Living Networks

The current issue of Professional Marketing carries an article by our friend Ross Dawson on The Future of Knowledge Management that identifies five key frames that will leverage the value of knowledge in the densely connected, emergent global economy. I'm in the midst of researching my book on Informal Learning. And I've come up independently with the same five factors! This also got me thinking about the overlap of informal learning and workflow learning.



The big five are:

1. Social network analysis, to show how thing really work -- in the shadow organization.
2. Collaboration, to connect individuals, teams, and groups.
3. Relevance, using collaborative filtering and profiling techniques to pinpoint what we need from the vast sea of information. Think in-house Amazon.
4. Workflow Learning, because it "integrates access to every type of learning-whether it is information, elearning modules, or human experts-into the everyday flow of work, so these are available as and when they are needed."
5. Knowledge-based relationships, because rich exchange of knowledge builds trust and loyalty. No more quickies.