Web 2.0 and Internal Communications

Every generation is faced with a changing world...but more often then not this change isn't wholesale across the board day to day disruption type of change...


This cannot be said about the evolution of the internet...the advent and rapid adoption of the internet and specific websites has created an environment, where on one hand there is an infinite amount of irrelevant data and information, and on the other hand there are countless people and technologies to assist in providing context that would make such info relevant...of course there is an inherent dichotomy of work and play...For example...by tagging photos in Flickr.com thousands of users essentially organize the content so that others can find it...each individual has there own motivations for doing so...but no one is getting paid and no one has to do it all...


However in business the problem is much the same...but the resources lack greatly...so what to do?


While first I should be clear...the lacking resources refer to the people and not the IT infrastructure...In fact the disconnect between the technology that can store countless pieces of data and information, and the people needed to give it context is where the problem lies...


Because it has been put forth that such information and data and the synthesis of aforementioned can translate into a competitive sustainable advantage, it is the case that academia has taken an interest to this topic.


Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly , 25 (1), 107-136.


In this paper knowledge is defined in several ways, however it is widely noted that the human mind is the intermediary between information, data and knowledge...And because the human mind is not a shared resource... transferring knowledge to and across an organization is a challenge...


And just as a technology facilitates tagging on Flickr.com once the goals on the knowledge transfer are known (i.e store knowledge, share knowledge) within an organization...IT can be used to ensure that the knowledge base of an organization is utilized in the manner best suited for the firm...but participation must also be incentive...


So why is knowledge management important? How can web 2.0 social media technologies facilitate knowledge management?


Well anything that can be defined as a sustainable competitive advantage is important...and failing to capitalize on this information can be costly (just look as the success and hype surround Salesforce's CRM solutions)...


So social media can really assist in ingraining relevant knowledge into the minds of the employees...For example...think Yahoo Answers...If ones job involves thinking on their feet and the come across a situation where they are uncertain of the best course of action (i.e. get high dollar sale but disappoint loyal customer) by being able to post their predicament on their companies internal network they can source the answer from others who may have have company related knowledge...and once the question is asked and answered it can be ranked sitting there forever more...waiting for someone to ask same question down the road...


Another area where Web 2.0 social media technologies can assist in managing knowledge involves the tried and true problem of functional priorities...Any organization, once it reaches a certain size is going to experience a conflict across departments or functions because the priorities are not aligned and at times unknown...


This can be an issue horizontally...but if priorities are given top down in black and white...then each department knows exactly where they fit in and can act accordingly...take sales and logistics...sales wants to sell and logistics wants to ship cheap and efficient...often times these are mutually exclusive...however should the president explicitly state (knowledge) that given certain data and information the cost of the shipment is a lower priority then the sale...this knowledge is then transferred in a manner that can align both functions...Something like this could be executed via a company blog...


Again, as it appears to be a consistent theme...the types of knowledge and the tools used to transfer are only relevant in a given context...trade secrets may prevent the sharing of knowledge...just a a surge in growth may encourage it...it is therefore best to at the very least be aware of the value of transforming data and information into  knowledge and deciding (given specific circumstances) how to best transfer it...