I was hoping to not get caught up in Google's Knol and perhaps come back to it in 6 months for a review of their progress, but thanks to Google Alerts, Knol marches on.
Google Alerts sent me to Ron Young's KM Consulting blog, and his announcement on July 31st, that he had posted a Knol (unit of knowledge) on Knowledge Management (KM). The interesting take that Ron has on Knol is that he views the tool as a space for collaboration. His blog posting indicates that Knol has allowed him to develop the article on line, editing and adding as he goes, and he is currently asking for reviews and feedback. In his words:
"My first article is far far from complete, but because it is a Knol, it can be rapidly developed, continually improved, and I can refine and develop it further over time and experience. What I urgently seek now is comments and even reviews. Any sort of feedback is very much welcomed."
In visiting Young's knol Knowledge Management in the 21st Century, I found a well designed unit of knowledge.
As of today, the know was already up to its 17th revision. At over 2500 words, KM in the 21st Century is quite a sizable unit of knowledge. Mixing some history of KM, with a definition, a description of KM tools, and a scope for KM's future, I thought it was educational and helpful. I would say my only negative comment would be in the length of the Knol, which is not a good judge of value...just an impression. I enjoyed the content, so I think I'll reserve judgment until I read more knols, re-read Ron Young's knol, and then, of course, I will post some comments there and give Ron a choice to take it or leave it!
While I was there, I thought I'd see what else was cooking, so a current search of Knol shows 13 knols on Knowledge Management. As expected, there is a lot of room for growth, but some early adopters have taken advantage to forge the way. Somehow I'm expecting more Google Alerts in the short term.
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