”. This goes against the theory that resonates most for me, the theory that knowledge is socially constructed.

In writing a dissertation about an emerging technology (well, emerged is more the case), it seems that the nature of knowledge enabled by Web 2.0 technologies beautifully encapsulates the constructivist theory.

What impact does this have on academic research? As Allison Cavanagh says in the introduction to her book Sociology in the Age of the Internet (2007)
“The development of the internet, as a technology, medium and social space, has well and truly outpaced academic responses to it.”

I have a feeling my bibliography will contain a considerably greater percentage of references to blogs than books or peer reviewed articles. I wonder how the examining body will view this. I’m referencing published works, peer reviewed by the blogosphere. Does this have the same weight and kudos as a peer reviewed journal? If not, why not?

Slightly concerned but I’m hoping the case for citing blogs is greater than that against….

Blogging for knowledge sharing and learning

As I’m in the midst of a research project on the usefulness of blogging for learning and knowledge sharing, it seemed remiss of me not to actually have a blog in which to discuss it.

With a sample of only 14 people, only 9 of which even log on, it’s becoming apparent that developing an internal group blog isn’t that easy. Barriers abound

“I don’t know what to write”
“Who owns the site – are they monitoring what I’m doing? Is this really assessing how much time I spend working and how much I spend on the Internet”
“If I ask questions, I’ll look like I don’t know what I’m doing”

These are just a few reasons I’ve been given for not posting. People are happy to read, happy to comment even, but not happy to post. What began as an attempt to develop an online community has mutated into an examination of why people are reticent. I don’t know if that’s the nature of my own organisation, or of the workforce in general, I suspect it’s the latter. I’m not in a position to research the entire workforce, but then again, am I?

If I ask the question, what prevents people for blogging in a closed, safe, internal environment, will I get any answers?

The only way to know is to ask, so I am…in your experience, what prevents people for blogging in a closed, safe, internal environment?