Thore v Knowledge Management

Don't have Facebook nightmares

2009-03-02T23:07:00.006Z

Today I have had a stream of people contacting me about the ‘viral surge’ that is hitting our Facebook accounts. I am now just waiting on that concerned call from my Mother, worried for my safety.

So, this ‘viral surge’ of, um… five (5) possible security problems in the last seven days; then what with Facebook threatening to keep the rights to your holiday snaps and your notes telling everyone your top ten songs of all time! Is this now a time to jump the Facebook boat and go back to writing letters to your friends? Well maybe not! The reality is that you are more likely ‘get done’ from identity fraud from putting your details in the post then you are from Facebook. It seems the mass hysteria of death by Facebook is on the loose again.

I am not saying there is no risk but I think people need to put things into perspective before they panic and close down all their Social Networking sites. There is more risk of a virus attack from logging onto your windows computer. There is more risk of identify theft from using a cash point machine, throwing your bills away, using your credit card or (living in the UK), being on government files. The fact is, the risk might be there but it’s a small risk and certainly one not to panic about.

Facebook have a very informative security page for those who can’t sleep at night with worry and for the rest of us it’s a gentle reminder. It is always good to remember that Facebook is about networking your daily boring life with your friends, not storing your addresses and credit card numbers. Always be aware of what applications you are adding to your profile and maybe stop and read what that ‘allow’ page is actually allowing. You don’t download any random software application from a web page or punch your credit card number into any old website, do you?

Don’t have nightmares

iPhone apps - Shazam

2009-01-25T17:52:00.007Z

Here is my first little review of an iPhone application; Shazam. Completely free and I must point out, it has blown my socks off somewhat!

What is is?
Are you ever in a place where you hear some music you like and want to know what it is? In a shop, on the TV or listening to the radio? The moment passes and then a day later you are wrapping your brain to remember what that song was. So you pop into your local record store and as the shop assistance stares blankly at you; "It had love in the lyrics and I think tree was mention, oh and it went 'do be do be doo'. You know, it had a loud beat."

Well, Shazam is an application that listens to the music playing and then works out what the song is. It then tells you the title and the artist. It links directly to iTunes so you can buy it there and then and also offers you a run down on the artist singing it.

How does it work?

How on earth this works is a mystery! Even using it now, I am still not convinced it can do what it does but clearly it does!! No doubt the technology behind this is commercially confidential but Chris Lightfoot has a go at explaining it, if you like technical talk!

Once you turn on the application you have a tag button you hit when you hear the music must have. The application starts listening which takes around 15 seconds. It vibrates the phone to let you know its done and then analysis the data. On wifi or 3G this takes just a few seconds; then it shows you the results. Shazam!!

Features?

The key feature is that you tag some music on your travels. Your iPhone stores up a record of tags that you can look up at anytime. So unlike your brain, it wont forget what it heard. The tags are neatly organised by date.

When you view a tag you have the option of listening to the song on iTunes and then buying it. You can read a bio of an artist, view the video on YouTube (if it exists), share the tag with a friend and even attach a photo to the tag. Not sure why you would do this?

Testing and personal view

Other than being completely blown away by this, I can not help thinking on the potential of what this knowledge sharing could do if applied to conversations or just general everyday noises. "What's that noise I can hear? Oh Shazam says it is next door moving furniture, again!".

If the music is in its original format (as should be heard) then it is spot on nearly every time. If I sing into it or play my guitar into it; it returns a message, nothing found. That might be more of a refection on me than the application! It was a little hit and miss on live concerts.

Its range in genres was also quite impressive. Modern pop and rock were obviously not a problem but it recognised; 1940's Andrew Sisters to 1950's country singer Kitty Wells. I found that relative unknowns like African singer Papa Wemba and French singer Soko were not found by the application.

When the application is listening, the music does not have to be that loud or you do not have to be that close to the source; but if there is background noise (i.e. talking from an advert or a loud noise in the shop), it slightly struggled. Also be careful not to cover the mic up (bottom of the iPhone).

Generally speaking I estimate 95% of songs I have tagged were found - and I have done a lot now! Overall, a fantastic application and one you should download!

iKnowledge

2009-01-23T19:18:00.005Z

Well, what a poor show from me. It must be some weeks now since I last updated my blog. With all those good intentions to keep a regular updated blog and I go an let myself down by adding nothing for ages!

What brings me back? Well I must just write about the new iPhone. OK, its not new but to me it is. For about a year I have had the iTouch and its great but not been a massive user (although I do like my music). For this reason I have resisted the iPhone for some time. All of a sudden everyone around is getting one in these recent days. Not to be the odd one out, I went to the Carphone Warehouse and got me the 16gb version.

Having been glued to the device for the last week; I have realised what the GPS, loud speaker, constant Internet connection and phone facility add to the device. Not only is it just a good fun product and easy to use but I did not appreciate the level of knowledge sharing it brings. Not just the 'level' of knowledge sharing but the 'new level' of knowledge sharing.

Until now I have not seen a device that brings about a completely new knowledge sharing experience - which I think is mainly down to the GPS and the availability of applications. The limit to possibilities is only restricted by innovation, I must say.

What I might do, rather than go on in an over excited rant; is maybe review some of the applications available. So look out for that and go buy yourself one, if not have a nose at a friends!

Which generation are you?

2008-10-27T21:27:00.007Z

I think the way people share knowledge, communicate and network on the whole can have a lot to do with someones generation. So, should a Company be prioritising the majority age demographic in regards to the tools we provide, working style/ethic and approach to work to ensure successful knowledge sharing in our company? If this is the case, how do bring on board those age ranges less likely like or understand a particular approach?

I am not really sure at the moment if this should be a consideration but I am starting to buy into it!

What I am picking up and what I believe is that the 'Generation Y' have a certainly got hairs running with some of the older folk at work. There is a new generation of people now leaving school, college or uni with their complete acceptance to doing things online and funny ways of writting (aka text talk); they expect networking tools like business/social networking sites, instant messaging and peer to peer file sharing.

If (as recruitment consultancy FreshMinds suggest) they are more ambitious and have a greater tenancy to move job, how do we tap into their 'brand' conscious minds and encourage better retention to stop the knowledge walking out the door?

It is very likely that your firm is being run from the top by the Baby Boomer generation. A generation that finds it hardest to understand both generations X and Y. Less likely to be available on the company IM, have been within the company for many many years and most likely keeps a clear line between their social and business life; we need the Baby Boomers leadership and sponsor to ensure the new younger generation Y have the right culture and the right tools they consider just as normal as the television in the corner of the lounge!

Generation Y is about communities and networking and so it needs a complete buy-in. We can not just leave it to them and let the rest of us just get on with what we have been doing for years.

I am suspecting that a majority of Knowledge Managers are Generation X and they (being the X) seem to be best placed to bridge the generation gap between the newbies joining and the established running the the show. Time will tell but I am thinking that the most switched on companies will attract the best of the newer generation. Lets not forget that Generation Z is hot on the heals with the first batch due to start work around 2018!

It's in my view that Knowledge Managers should be pushing for more Web 2.0 technology, culture change in the way we network and communicate and helping make the work place a more attractive place for Generation Y. It does not come easy, with dramatic culture change for the more establish there are a lot of barriers to overcome and lots of myths to resolve.

For purpose of interest, I have listed the generations and approximate years. Depending what resources you read, the exact dates change slightly.

1880's to 1900's : Lost Generation
1900's to 1920's : Greatest Generation
1920's to Early 1940's : Silent Generation
1940's to 1960/65 : Baby Boomer
1960-68 to 1981 : Generation X
1982 to 2001 : Generation Y
2001+ :Generation Z

RTDOX published by Times Online and stop being a BHOF! :-X LQTM
How to connect with Generation Y

Re-useable knowledge tip

2008-10-21T21:26:00.005+01:00

Just though I would share this little tip for re-using knowledge at home.

When you go away on holiday or you are about to embark on some business travel abroad, do you sit down and frantically compile a check list of what to take and what to remember? If you don't then well done on remembering everything!

If you do; then when you leave keep the list in your suitcase and keep re-using it instead of throwing it in the bin before you leave. Not only can you use it when you come back to ensure nothing is left in the hotel but when you go away again you have it already and waiting in the suitcase.

This can work for any list you create, like a weekly shopping list!

While we are on the subject of travel, here is a useful site for checking flights. Skyscanner, easy to use not as complicated as some travel based sites.

Think about your images

2008-10-12T10:02:00.006+01:00

Designing websites or helping people design websites on a budget always gives me the same challenge. Images! When you should use them is another whole post but I want to talk about what images to use.

Large corporations invest hundreds into their photo development on their websites and for very good reason. They have a brand to promote and the images must look in keeping with each other to give that professional look and feel.

What happens when you don't have all that money and want to create a great looking site using images? Well, normally folk will randomly find the images they want from Google images or clipart and plonk them on the page - hoping for the best. Of course it ends up looking like the site was created by a 10 year old.

When I have been asked to create a site (either in my own company or for someone paying me to develop a site) I focus on finding images that work together and with the site. This is combination of spotting matching colours within the image and picking images with similar styles. There are two ways to do this:

1. Take the photos myself or
2. Spend hours hunting the world wide web

Either way its a game of patience and sometimes endurance. Ever helpful is my Photoshop software to make small adjustments to some images to get them looking like they belong.

Below is an example of adding images with no thought other than the content. A bear, A Cow and the bottom of trees in a forest. Look how the images don't fit in and seem more like an after thought.

Now look at the next set of photos. These work together because of the colours, matching size and style of photo. They also compliment my blog design. They look more professional and give off a great presence. You might like to note the image on the top right of my blog (at one with nature) was added for the very reason it blended in well. OK, now I am being a little anal!

The only thing needed investing for these images was a little time but the results can make or break how professional a website can look. Well, that was the old days when I was a wee lad!!

Idee Labs have introduced a great new tool that allows you to select the colours of your website and automatically pull back plenty of matching images from Social Networking sites like Flicker. Its an amazing tool and certainly something worth checking out.

Now there is no reason for that nasty clipart or animated GIF on your website.

EBIC Conference - Berlin

2008-10-01T17:21:00.003+01:00

I have just spent an afternoon at the ebic conference and heard some very interesting presentations. It’s provoked many questions for thought and fed me with many a quote for battle back at the office.

Paul Saffo gave a great talk on forecasting and has given me great insight into how media evolves or does evolve - and everything else for that matter. It is an approach I have never thought about in the past; about predicting or forcasting the future using simple rules - what will be hot and what will not.

If truly the next generation of media is around peer to peer or sensors then I fear there is a lot to accomplish within the work environment. We are only just starting to dip our toe in the water around social networking being useful within the confines of our work environment.

This brings me nicely onto the presentation given by Ewan Mcintosh. It is few and far between that I meet or hear from someone who has truly embraced social media and not only understands the principles but applies real benefits for our daily work life.

His talk made sense, mirrored my thoughts but also helped me draw some lines under my own doubts about some of the media available; such as blogs and using them like real-time diaries for people back in the office. If only I had thought of that before I left London yesterday. Interacting Twitter with the conference and making the small audience 10 times larger to share knowledge was a superb use of the Micro blogging.

Tomorrow brings day 2 of the conference and I am sure many more nuggets of interesting moments.

Stop playing with Facebook

2008-09-21T13:50:00.001+01:00

The dawn of Social Networking has gone but it continues to evolve and become a part of your life like Free View and the iPod; you got it, want it or know someone with it. It is no longer a toy for society’s youth; they have tested it and certified it suitable for my Nan (who incidentally does use it). Like the birth of the internet or the mobile phone you can no longer ignore it and everyone these days seems to know someone on Facebook. You still get the die hard anti-Facebook folk who will, one day, have to give in. Like the day they had to visit Rumbelows and by their first video recorder (when everyone had just started moving onto DVD).

With the younger generation accustomed to Facebook life and more and more of the older generation jumping on the Facebook wagon everyone seems to be online updating their status and writing on walls. This is hardly an appropriate way to spend your time at work is it? Well, that is the big question that is rattling around in corporate heads. Certainly about half of all large companies in the USA/UK already blocked Facebook and it is estimated that is up to two thirds of companies in London City. It is not only seen as a risk but a waste of employee’s time.

It would appear that sitting on emails most of the day is quite acceptable. So, while the head of IT Security spends half an hour crafting a well worded email to the CEO explaining why he should block Facebook (which then flies back and fourth for a few days); Jim in Marketing just discovered on Facebook that Sarah in Finance can help with her project and they are now sitting in the Meeting Room talking. I can imagine the rolling eyes as you read that. What rubbish! Well, that could be and is the potential of Facebook (social networking and/or business networking). It can happen and does!

Companies need to understand the potential of Facebook which is networking people. It is keeping people connected and allowing you (as a user) to tap into your unseen network. No better way to explain this is there than the Social Networking in plain English video on YouTube.

Rather than ban, block and ignore Facebook, companies should embrace its potential. In the large national or global firm, good networking does not happen. We work in silos never venturing out of our country, office, floor or even our department to truly maximise our network potential. Yes, we know people through specific tasks or projects but that is not maximising your network that just happens because you have no choice. Facebook will connect you to people you might never meet but could be a good contact or person to know.

Am I saying that your company should therefore allow Facebook as a part of IT systems portfolio? Simple answer no! Knowledge Managers and IT bods alike should understand the basic principles of Facebook as a potential business networking tool and how employees can benefit from that. Its early days and culturally many firms have a long way to go but there are tools already available dedicated to business networking; Microsoft MySite, Yammer and LinkedIn (to name a few) are very business focused networking tools.

In the meantime, don’t knock the Facebook folk at work. They maybe obsessed with their fun wall and posting anti IT slogans about how they don’t move with the times; but at the moment it’s the best tool you currently have for connecting people together at work.

http://www.facebook.com

Conversation competency

2008-09-16T20:03:00.000+01:00

I am beginning to wonder if the power of conversation is under estimated. We all do it but should a company recognise this as core competency of their employees? No doubt communication sits in there at quite a high level but it is not really about having a conversation.

At a recent Knowledge Café we discussed the issues of this subject and my initial reaction was ‘no’. I felt that we are all capable of conversation and needed no training and encouragement, so why make it a competency? In some cases the type of job you do means there is no opportunity for conversation; let’s take the lonely night security guard for example or the train driver. Then funny enough, through conversation I started to shift my views and it got me thinking.

What I kind of knew but never really thought about it, is a large chunk of the knowledge you share and receive is from a conversation. That could be the quick chat in the corridor, pre-meeting amble or the random networking of a smoking area (somewhere around the back of the car park). We even listen into other people’s conversation and pick out knowledge we then take away to use later.

If I think about what knowledge I gained yesterday, for example. A department’s new strategy and their long term staffing plans. A little more about mergers within the firm. I also discovered I filled out my end of year expenses sheet incorrectly. Let me stop there! What I am saying is that the majority of the useful knowledge I collected yesterday was though conversation; not meetings, intranet sites or emails.

If we take the Australian aboriginals, they have no written record yet they can recall events in their history dating back thousands of years. They have done this through conversation and story telling... and there lies a key point that makes conversation a strong contender for its competency status.

Story telling is by far the most effective way to communicate in conversation. It brings the information alive and allows us to live the circumstances and events in our minds. It also makes the information credible. If this information comes as an event or situation that happened then it makes it more believable. If you have ever attended a presentation training course then you will know, popping in a story will help capture your audience.

So do we all story tell in our conversation? I think on the whole we do but some are better than others. This is not an isolated conversation skill. Understanding how to have dialogue rather than debate, being open minded and maybe learning how to listen as well as talk. We know those conversations where we are bored ridged, those where people refuse to change their mindset or my specialty, were someone talks on and on and on.

If a person can be taught conversation skills then their conversations would be more effective and therefore better at Knowledge Sharing. If we converse with each other then surely we are happier. Then perhaps with good conversational skills we are more likely to have that courageous conversation rather than hide behind the email. So why not make this a competency and offer development in the art of conversation?

Why should it stop there? Could we not make the work environment more sustainable for off the cuff conversations to occur? Wider corridors, more break out areas and seating. Allowing or encouraging people to wonder from their desks to have a chat more often. What about morning coffee sessions for the early birds. Maybe something more simple like ensuring people go to the canteen for their lunch and integrate with other people in the office, rather than eat at the desk.

The traditional view of a conversation is normally linked to not doing your job and I guess that’s right but if you were effective in conversation then you would be knowledge sharing, networking and possibly helping the viral message of the firms latest announcements.

I think the next step is to get back in the office and maybe have a conversation about this.

http://www.overheardintheoffice.com/

Its a matter of work/email balance

2008-09-15T21:28:00.000+01:00

It is starting to be a daily occurrence these days that I am hearing more and more people boast about the quantity of emails they have received. It seems to be an achievement of which to be proud or a status of the ‘most busy’ person and my hundreds of emails prove that. Of course, the latter I would certainly not doubt. With that many emails I would never have anytime to do my job either.

As a Knowledge and Information sharing tool the email certainly revolutionised the way we communicate and collaborate at work. Has it now seen its day and become a burden, a chore or is it that we don’t really know how to use it effectively? I personally think it tends to be our crutch. It provides you with evidence, reassurance and something to do; all of which goes down great at your weekly one to one review with the boss. “Yes, this is being done, I sent an email but they have not responded yet! I can prove it too with my sent items and receipts” This seems perfectly acceptable because no doubt the boss is doing the same.

There are many other reasons the email is useful to people and normally not for the best of reasons. It can be used as a stalling mechanism to push away something that needs doing or it can be used to make you feel efficient by dishing out loads of tasks and reminders. How annoying if the recipient at the other end also sits on their email and responds within the second. That kick starts a game of email tennis with the aim to leave the ball in the opponent’s court thus relieving you of the task in hand! Perhaps the email is a good way to inform all your work colleagues that you were working until 2am (but if you were smart enough you would have used the ‘do not deliver’ option).

So with all this going on coupled with the jokes and thanks emails, the Health & Safety (Office, Social club, Team, Department, Project and firm) Newsletters, the social ‘fancy a coffee’ emails and the emails from the 'reply to all' folk (or maybe 'copy the world and their wife in' email); is it no wonder we have inboxes so large we go on to receive the obligatory daily ‘inbox over its space limit’ email – just making matters worse.

IT Departments are investing hundreds, thousands or even millions into anti-spam filters and yet we are continually being spammed by our colleagues. Is there going to be investment into internal email spamming or is it so ingrained into our culture this just would not work. We try to help ourselves and be better email people but we slip back into old habits! Is this a Knowledge Management issue and what can be done?

Well, I suspect there are two areas of focus that maybe a good start for the keen KM.

Firstly the appropriate use of email and the alternatives. As Knowledge Managers surely we can promote alternative methods (and might I say a lot more effective methods). Instant Messaging, SharePoint or such collaboration tools, RSS feeds and dare I say it - the telephone!** If you really want to cause a stir why not make the suggestion - more desk visits (in moderation of course, to start of with). Try some freshness and suggest usage guidelines; check emails an hour a day or have 'no email days'. Its all a bit radical I know!

Secondly, I think some awareness around using the features within the email system itself. Rarely used, I think the recipient would surely benefit from the sender clicking the ‘options’ tab (in Outlook I am referring) and just maybe noting the emails importance, flagging the expected response or adding an expiry date. If makes life so much easier if you had some understanding around the crap falling into your inbox every minute.

So all said and done, its time to take stock and put some action into this. Write it up, pop it in an email and send to distribution list ALL; and mark it urgent!

** A device that converts your speech into an analog/digital signal suitable for transmission over a phone line for someone else to hear

Upside down website

2008-09-14T13:47:00.000+01:00

Quite often different sections of a company internal website (aka The Intranet) is designed, developed and built by the department managing the content. If this is not the case, then I would suspect it is heavily influenced by the management team who own the content. Either way, in both cases the focus tends to remain around staying within the boarders of their department world with little regard as to how important the rest of the firm considers the information they want to put online. They are caught up in their world of information and jargon which is common everyday stuff to them and quite normal.

This results in to what I call the ‘upside down’ website. It can happen to any site but more commonly you find it around internal intranets where resource on expertise in web development is scarce; so a department will nominate their own inexperienced web development team or seek guidance from their leadership, who maybe experts in what they do but generally are the worst people to give guidance on web development.

So, what is an ‘upside down’ website? It is quite simple; it is where the content has been placed in the ‘content hierarchy’ back to front. Because the developers are so focused on their own department world they assume its readership want to know everything about them. So the detail starts from the top page downwards. I always find the classic clue to an 'Upside down' site is the front page which focuses content about themselves that will remain there for months or years to come untouched or updated!

For the visitor, there is no ‘to the point’ detail or useful information, or if there is it is buried within lines and lines of text or big libraries of Word or PDF documents. Generally, to get through you have to navigate around the pretty pictures, images and flash files that sit there serving no particular purpose.

So, for the uninformed or inexperienced web developer - I tell them to learn this rule, if nothing else:

Design to 10,000, 1,000 and 100 people!

The first level of content (or the first level of page(s) people visit) should include content that would be suitable for the majority of your visitors. Before anything is added onto these pages consideration to every word, image and document should be given! Do the majority of people want to know this? Do they need to know this? If the don't or there is doubt, don't add it here!

This procedure is continued down the hierarchy. The next level of pages into the site are considered for the 1,000 visits (or people who need a little more detail). Then finally all the finer detail is put at the bottom for the 100 people.

Because the top filters down to the bottom, all the stuff that is not important or should not be on your site drops off!

Let’s give you an example in its basic form!
For the 10,000 people we might include a telephone number on how to order a product. The next stage down we might include detail on the product for the 1,000 and finally the 100 get detail on policy or terms and conditions.

It is likely the majority will visit the site and want to know how to get the product in question but those wanting a little more information can filter down into more content. Keeping it simple this way also keeps it simple in terms of finding information.

The Knowledge Café

2008-09-14T00:08:00.000+01:00

Are businesses ready for the Knowledge Café? Formal structure and capturing evidence are some of the fundamental expectations of hosting a meeting in the work place. It’s to our selfish advantage that we pull together a group of people, share knowledge and take information from them to meet our own goals, aims and objectives. Do we think about how those we invited to the room will benefit from our meeting? OK, we like to think so but in reality how useful is my meeting to them? Could their time have been better spent? In many cases I bet they would think most of the meetings they attend were not very productive.

A Knowledge Café, with or without purpose; no apparent structure or note taking. The host walks away with just a warm fluffy feeling rather than some evidence and facts to give to their manager or clients. This can not be right? Why would this work?

Getting people together and placing the focus on nothing but conversation and dialogue seems too obvious. The host is impartial and does not steer. Based on a small initial brief, he allows the conversation to flow in what ever direction it wants; only a couple of interruptions to change the dynamics. That’s only if those doing the chatting want to, of course. Just think, the host does not even really need to understand the language!

The participants feel relaxed and open. There is a genuine feeling that knowledge has been shared, connections made and at the end of it all: where did the time fly? Can we come to another?

The amazing thing about a Knowledge Café is that it’s amazingly simple and obvious. The attendees walk away with a strong feeling of achievement in what they have done; the business benefited from this, your project has and they have. Therefore you have! You don’t even have to do minutes and ‘to do’ lists. There really was networking and knowledge sharing happening before my eyes and without any effort. Wow!

More on Gurteen Knowledge Cafe
Read about The World Cafe (a slightly different approach to Gurteen)