Many of those reading this post understand the potential benefits of creating repositories of knowledge that can be updated by anyone with an opinion, objective thought, or other contribution. Technologies such as BLOGs and WIKIs fill a void in corporate knowledge management in a unique way- by giving everyone in a company the ability to contribute to the common good.
And despite the obvious value that is evident by the use of these tools, research shows that they are not yet ready for widespread implementation. For every article such as this one, outlining several success stories having to do with social networking, there is a research firm publishing data about how few decision makers use BLOGs, understand Web 2.0, or subscribe to RSS feeds.
So, how then do you make your case for instituting some social networking software in your company? As is mentioned in the article included above: create a demo. Find the worst project you suffered through and show how pitfalls and mistakes could have been avoided had the software been in place. You could even get one started, and get some buy-in from others to see how effective it really is for you.
Another key ingredient to distributed content management is the idea that whatever is entered into your system will be more relevant to your company. Executives for government contracting firms will keep tabs on the opinions of media analysts to try to understand implications of new legislation- but imagine if there was a knowledgable person in the company who could provide the same insight, but relevant to your business.
For example: budget is increased to aid in border security. The media analysts identify all of the areas that could potentially benefit from the extra available contracts. Meanwhile, because you have a BLOG that employees are encouraged to contribute to, someone has the idea that a project done for the Navy can be repurposed for the CoastGuard.
A bit idealistic, perhaps, but there does exist the possibility to reap some significant rewards from these technologies. But it is up to you to sell them in your own company.
