[Sigkm-l] Two weeks - ASIS&T 2007 Proposals DUE

[Mark Montgomery]

If I may, as one who is caught in-between divergent views on this topic, 
sometimes sticking my neck out in many directions as a referee of sorts. 
Highly intelligent and interesting abstracts, and I certainly agree that 
these two as well as many other SIGs are inseparable for anyone hoping to 
come away with meaningful understanding.

Social computing and the often coined self-organizing systems, complexity 
theory, etc. are all the rage just as KM was a few years ago. Wikis for 
example in some U.S. Government KM circles means the same thing as KM, when 
in reality it's only one aspect of what would hope would be a comprehensive 
and purposeful system for organizational learning and improvement (towards a 
stated mission I would add). Personally, I saw evidence that even though 
Wikis and blogs have been around for anyone who could slap up a web page 
since the W3 (albeit with dumber functionality), it's found religion in 
large part due to a couple of drivers- primary one being quite sad in that 
kworkers in some mega cultures (I would include the U.S. Gov- some agencies 
more than others) are obviously demoralized and not empowered whatsoever to 
the level taken for granted by many of us. The Wiki served to set them free 
a bit to contribute to the organization. Go figure. So I have often found 
myself trying to tell the story that the Wiki and the Blog, however welcome 
and valuable, are but a couple of the tools that should be in the arsenal. 
The CIA for example just starting using a Wiki last year amazingly enough.

Perhaps more appropriate would be for me to share a view from board members 
of several of the world's largest corporations who I've regularly defended 
KM to, more often than not losing the argument. Their view is that KM, after 
investing substantial dollars and not experiencing a return relative to 
their mission, is in summary a socialist political movement rather than a 
mission-oriented service. Unfortunately when investigations and audits are 
performed, it often only serves to support that admittedly cynical view.

Many have therefore reduced or eliminated investment in anything relating to 
KM, which is still undefined at a level that any two practioners seem to be 
able to agree upon. A catch 22 is that rather than coming together, the two 
sides become more polar, and not only is that not good for either party, it 
isn't what I believe the goal of intelligent organizational systems should 
be- which is to align interests between the individuals, teams, and 
organizations with the goal of continual improvement.

So while I personally would vote for an endorsement, I would like to see 
some of the negative aspects of social computing also discussed (which Web 
2.0 or Semantic related technologies can indeed help overcome), such as the 
problems with accountability, mission-oriented performance or lack thereof, 
the current systemic disincentives for sharing of knowledge on the Internet, 
permissions and responsibilities within social computing, and related lack 
of protection for intellectual property. Without this seat at the table (or 
panel), it won't have much credibility with those who have a legal and 
fiduciary responsibility to make sure that investments in human capital and 
technologies are used to move towards the mission of the organization, 
rather than as some fear- the opposite direction and/or personal political 
agendas. Without which it makes it quite difficult for those of us with the 
ability to help promote in the private sector to do so. .02 - MM



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Claire R. McInerney" <clairemc at scils.rutgers.edu>
To: "'Deborah Swain'" <swainham at msn.com>; <Sigkm-l at asis.org>
Cc: <passman at stats.com>; <rkasprowski at uh.edu>; <qiping.zhang at liu.edu>; 
<naumer at u.washington.edu>; <doppsusan at hotmail.com>; <jp338 at drexel.edu>; 
<tao.jin at mcgill.ca>; <dzhang at jhmi.edu>; <veelling at uncg.edu>; 
<tareasa.bradley at ecolab.com>; <Lisa.B.Park at pfizer.com>; 
<deanna.hall at chemtura.com>; <carmstrong at libraryassociates.com>; 
<jo_remshard at yahoo.com>; <dzhao at ualberta.ca>; <clairemc at rci.rutgers.edu>; 
<matt_chapman at imaginatik.com>
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 5:51 PM
Subject: Re: [Sigkm-l] Two weeks - ASIS&T 2007 Proposals DUE


Deborah and KM SIG members,

Ron Day and I are proposing to have a panel on KM and Social Computing with
panelists discussing implications of Web 2.0 for information professionals
and the Web public at large. The topics represented in this technical panel
seem to fit very well with the Conference theme for ASIST 2007 -- "Joining
Research and Practice: Social Computing and Information Science." We hope we
can have the endorsement of the KM SIG for this proposal.

I've attached the proposal that outlines the different panel presentations.
And below I have the text of the theme for the fall conference taken from
the ASIST website

Theme for the fall 2007 conference --- "Web 2.0 and social computing are
changing the way people use and perceive the Internet as well as the way
they work and play. When users are no longer simply consumers of
information, and become active producers and contributors, what are the
implications for information science? How are social computing and Web 2.0
trends affecting the work of information professionals? What current
research and applications are shaping future directions? ASIS&T 2007 aims to
bring together researchers and practitioners from all aspects of information
science, industry, academe, and information professions for lively
discussions and debates about the social aspects of information, about all
things 2.0 (or looking to the future) or higher."

Please let us know if we can put the KM SIG down as the endorser of the
panel.

Thank you, and especially thank you to Deborah for her organizational work.

Claire

Claire R. McInerney
Director, Information Technology and Informatics Program
School of Communication, Information and Library Studies
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
4 Huntington St.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Voice: 732-932-7500 ext. 8218
Fax: 732-932-2644
Email: clairemc at rci.rutgers.edu



-----Original Message-----
From: sigkm-l-bounces at asis.org [mailto:sigkm-l-bounces at asis.org] On Behalf
Of Deborah Swain
Sent: Sunday, January 07, 2007 7:59 PM
To: Sigkm-l at asis.org
Cc: leona_faust at sec.senate.gov; carmstrong at libraryassociates.com;
rkasprowski at uh.edu; Lisa.B.Park at pfizer.com; naumer at u.washington.edu;
doppsusan at hotmail.com; jo_remshard at yahoo.com; tao.jin at mcgill.ca;
dzhang at jhmi.edu; passman at stats.com; jp338 at drexel.edu;
tareasa.bradley at ecolab.com; qiping.zhang at liu.edu; deanna.hall at chemtura.com;
veelling at uncg.edu; dzhao at ualberta.ca; matt_chapman at imaginatik.com
Subject: [Sigkm-l] Two weeks - ASIS&T 2007 Proposals DUE

                                        [Apologies for multiple postings.]
Greetings to all for a happy new year and healthy post-holiday recovery. We
have just two weeks to put final touches on proposals for ASIST 2007 papers
and panels. Due date: January 21. I have attached file listing the
suggestions that I have received so far for about 5-7 possible panels and 2
activities. Ideas are wonderful! Great start.

Help. I am sure there will be changes and some possible merging or moving.
It is only a draft. We can revise, cut, or add as needed. (Details will be
needed. See templates. If you need a template for panels, just let me know.)

Let me invite everyone to share ideas about panels you are working on with
other SIGs and organizations. (See OTHER section of document.) Don't
hesitate to develop non-SIG/KM sponsored panels or papers, too.

-Deborah Swain, Chair, SIG/KM




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


> _______________________________________________
> Sigkm-l mailing list
> Sigkm-l at asis.org
> http://mail.asis.org/mailman/listinfo/sigkm-l
>