Where Social Networking Meets Knowledge Management

Social networking and Web 2.0 are the hot topics even in the business world. How can business social networking be used for knowledge management? A good question which this website tries to explore. Social knowledge comes in many flavors as you will see.

Knowledge management has a long history in the information systems field. In the past, information technology solutions focused on knowledge held in organizations. Yet knowledge outside of organizations are just as critical. So are different ways of presenting knowledge like infographics. Social CRM (Customer Relationship Management) has sprung up as companies recognize that the in-house analytical knowledge of customers in a contact database may not match customer desires. What about blogshops? And why not Facebook for your large multi-national organizations to share knowledge, socialize your workforce, and enhance communications?

What is behind vloggers, haul videos, unboxing? Why so much interest in micro-blogs (e.g., Twitter) or the social networking equivalent of status updates? Do these social phenomena provide meaningful knowledge? What are the knowledge management solutions for such user generated content? Many questions ... no answers ... but if these topics get students motivated then why not?

The course (INFO 230) for which this website was originally created reflects a broader view of knowledge. Knowledge in/for business is no longer the centralized corporate knowledgebase of a decade ago. Internal knowledge resources are decentralized and there is greater recognition that knowledge is embedded in the social networks of a firm's customers. It is for this broader view of knowledge that piqued my interest in the social knowledge management topics covered on this website. There are obviously more ... but this is a starting point. Many of the contributions are now from students (reproduced in their entirety).

A new (for Fall 2011) technology-driven social media course (see INFO/MKTG 250 syllabus) will use much of this information. I also maintain some pages with popular searches - for fun of course.

Fall 2012 Update. Follow me on social media @k2kaloha and our course hashtag #mktg250d. I also have a blog Social Media Milieu that addresses topics related to "shaping your online identity to balance community with privacy".

Welcome to Social Knowledge Management Website — Jun 11, 2010 12:34:49 PM