The old adage, knowledge is power, has been transformed in
the social age to “sharing knowledge is power” according to Maria Azua, author
of The Social Factor. While I
agree that the new saying has taken on increased importance within Web 2.0 and
enterprise 2.0, the old saying still holds. With the new transparency and the tools to mind this
content, both obtaining useful knowledge is even easier and making decisions on
when to share has become easier.
I was pleased to
receive a review copy of The Social Factor with the subtitle: innovate, ignite,
and win through mass collaboration and social networking. Maria Azua is the vice president of
cloud computing enablement at IBM. The book begins with an interesting history
of communication technology and innovations. I picked up some new bits. The
Associated Press or AP was formed by newspaper publishers with the advent of
telegraph. They recognized the profit potential of instantaneous worldwide news
bulletins. I wonder why these same institutions began in such a passive way
during the beginning of the Web. This newer global communication technology was
first seen as a threat by many traditional communication channels and they are
only just beginning to be more innovative in its use (see Mainstream
Media versus Social Media? Not Really the Right Question and The
Misplaced Fear of the Mainstream Media).
The telephone was able to spread more quickly because it
rode the existing telegraph infrastructure. There is an interesting chart on
the pace of technology adoption in the US. She compares technologies from the
industrial age on how long it took to achieve 70% household penetration. The industrial age technologies
include: autos, 82 years; telephone, 55 years; color TV, 42 years; and
electricity, 34 years. The
information age technologies include: computers, 24 years; VCR, 20 years; cell
phone, 16 years, and internet, 14 years.
Times are approximate based on how well I read the chart. You can see
the accelerating rate of adoption.
My grandparents were around during the auto, telephone, and
electricity adoption phases and they tell some interesting stories about the
early stages. My grandfather wanted to return his car as it was not as smart as
his horses, until he thought to teach his daughter to drive so he could sleep
on the way back from his medical rounds.
Now we have GPS but the car is still not as smart as the horses, just
much more effective. My great aunt was able to simulate the benefits of
teleconferencing, ambient awareness, streaming audio, and expertise location
when she was the first telephone operator in her small town. Now the telephone cannot do much of
this but the Web can. I wonder
what stories we might tell our grandchildren about the transformations we
observed as we move from the Information Age to the Social Age.
In an excellent case example of enterprise 2.0, Maria
reviews Rheinmetall. There were three primary drivers of the use of social
media within the enterprise: enhanced employee recruiting in the generation
that has become used to social media on the Web, leveraging this Web social
media experience within the enterprise, and supporting the increased desire for
collaboration in research efforts. The concept of the networked organization
supplementing, and/or replacing the hierarchical organization is also covered.
This is very similar to Jon Husband’s concept of wirearchy. Organizations that
recognize the power of this approach and use social media to enable the new
channels will be the winners.
There is much more in the book including chapters on wikis,
blogs, tagging, cloud computing, and cultural implications. It is a good
thought provoker for those implementing enterprise 2.0
I'd agree with your opening para - the first saying ("knowledge is power") is positively still true - yet the sharing angle ("sharing knowledge is power") as pertains to E2.0 positively allows more organizational power - enormous amounts. And now the playing field is more leveled given open access to so many enabling tools (personal and enterprise level).
"Hoarding knowledge" however is starting to be more explicitly taboo though, vs just an unspoken taboo, organizationally.
This enlightenment of a forever common sense notion (i.e., more heads better than one, power of teamwork, etc.) is good good!
Posted by: Ellen Feaheny | January 02, 2010 at 02:05 PM
Ellen - Thanks for your comment. I certainly agree. Happy 2010. Bill
Posted by: bill Ives | January 02, 2010 at 05:21 PM