Ch 10: “Why Social Computing Aids Knowledge Management{0}
The biggest challenge of knowledge management is getting tacit information out of people’s heads and into a database. One possible solution is social computing tools such as social networking or group communication tools like wikis or keyword tagging. Social computing aids in knowledge management as a tool for companies to create, track and share intellectual assets. Prior to the use of social networking as a knowledge management tool, companies were using content management systems. The switch to social networking has made it easier to connect employees and information. It is much easier to use than content management systems. The key to knowledge management is understanding what you need in place so people are able to connect and share information. The use of social networks allow for this to occur.
Social networks are emerging in businesses. About forty percent of large organizations are using some type of business or social networks to share information. Cisco is one of these companies. They developed an internal facebook that contains explicit knowledge such as employees’ information and their field of expertise. This network is called Directory 3.0. Cisco has also developed Ciscopedia, which is an internal Wikipedia for Cisco employees and Idea Zone, a wiki that enables collaboration and information sharing for Cisco employees. This is a fast and low cost way of information sharing for Cisco. In addition, it is easy to use. Many employees already use social networking for personal reasons and are familiar with its uses. The use of social networking as a knowledge management tool can allow collaboration people at different locations in the world with a faster response time to accelerate business. The one concern with using social networking for collaborating is privacy of data. Companies such as Microsoft are developing software that serves as internal social networking so only employees have access to the organizations information.
The use of social networks as a knowledge management tool is a smart idea. It is a new idea being introduced in business and I feel it will accelerate business. I think it is a great way for disaster recovery as well. What I like about it the most is that many already familiar with it and implementing it into organizations will not costs much money or take up a lot of time.
Source: http://www.cio.com/article/395113/Why_Social_Computing_Aids_Knowledge_Management_?page=5&taxonomyId=1461