2020 Workplace » Wikis

How Does Knowledge Management Transfer to the World of Wiki’s?

Jeanne Meister — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:44:53 +0000

According to a Gartner forecast, 50 percent of U.S. corporations will have implemented wiki’s by 2009. That number should continue to grow as more “Net Generation” employees enter the workforce. For those of us who have been in the corporate environment for more than 10 years the first thing that probably comes to mind is “knowledge management,” but for this new Net Generation worker, “wiki” is a more applicable term.

Why are wiki’s the “communication mode of choice” for workers who are 30 years old or younger? According to a 2007 comScore study (and validated by my 18-year-old daughter) teen email usage was down by 8 percent, compared with a 6 percent increase in e-mailing for users of all ages. So the potential Net Generation workers are already accustomed to going around email and finding faster, and more efficient ways of communicating and getting the job done.

Companies are starting to experiment with wiki’s as a way to better manage work. For example, MWW Group, a mid-sized public relations firm, recently deployed wiki’s to track real-time news updates and facilitate communications with clients.

According to MWW, the benefits include:

Reduced time spent on e-mail, as the wiki allowed group editing and saved employees from sending hundreds of back-and-forth e-mails.
Better and faster real-time collaboration among employees.
A new knowledge base for market intelligence data which workers can collaborate on on a daily basis.

Lastly, as companies experiment with the wiki format they also have to put in place a set of policy guidelines to ensure sensitive and proprietary data stays off of public wiki’s. This happens to be one of the major hurdles in effectively deploying and utilizing wiki’s in a corporate atmosphere. Some issues to be sure to include are:

Nominating employees as moderators
Creating explicit policies on what to include and what to avoid in wiki posts
Encouraging employees to create wiki’s on specific topics which lend themselves to be used as a repository for knowledge sharing

Wikinomics and Corporate Learning

Jeanne Meister — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:36:51 +0000

The idea that people who use products should have input into their design is not entirely new. There have been many episodes of user-driven creativity in the history of invention, which scholars such as MIT professor Eric Von Hippel have shown through their research.

As Don Tapscott points out in his book, Wikinomics , steam engine makers in 19th century England collaborated openly with mine owners to improve the efficiency of the steam engine used to pump water out of coal mines. A more recent example comes from BMW. When it came time to rethink the features for future models (such as GPS navigation), the company released a digital design kit on its website to encourage interested customers to design these features themselves. Thousands responded and shared ideas with company engineers, many of which have since turned into valued business initiatives.

Now BMW hosts a “virtual innovation agency” on its website, where small and medium-sized businesses can submit ideas in the hope of establishing an ongoing relationship with BMW. Increasingly smart companies see co-creation with their customers as an important way to develop new products.

[tags]Wikis, Corporate Learning[/tags]

Experimenting with Web 2.0 For Learning

Jeanne Meister — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:41:03 +0000

Clearly we will be left behind as learning professionals if we rely solely on a linear production model of instructional design. Recently I spoke with Karie Willyerd, VP and Chief Learning Officer at Sun Learning Services, about what she is doing to enourage her staff to use use Web 2.0 regularly. Karie has some suggestions for experiments designed help further employ Web 2.0 as a tool for learning. She believes CLO’s should consider the following:

Develop a wiki for your New Employee Orientation program requesting input from recently hired employees on what to include in future programs. Rather than spend 6-9 months in the instructional design phase, the wiki could begin to capture the suggestions of new employees as they enter and then complete the program.

Create a podcast series profiling a variety of subject matter experts sharing their “top tips” in a number of areas relevant to learning clients in the organization, such as new product development, leadership development needs and branding challenges.

Use the latest computer technology to troll Internet sites and push blogs and other feeds to the desktops of employees so they can keep track of what consumers are saying about your company and your competitors.

Develop a channel on your site to have learners “rate” their courses, just like Amazon does for books. Amazon, their such innovations, has had a huge impact on book retailing (things aren’t like they used to be anymore). Another way to utilize this Amazon tool is to create a referral service so you can begin to capture which books your managers and staff are reading that may be of interest to you.

Develop a private online community for the learning organization staff to share the latest ways Web 2.0 can improve the design, development and/or delivery of a program.

Create a wiki of company acronyms and invite everyone to contribute. Also, create a wiki for the vision and goals of a new product/project so that all can comment about them in a regular and easy way.

Add a search engine connected to your Learning Management Services (perhaps Goggle).

Let anyone in your organization build a course in Second Life and then create a blog about their experience. Encourage comments by offering prizes so you can create a buzz in your group for trying these new tools.

Identify experts you are reading about in the media (political figures, university presidents, etc.), and then reach out to them to see if they will link their blogs or websites to your site. Adding lots of interesting links will increase usage.

Remember: the goal is to make learning accessible, engaging, and fun.
[tags]Web 2.0, Wikis[/tags]