Blogs, wikis and podcasts: do they have a role in knowledge management? Andrew Booth, Reader In Evidence Based Information Practice, ScHARR

Yes, blogs, wikis and podcasts…. May be/are the greatest thing since……. We use them for: E-Learning courses Library News and Services Know-How for Researchers/Research Students But that doesn’t necessarily make them a valuable KM tool

Three major problems: 1.Blogs, wikis and podcasts are not purpose-designed for knowledge management; 2.Blogs, wikis and podcasts are not a single technology with a single underpinning rationale; 3.Blogs, wikis and podcasts have not been sufficiently evaluated

1. Not purpose-designed Knowledge management involves: "Systematic approaches to help information and knowledge flow: -to the right people -at the right time -in the right format -at the right cost -so they can act more efficiently and effectively.

1a. To the right people? Demographics of Web 2.0 technologies still emerging Poor match between content producers, users and organisational expertise Blogs and Wikis don’t thrive in an information starved environment – capture social networks don’t create them! Qualitative (to the right type of people) and Quantitative (to the right amount of people) [c.p. newsletter] (ref. Bob Newhart sketch )

1b. At the right time? Facilitating content production only one aspect of KM Problems over indexing and retrieval Survival of the “fleeting-est”? (i.e. no natural selection) ART (Almost Real Time) not Archive

1c. In the right format? Blogs (reverse chronological) and wikis (alphabetical) are not necessarily how we choose to access information Takes time to organise thematic approaches –Automatically –Manually

1d. At the right cost? Technologies are cheap Memory is cheap No imperative to filter/discard More efficient and more effective? –Jury is still out!

KM is essentially a top-down approach Blogs, wikis and podcasts essentially democratising technology If knowledge cannot be “managed” then democratising technologies may be part of problem NOT solution Wikis and blogs have part to play in “social capital” phenomenon Who benefits (directly) from Communities of Practice?

2. Not a single technology Each technology has different strengths and uses “Web 2.0” emphasises similarities when information professionals need to emphasise differences Blog (electronic diary); Wiki (indexed notebook); Podcast (intellectual karaoke)

3. Not Sufficiently Evaluated Early days for Web 2.0 technologies Pace of Innovation exceeds Pace of Evaluation (“Evaluation Bypass”) Uncertainty around criteria for evaluation: –Cost Benefit Analysis? –Return On Investment? –Impact Analysis –“First do no harm”

In conclusion Blogs, wikis and podcasts are a useful tool for improving information (not knowledge) flows Not the same as knowledge management Knowledge management requires use of filters and fortifiers Unclear how blogs, wikis and podcasts meet that need right now

References Avram G (2006) At the Crossroads of Knowledge Management and Social Software. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management 4 (1): Booth A (2007) Blogs, wikis and podcasts: the ‘evaluation bypass’ in action? Health Information and Libraries Journal 24 (4): 298–302. Walker J (2006) Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to the Successful Adoption and Use of Wikis in Collaborative Knowledge Management. University of North Carolina, School of Information and Library Science. Feel free to me on: