Is Social Media/Computing the New KM?

Certainly seems so. In addition to preparing a presentation about Enterprise 2.0, I recently listened in on PBworks webinar with Forrester Research Senior Analyst Oliver Young, who highlighted that the old KM was document-centric, and the new KM combines the old with a people-centric focus. Novel idea! And perhaps best facilitated with Social Media/Computing. Yes?

Wasn’t KM 1.0 “supposed” to focus on PEOPLE, process and technology? Perhaps web 2.0 technologies and OSS (open source software, like Drupal) offer new prospects for the accepting integration of KM into organizations that might otherwise be confused about the KM identity. Perhaps we can “sneak” it into the hallways and break rooms.

KM is definitely in an identity crisis, and I believe for all practical matters, has been in one in the US. Why is it that they get it in Asia and Europe? And why are employers in the US still all over the board about a definition for KM jobs? Do KMers fall into IT? HR? or any other number of acronyms? How does one specialize in KM when a successful KMer is a management generalist with the ability to pull diverse disciplines together in a cohesive strategy?

Continuing to ponder this and other ways to use new tools. Per a tweet today in the KM community: “RT @euan @vanderwal: From @nahumg: RT @lucian: Easier to give communities tools than to give tools communities. < spot on! #e2.0″

Using Enterprise 2.0 in KM

This… hot off the “press” (WordPress!) and ready for our KPM (Knowledge and Project Management) Symposium presentation Aug. 12 and 13 at the University of Oklahoma Tulsa campus.

Using Enterprise 2.0 in Knowledge Management

View more presentations from Michelle Farabough.

Check out the new website: KMRM.com

Newly released and ready for your comments… check out KMRM.com! Please offer feedback in wordpress comment box, on twitter at Michelle_KMRM or use the contact form on the website! I’m practicing what I preach by utilizing Web 2.0 technologies for CKM (customer knowledge management).

Gotta love incubators!

My partner and I are preparing a presentation for this year’s KPM (Knowledge and Project Management) Conference at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa campus in August. We’ve been assigned to the business innovators and incubators presenters group. According to my professors I’m a “serial” entrepreneur. Better that than serial something else! However, I wish KMRM was further “incubated.” Birthing is ALWAYS difficult, although rewarding. Coming up with your own angle is challenging, especially if you are tenacious to the point that you tell yourself you MUST figure it out AND succeed. Thanks, Dad… sometimes

Because of my heightened interest in the power of wikis as an innovative knowledge management tool, I continue to follow Wasabi Ventures (PB Works), who also brings us SiteBattles, Song Journals, and a list of other hit and hip internet toys. And, again… this new genre of social networking “networking” is, well, innovative! Example: I linked the Song Journals to my Facebook account where my fellow high school graduates are planning our 30th class reunion. This new “concert venue” will probably be great fun for those of us who shared junior or high school or even college together, as that is when the songs and what they said made a BIG difference in our lives.

Knowledge Management IS Risk Management

KMRM (Knowledge Management • Risk Management) Consulting, LLC takes seriously the notion of RISK as it relates to knowledge management and the likelihood that a company’s intellectual assets have not been captured and may be lost. This could occur for any number of reasons: retirement, layoffs, knowledge hoarding, lack of value awareness, and the like.

According to The McKinsey Quartlery: “Risk doesn’t mean danger—it just means not knowing what the future holds. That insight resides at the core of risk management for companies, whether in managing the potential downside of an investment or putting a value on the option of waiting when making irreversible decisions. In this video Peter L. Bernstein also explains why in the real world the most sophisticated mathematical models can sometimes fail.”

Mr. Bernstein, the celebrated author of Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, died June 5, 2009, at the age of 90.

Managing knowledge (and communication) for the family reunion…

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Little did I know that my KM skills would prove useful for planning a family reunion. But alas… I have been working on bringing people, processes and technology together… getting the right information to the right people at the right time.

One such resource has been Smilebox. (See my creation above.) It’s a great little program for sharing information by way of photos and text. Likewise, my mother and I honed our humorous writing skills by composing a tongue-in-cheek communique for the “family.”

Trying to figure out the logistics (processes) for getting everyone where they need to be when they are supposed to be there… and feeding/entertaining them all… has been a lesson in the organization of information.

Stay tuned… And live vicariously. I guarantee you some good laughs!

Visiting the Family Cabin in Traverse City

Great place to manage my own knowledge! Check out the new Blogroll link I’ve added for Traverse City Up North. You, too, can visit vicariously, then.

KMRM.com is born!

My consulting business is growing up! KMRM.com is being birthed by Steven Shelton, former graphic designer and fellow MLIS classmate and now librarian at K-state. 

First step: Get your domain name. We used godaddy and found that KMRM.com was owned by someone in Paris. Through the contact information on the list we were able to make an offer to buy it. The gentleman made a counter-offer, and because we didn’t accept his offer, the domain name was entered in a Sedo auction. Chewed nails and a week later, we won! (Lucky for my gambling partner!)

On my facebook wall I saw an advertisment for logotournament.com. We created a contest and got a NEW logo. Designers from around the world compete by submitting logo ideas. I had participants from the UK, Turkey, India, Singapore, Australia, USA and more!!! It was a tough decision!

For months we’ve been doing some competitive intelligence (thanks Doc Martens) on what “like” consulting firms are doing. We also checked out winning websites, noting navigation, white space, information, and colors.

We’ve reviewed Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug. Now onto creating! And writing! And editing! And feedback from people like YOU!

To be continued…

Congratulations PBworks!

If you haven’t tried a “pb”wiki, it’s definitely time you tried the new “PB”works. This fast-growing, collaborative web platform company provides enterprises and educators… small and large… a wonderful way to do all those important knowledge management things with what they know:
Create it
Capture it
Secure it
Combine it
Pool it
Edit it
Connect it
Share it
Transfer it
Distribute it
Network it
Web 2.0 it
Manage it
Workflow it
Search it
Filter it
Locate it
Store it
Use it
Reuse it
Experience it

It’s the PERFECT knowledge management tool! Take a bite out of your workload with the new PBworks!

If you’ve been wondering why my provocative posts have been absent from the web, I must admit that I have spent an intense nine months implementing a knowledge management initiative and customer solution-driven PBworks wiki at SCFM. I’m already busy doing the same (and putting another PBworks wiki together) for a soon-to-open non-profit middle and high school serving the Asperger community. For all my friends and business associates and anyone who’ll listen, I’m recommending you try PBworks. It works!

p.s. I promise to start posting again!

Hello “customer” Team Members!

Current “co-workers”:

This is the blog I started while I was at OU studying for my Masters in Knowledge Management. As you can see, I stopped blogging about the time I started consulting. There’s only so much time in the day. For current customers, perhaps getting you guys up and running on your new pbwiki (pbwiki.com) and creating my own home page as an example for you will inspire me to start posting on my blog again. If you’re interested in setting up a blog, twitter account, custom wiki or any of MANY Web 2.0 technologies, I’m glad to show you how!