Goodness ! Has it been busy or what lately? In the last couple of days I haven’t had much of a chance to share with you some of the thoughts that have been going on in my mind lately. The last one being the concept of Tacit Knowledge and how much it has been talked about all over the place. So that would come shortly, not to worry. What I wanted to point out to you today is the second part of a recent podcast that I have done, once again, with the IBM Shortcuts team,  around the subject of "How to Use Wikis at Work (Part Two)".

In that particular podcast, and just about under five minutes, you would get to hear about some different hints and tips, and techniques, you could make use of in order to help different teams, communities, or whatever other groups, to make the most of their own wiki experience. Yes, I know that this is a subject that has probably come up already within your own business in multiple times. The fact that once you get a wiki set up and running you actually find out that it takes a little bit of effort and facilitation to make it work, specially if those knowledge workers are not very used to sharing knowledge and collaborating in an open environment where everyone is in control.

So what can you do, from a facilitation perspective, to get wikis much more widely adopted within the enterprise in order to help boost your own collaboration with other knowledge workers? What other tips are there available to everyone to make good use of them? Well, in that particular Shortcuts podcast I actually get to share three of the tips that I have been using over and over again a number of times with different teams and communities alike. I am sure that they would sound familiar to you, but just in case, and as a teaser to get things going, here is a quick and brief description of them all:

1. A Critical Mass of Early Adopters who can pave out the road for those non tech savvy knowledge workers so that they can focus on sharing what the know as opposed to struggle with the tool itself.

2. Fully supported infrastructure in place so that collaboration takes place with a sense of belonging, or ownership, from the perspective that knowledge workers’ contributions remain there for as long as possible and therefore they can refer to them back and forth and continue to build further up on it. That sense of ownership.

3. Online tutorials or screencasts on how to perform essential tasks: like adding a page, managing an access control list, subscribing to RSS feeds, etc. etc. so that they would have a chance to find solutions to easy tasks quickly and move on forward just focusing on what really matters: sharing their knowledge and collaborating with others.

So there you go. If you would want to listen to this second part of the IBM Shortcuts podcast on How to Use Wikis at Work head over there and enjoy it. I am sure that you would have plenty more tips you have been advocating for in order to help people adopt wikis within their own tools suite for collaboration and I would surely love to hear some more about them. So feel free to drop a comment over here or at the actual podcast site.

Tags: Wikis, Enterprise Wikis, Enterprise 2.0, Enterprise Social Software, Social Software, Web 2.0, Social Networking, Knowledge Management, KM, Collaboration, Knowledge Sharing, Communities, Shortcuts, IBM, Podcast, Podcasting, Tacit Knowledge, Project Management, Intellectual Capital, Communications, Critical Mass, Early Adopters, Tutorials, Learning

In the past you would recall how I have actually been participating in IBM’s Shortcuts podcast in a couple of episodes sharing some thoughts and tips on getting the most out of social bookmarking. Well, I thought you would be interested in another episode, the first out of two, that I have just been working on with the Shortcuts team, but this time around the world of wikis and their adoption within the enterprise sharing some of the many different uses that knowledge workers could benefit from while adopting such wikis within whatever their businesses. We all know how powerful wikis are in general for groups to collaborate so this time around I have shared my thoughts on how some of those groups, specially communities, are making good use of such social software tool.

So if you would want to read or listen further to this week’s Shortcuts then check out Cut #13: How to use wikis at work (part one). In there I get to talk about how wikis are being used as Knowledge Bases, pretty much in the same fashion as online encyclopedias, with Wikipedia as one clear example. Then I talked about how wikis are also being used as project management tools to help augment the value of the already existing PM tools available out there, more than anything else from the perspective of allowing all project members to have a voice and share their thoughts and ideas of how the project is going and help build content on top of each other’s content to enrich the different levels of interactions so that knowledge workers do not get to hear just from a single source but from multiple of them.

Also I get to talk about wikis could well be used as handy communication tools where some of the noise that we all get on a daily basis from both e-mail and Instant Messages could be diverted towards those different wikis so that with the use of RSS feeds we would have the opportunity to control a bit of that noise and just receive and process the messages we would all really need to digest further.

And, finally, one other use for which wikis are being used, and actually one of my favourites, is the fact that plenty of wikis out there have been setup in order to allow knowledge workers capture their best know-how, their handy knowledge snippets, in short, their tacit knowledge, and from there build on top of each others content to then help work it through and perhaps convert it into Intellectual Capital that would then be shared at a later time in other, much more sophisticated, repositories, like Intellectual Capital databases.

So as you can see wikis can certainly be very powerful Knowledge Management and Collaboration tools, so much so that plenty of different groups within the enterprise are actually making use of them as huge boosters of the already existing interactions but bringing a new and fresh method for knowledge sharing where everyone is in control and able to build up content further on top of already existing content. Thus you can imagine that one of the key fundamental aspects for success in the adoption of wikis within the enterprise would be trust, but I guess that would be the subject for another weblog post…

For the time being, if you would want to listen some more what that first part on How to use wikis at work go over to the Shortcuts podcast site and and enjoy the show! (I surely did and I want to thank from here with a massive kudos the Shortcuts team for their kind invitation and for having me in the show, once more. Thanks guys !)

Tags: Wikis, Enterprise Wikis, Enterprise 2.0, Enterprise Social Software, Social Software, Web 2.0, Social Networking, Knowledge Management, KM, Collaboration, Knowledge Sharing, Communities, Shortcuts, IBM, Podcast, Podcasting, Tacit Knowledge, Project Management, Intellectual Capital, Communications

  A couple of weeks back you would remember how I created a weblog post where I was mentioning my recent participation in one of the episodes from the popular Shortcuts podcast around the subject of social bookmarking, what it was and why you would want to start making use of it, if you haven’t done so already, to benefit from sharing your favourite links with annotations / tags with other folks and learn what other people are sharing and saying about their own favourite links. In case you may not have listened to that particular episode you can still access it from here.

Well, with all that said for an introduction I would want this time around to point you to another episode from that same Shortcuts podcast where I am talking for the second time around the world of social bookmarking but this time around detailing some more what are different possibilities available out there apart from del.icio.us. You can find the link to that episode over here and in it you would get to hear how I have mentioned other powerful social bookmarking offerings like Simpy, Scuttle, Digg, Shadows, Furl and Spurl that are certainly having something to say in that space.

However, at the same time you would get to hear about my actual favourite social bookmarking application that I have been using over the last few months and which I feel is suiting my needs very nicely: BlinkList. You would be able to listen as to why BlinkList is my favourite application to store my Internet bookmarks (For IBM internal sites it would still be Dogear, I am afraid) and how I have been making use of some of the most popular features from the tool itself, like the Message Board, or the capability of reaching out to fans and friends, starring your favourite picks, and the list goes on and on and on.

If you have noticed already from the past, at the very bottom of elsua’s weblog template, you would actually be able to find the tagcloud from my BlinkList bookmarks so that you get to see the different tags I am using for my online bookmarks and at the same time access them directly from there. I love it ! I could spend hours and hours just playing around with the tool. If only it would allow me to export the bookmarks in such a format, i.e. HTML a la bookmark.html file or as favourites, that would allow me to integrate them with Dogear. Wow! That would make it the killer app. for me for Internet social bookmarking, but I suppose it is just not there yet. Nobody is perfect, I guess. Pity, because with that feature I am sure that the number of folks making use of it would grow exponentially. The tool itself deserves it, so let’s hope we can see that feature been implemented some time soon.

Either way, if you would want to hear some more from me on what my thoughts are around social bookmarking and my usage of BlinkList just head over to the Shortcuts podcasting site and listen to episode #11. Hope you enjoy it and do not hesitate to leave a comment over there or over here if you have got some feedback on the outcome of the podcast. I would love to hear your thoughts …

Tags: Shortcuts, IBM, Tips, Hints&Tips, Productivity Tips, Social Bookmarking, Social Software, Web 2.0, del.icio.us, BlinkList, Dogear, Knowledge Management, Simpy, Furl, Spurl, Scuttle, Digg, Shadows

Some time ago you would remember how I created a weblog post announcing the new and incredibly useful podcasting initiative from IBM, available externally, called Shortcuts, where over the course of a couple of minutes you actually get to find out some really good hints and tips about different aspects of IT that would help increase your productivity, whether it is related to tool tips, good practices, emerging technologies, etc. etc. You name it.

So by now you probably have listened to the different podcasts on spyware, Instant Messaging, Lotus Notes e-mail archiving, managing contacts, weblog spam, phishing, recovering sent e-mail and Instant Messaging (Again). Well, this time around, regarding Cut #9 (Gosh, I just love that number!), I just wanted to mention how I have been given the pleasure and great honour to participate in this week’s podcast talking about one of my favourite subjects: How to Use Social Bookmarks. Yay!

The podcast itself was recorded with both Ben Edwards and George Faulkner and lasts for about 4 and a half minutes and it was a real treat. I had an incredible good time and these guys surely know their stuff about podcasting and everything around it.If you ever would want to know some more about podcasts and how to get started with your own they would be the right folks to talk to. Thus, thanks much, folks, for giving me the opportunity to chime in and participate in one of my favourite podcasts of all times: Shortcuts.

(Have you subscribed to it already?)

Anyway, if you were wondering what I talked about during those 4.30 minutes here is a quick overview of the topics I touched base on. I know there is a whole lot more to be said about the topic, but I am sure that will be coming up in future sessions…

1. Desktop independent: That is right. Now it is all about accessing your favourites on the web regardless of where you may be, whether at the office, while on the road or working from home. Right now, you just need you favourite social bookmarking site and an Internet connection and off you go.

2. Finding experts through their own bookmarks knowing not only about their interests but also what their subject matter expertise may well be based on those same bookmarks and the different annotations they may well have used thus far.

3. Visualisations available through TagClouds: Who doesn’t like TagClouds to get a visual representation of how people get to annotate their bookmarks, eh? I love TagClouds. Everyone should have one in their weblogs or whatever other web site(s). Everyone should perhaps even have one, or multiple, of them as business cards ! It would make things so much easier, don’t you think?

4. Integration with other online resources, i.e. blogs, web sites, wikis, etc. This is one of the features that I like the most myself about social bookmarks and something that you will get to see both in my IBM internal weblog and over here as well (See bottom of the page). The fact that with some simple HTML or Javascript you can embed your favourite bookmarks in your favourite sites and share that with everyone else. Pretty much like I have done with Dogear (Inside IBM) and also with BlinkList over here. Very nice!

Thus there you go. My first participation in an IBM external podcast and I am really excited it is Shortcuts. What a nifty entrance into the external podcasting world, for sure, but do not worry, because it is not going to be the last one. I am sure… But more to come at a later time …

Tags: Shortcuts, IBM, Tips, Hints&Tips, Productivity Tips, Social Bookmarking, Social Software, Web 2.0, del.icio.us, BlinkList, Dogear, Knowledge Management, KM

It looks like lately I have been talking quite a bit about stuff related to IBM and although it is not something that I am actually doing on a very regular basis I am glad to see how every now and then I get a chance to comment on some of the cool things that are going on inside and outside of IBM, and all related to the Knowledge Management, Collaboration and Social Software areas, amongst others. It should not come as a surprise to anyone some of the stuff that IBM has been doing around the world of podcasting, for instance. I have been weblogging about this already several times; however, I thought that you would be interested in a single new initiative that has come out and which I am sure you would be looking forward to it and, of course, subscribe. Let me tell you about it.

Check out Shortcuts (Organise your digital life - A weekly shows from IBM). An IBM external podcast offering where both George Faulkner and Jennifer Clemente (Two of my IBM colleagues) will be providing you, on a weekly basis, with an online show "to help you make the most out of e-mail, IM, blogs and other great tools". I am not sure what you think about this but I feel this is just a superb initiative ! How many times have you wondered about performing a particular task and not having a clue as to how it would work? Then you start working your way through whatever the search engine and before you know it you end up in a web site doing something completely different to what you were supposed to be doing in the first place. Well, Shortcuts is supposed to be helping out in this area by providing you with some weekly hints and tips on how you can get the most out of the IT tools available to you. Pretty slick, indeed !

To get things started they have got a podcast with Rocky Oliver on how to tackle all that annoying spyware that we all get to experience on a daily basis while we surf the Internet. In that podcast Rocky is actually suggesting to make use of two different programmes that I have used in the past myself: Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy, to try to help out with that ever growing problem. They are indeed very good programmes, no doubt, but one other that you may want to consider as well and which I have been using myself quite a bit is Windows Defender, which so far has managed to keep my home computer clean and without any major issues. It is still a beta release but you can already download it from here and take it yourself for a spin.

Thus, as you can see, all these tips coming from Shortcuts actually have got another great purpose, which is also share your own tips and tricks to take control over the tools you get to use on a daily basis and be as productive as ever. That is why they are encouraging folks as well to leave comments or to actually post a question yourself out to the experts. Now, what a better way to build up on the collective wisdom of us all than to share some of the best tips out there and make them available through podcasts and / or comments.so that everyone has got the chance not only to learn from those tips but also at the same time engage in the conversations? Terrific stuff, don’t you think? 

I have already subscribed to the podcast myself and I hope you do, too. I will surely be catching up weekly with some other hot tips. I am certain I would get to learn a thing or two. However, for the time being just, take a look into what other folks, like Rocky himself, Alan Lepofsky or Ed Brill (Three of my IBM fellow colleagues) are saying on this new IBM initiative. I love it when people say that IBM has not been doing enough around the Web 2.0 world and then you bump into offerings like Shortcuts, amongst other others. But more on those later. One at a time…

Tags: Shortcuts, IBM, Tips, Hints&Tips, Productivity Tips, Spyware, Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, Windows Defender, Rocky Oliver, Alan Lepofsky, Ed Brill

Some time ago I mentioned how I was actually going to attend the IBM Professional Technical Leadership Exchange, taking place in Madrid, to give a presentation on one of my favourite topics regarding Knowledge Management: Personal Knowledge Management. Well, this time around I am actually going to the US, Somers, NY, to provide another presentation around that very same subject: Personal KM, next week Monday, from the 10th till the 12th to an IBM internal audience. I will actually be arriving at the Hilton Garden Inn Danbury this coming Friday and will actually be leaving next week Thursday.

As I said, I will be talking again about Personal Knowledge Management and, amongst other things, I will actually be talking about the key role of communities in helping augment the knowledge sharing and collaboration of knowledge workers by making use of different personal KM tools, like weblogs, wikis, social bookmarks, tagging (And folksonomies), IM/VoIP, podcasts, etc. etc. So at the same time that I will be talking about the importance of tacit knowledge, next to explicit knowledge, something that I have already talked about over here a couple of times already, I will be touching base on some of the different KM and Collaboration tools that IBM has been making use of thus far, mainly though those tools related to social software and the so-called Web 2.0:

• Weblogs: Blog Central (IBM’s internal weblogging platform)
• Wikis: Wiki Central
• Social Bookmarking: Dogear
• (People) Tagging: Fringe Contacts
• Podcasts
• Web syndication
• IM / VoIP (With Sametime 7.5)

I will be presenting next week Tuesday. However, and like I have just mentioned, I will be in Danbury from this coming Friday, so if you would want to meet up for a couple of drinks and a chat feel free to append a comment over here or contact me offline. It would be great if I would be able to meet up some of the folks who I have been interacting with here in elsua or out there in the Blogosphere. Thus if you are going to be around, let me know !

Tags: IBM, Collaboration Best Practices, Knowledge Management, KM, Personal Knowledge Management, PKM, Collaboration, Social Software, Web 2.0, Wikis, Weblogs, Social Bookmarking, Podcasts, Web Syndication, Dogear, Fringe Contacts, Sametime 7.5, Tacit Knowledge, Explicit Knowledge