Thierry Hubert and I have submitted a proposal for a session in the Boston Enterprise 2.0 2011 conference based on the ideas in this post. Here is the link to our submission. If you like what we are saying here please take and look and comment and vote for us. Thanks.
Weak Signal Sensing is the ability to detect anomalies and other valuable bits within complex arrays of information. It is a skill developed over time and is one of the traits that separates deep experts from novices. The use of social media within the enterprise and on the Web has created a rich source of content to mine for insights. It is a data rich environment for Weak Signal Sensing. Recognizing this potential a large number of tools have emerged to try to make sense of this data through such means as sentiment analysis, popularity ranking, and semantic technology. They have taken on the difficult task of trying to get a computer to understand and pick out the valuable bits within the rich corpus of content generated as a byproduct of the transparency to interactions within enterprise 2.0 and on the Web.
At Darwin Ecosystem we take an alternative approach to enabling Weak Signal Sensing with the Awareness Engine™. Rather than have the computer attempt to make sense of content and try the even more difficult task of where to look next, an Awareness Engine allows the content to self-organize into simple visualizations that enable people to better perform these tasks of exploration and discovery. It avoids predetermined categories that can inhibit discovery of the unexpected. Using such visualizations as a Buzz Tape™ which highlights rising topics of interest and a Scan Cloud™ which allows a quick exploration of the themes within selected content, an awareness engine empowers experts to more efficiently make use of their capabilities. It can also spread Weak Signal Sensing capabilities further within an organization.
Organizations making use of enterprise 2.0 technologies are capturing information that emerges from collaborative discussion, deliberations and ideas that are now stored in systems. The advent of enterprise 2.0 portals have allowed for the context of teams and projects to be connected for easy content creation and retrieval. As such, we are previewed to the processes that lead to actions. Although incredibly useful, organizations often limit the transparency by imposing hierarchical and role-base access to this body of information. This limitation prevents knowledge workers from increasing their Weak Signal Sensing capability. Weak Signal Sensing is encouraged and accepted at the highest levels of management as it is acquired from experience and knowledge captured across many different and unexpected sources. This is what allows a senior executive to deliver credible and strategic value to the organization, whereas junior managers would have to prove their reasoning before being enacted.
The information that can empower ubiquitous Weak Signal Sensing is found in all sources, but it is in one's memory and experiences above all. This is why you can't automate Weak Signal Sensing; it is personal and the product of one's cognitive ability to sort meaning from noise. The value of increasing Weak Signal Sensing is paramount in today's changing world and economic models. An organization capable of improving this faculty will have more actionable ideas and a competitive advantage over stove-pipe and highly process driven companies.
The key to elevating Weak Signal Sensing for all is to provide tools that go beyond search and related records. Tools that improve awareness and serendipitous discoveries. Tools that reveal different answers and intrigues according to different users. Basically tools that awaken one's own memories and experiences to identify actions and information that needs to be shared.
The value of increasing weak signal sensing is paramount in today's changing world and economic models. An organization capable of improving this faculty will have more actionable ideas and a competitive advantage.
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