KM 2.0
- Neta Lee Sandormesky!
- Mar 31, 2008
- 3 min read
The term KM 2.0 represents a new generation of knowledge management, based on the principles and applications of WEB 2.0, hence its name. In the WEB 2.0 era, the Internet adopted sharing platforms such as blogs, forums, social networks, and video sharing sites that place users at the center and allow them to freely write about their experiences and contribute from their knowledge. Users discovered the potential in turning to these sharing platforms to find the most relevant, up-to-date, and reliable information for them. KM 2.0 aims to implement the natural and everyday collaborative concept that evolved on the Internet into organizational knowledge management during the WEB 2.0 era. Knowledge managers in organizations can harness the ingrained habits of turning to collaborative knowledge repositories to implement knowledge management. The organization benefits from active users who add value to content on one hand, and users who recognize the importance of information and knowledge repositories based on their colleagues' experiences on the other hand.
Beyond implementing WEB 2.0 principles, KM 2.0 also refers to applying WEB 2.0 tools within organizational boundaries. Prominent examples of applications being implemented in organizations:
Establishing social networks - Social Networking - A social network provides a shared infrastructure for all knowledge management applications and facilitates building trust between the people behind the knowledge. The rationale for establishing a social network in an organization is that when people socialize, it becomes easier for them to share professional work topics. The social network can help achieve business goals by turning it into an expert map that provides profiles of employee expertise and specialization areas, enabling simple and friendly identification of employees with specific knowledge.
Wiki - A Wiki is a structured content management solution (i.e., a collection of pages with a uniform structure based on templates) where users can relatively easily participate: edit content, add content, and even influence template definitions. This solution is ideal for areas where information and knowledge come from the bottom up, and distributing responsibility for content entry and editing adds value and contributes to quality. For example, a Wiki can serve as a tool for technicians to manage issues and share knowledge. An organizational WIKIPEDIA can include business intelligence on competitors, products, technologies, etc.
Blogs - These are personal areas that allow knowledge workers/managers in the organization to share knowledge directly. A blog written by a knowledge worker allows them to share their experience and even gather a group of experts from the same field around them, thereby creating new knowledge. Managerial blogs allow employees to understand the personal aspect behind decision-making in the organization, thus reducing resistance to them. In general, operating internal blogs helps develop efficient and unmediated communication that encourages openness in the organization.
KM 2.0 attempts to refresh traditional knowledge management tools based on centralized control and top-to-bottom information flow. However, knowledge management that addresses internal organizational needs cannot operate without control and guidance. This means that the KM 2.0 approach combines the spirit of collaboration and new applications with classic solutions (document management, portals, etc.) that focus knowledge management on those topics whose sharing and preservation will improve the achievement of organizational goals.
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