"What it is ain't exactly clear" - Buffalo Springfield.
CIO Magazine ran a great article recently entitled "Why Social Computing Aids Knowledge Management." I refer to it as great for many reasons. One, it focuses in on a topic near and dear to AIIM, Enterprise 2.0. Two, it quotes the insights and expertise of my colleague, Patti Anklam. Three, it provides many great real word case studies of organizations still focused on Knowledge Management - now there is a topic near and dear to my heart.
But why the reference to the classic Buffalo Springfield song? (You younger readers - go down load it off of iTunes, its worth the 99 cents for a listen.) As I stated Knowledge Management is very much a topic and business practice that has been the focus of much of my career. Although I have always held to the belief that KM is real and relevant to business, it did wane in the interest of many. Even within the last few months I have heard respected AIIM members and colleagues make remarks like "Oh no let's not go down that ridiculous Knowledge Management road again."
Nonetheless, I have periodically blogged on the topic, and it is a fairly substantial element in AIIM's Enterprise 2.0 training. But what is almost eerie to me is the rate at which others are beginning to talk about KM again. As I stated, the CIO article provides a very good overview of KM and its value to business - relating it to Enterprise 2.0 tools. While an article on Enterprise 2.0/Social Computing is not shocking, the blatant reference to KM was a bit. KM was also tossed around quite a bit at the recent Enterprise 2.0 conference. Indeed one of the presentations I gave at the conference was on KM. Just a few weeks ago, an AIIM member called me to discuss her company's "knowledge management initiative" - her words not mine.
Lastly, a month or so ago, we ran a survey amongst AIIM members and asked what topics they wanted Market IQs to cover in 2009. Knowledge Management clearly ranked at the top of the list. (A similar poll amongst solution providers positioned KM at nearly the bottom of the list.)
So I state again "There is something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear." Knowledge Management is making some type of resurgence. But is it only within the domain of positioning/selling social computing software, or is there ore to it? Are business leaders once again comfortable with not only talking about, but leading KM initiatives? Is the technology market slow to see the resurgence in KM, or do its members rightfully see this as a blip and not a movement?
I know my (biased) answer. But I would like to hear from you - any and all of you. What has your recent interaction with KM been like? Do you see this practice making a come back? Are my recent observations a blip or a movement?
