What is a librarian? Part three- The Reality.

I have a shocking statement to make: Librarians aren’t just people who are in charge of books, and not all of them are interested in working in a library.

From the first librarians who were in charge of the archiving of clay tablets in the temple rooms of Sumer, to those who protected the papyrus records in Egypt, to the workers who stored clay tablets in Nineveh, librarians have always been protectors of knowledge.

The infamous destruction of the library in Alexandria became a symbol of the irretrievable loss of the knowledge of a culture, which equated to a loss of power. When Sir Francis Bacon wrote the expression, “ipsa scientia potestas est”, translated to, “knowledge itself is power” in 1597, he was echoing the Book of Proverbs, 24:5, “The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.”

So where is cultural knowledge stored today? Is it all contained in the neat rows of books that exist in many of our country’s libraries? Is it solely contained conveniently online and searchable by only entering a few words in a Google search box? How do we contain and preserve the knowledge that is constantly traveling back and forth in social media? And what about the knowledge that exists outside of technology and books? Who is in charge of collecting and preserving the history, stories, and knowledge contained within people through the oral tradition?

The role of the librarian is both more important and less valued today than in any other time in history. Information is now found everywhere. Who possesses the passion, skill set, and aptitude to tackle this formidable opponent?

Librarians.

They’re not just shelving books anymore (not that they ever were doing only that).

What fields are librarians well suited for?

• The expected- traditional libraries, such as public, academic, and school libraries
• The slightly less expected- special libraries, such as museums, law firms, corporations, and historical societies (to name a few)
• Specialties within libraries- curator, archivist, cataloger, collection development, information literacy, outreach, etc.

Oh, but there is so much more (this list is in no way exhaustive):

• Database designer
• Social Media expert
• Subject Matter expert
• Instructor
• Data analysis (crime, intelligence, project, financial, report, etc.)
• Technology trainer/futurist
• Project Manager
• Researcher
• Knowledge manager
• Due diligence
• Investigation work (private, skip tracing, background check,etc.)
• Information Architect
• Content strategist
• Big data
• Copywriter/Information Privacy expert
• GIS (geographic information systems)
• Competitive Intelligence
• Publishing
• Chief Information Officer (CEO)
• Instructional design
• Genealogist
• Information Recovery
• Certified Records Manager
• Automation Coordinator
• Information broker
• Usability engineer
• Taxonomist

The challenge for the field of Library and Information Sciences is to change the perception that librarians have a very narrow skill set that can only apply to traditional library settings.  I’ve seen a few instances lately that have given me hope.  The C.I.A., for instance, actively seeks librarians for both traditional library positions and non-traditional jobs, such as analysts.  A new venture by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, is looking to redefine journalism.  The project is called First Look, and while it’s still in its early stages, he is actively seeking librarians to fill most major roles.

So there it is- the reality of today’s librarian.  Are you surprised?  Relieved that someone is there to wrangle all the info?  Indifferent?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject!

What is a librarian? Part two- What does the general public think?

 

 

 

Yesterday I conducted a completely unscientific survey among my Facebook friends.  I asked them to share words that would describe a typical librarian’s personality/skills.  The only rule I made was that librarians and LIS students could not respond.  Soon after, however, I had to add a second rule: Brutal Honesty.  I suppose my lovely friends were worried about offending me?  Once I gave the green light to let loose, here were some of the responses (I’ve grouped similar responses):

Personality Traits:

• Conscientious, Perspicacious, Practical
• Brainy, Erudite, Knowledgeable, Resourceful, Curious
• Prude, Circumspect, Unhappy, Patronizing
• Fastidious, Detail-oriented, Methodical, Systematic, Efficient, Analytical
• Rule-enforcers, Strict, Stodgy
• Organized
• Helpful, Friendly, Eager to Help, Personable
• Book lovers

Skills:

• Organization
• Alphabetizing
• Patron De-escalation
• Retrieving Information

I was a bit surprised by the lack of skills listed in my results, so this morning, I tried again. I conducted a second, equally unscientific survey asking specifically for a list of librarian skills. Once again, no librarians or LIS students were allowed to respond.  Here are my results:

• Organization
• Research skills
• Basic technology skills
• Ability to present information clearly
• Attention to detail
• Communication skills
• Typing skills
• Being awesome (a librarian friend broke the rules in order to sneak that one in!)

My two surveys, I think, are a good representation of what the general public thinks about librarians.  The good, the bad, and everything in between.  Two questions rise to the surface as I’ve been pondering the results:

1. What did my friends miss?  Librarians don’t acquire all their skills in library school.  It takes a certain type of person to be attracted to library school in the first place- a person with a particular set of skills and personality traits. Of course every person is unique, and the skills needed to work in the field have changed over time, but what can generally be said about the skills held by librarians?
2. How do we as a profession help turn the tide of a society/media who still in large holds on to stereotypes from an era of the profession that is quickly fading?

After all, my sneaky library friend who added “being awesome” to my list of words to describe librarians may be the closest to the truth. Author Neil Gaiman was quoted as saying, “Librarians are the coolest people out there doing the hardest job out there on the front lines. And every time I get to encounter or work with librarians, I’m always impressed by their sheer awesomeness.”

Now, if we can just figure out how to let the general public in on his secret.

 

What is a librarian? Part One…

When I tell people I recently graduated with a Masters in Library and Information Sciences, they immediately ask, “So…are you going to work in a public library?”  Though I have nothing against public libraries, the question always makes me cringe.  The skills obtained through a LIS program are unique and valuable to many fields and industries. Being a librarian isn’t just about re-shelving books anymore!  

Let me begin to explain the role of a librarian by telling you a little about my childhood… When I was a kid, I loved the public library.  Almost anything I wanted to learn about could be found by searching through a card catalog.  I would spend countless hours there, especially during the summer, and would devour book after book.

When I was about 8 years old, my mom (who must have been a forward-thinker) invested in a computer for me- a brand new Apple IIe. Though the world was still years away from the internet, I began to understand the computer could also be a source of learning.  Heck, I learned all the international monetary systems, capitals, and flags by playing “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”!  I also learned basic coding by receiving a magazine in the mail each month with coding projects for kids.  The discovery that I could create my own games was like something out of Science Fiction!

I also had the opportunity to visit lots of different types of people through my mom’s job as a community/social worker.  An older man named Bill Cole taught me everything there was to know about geology, and gave me enough samples to start my own rock collection. My favorite sample, a desert rose (baryte), I still have to this day.  Our neighbor across the street, a spit-fire lady named Alma Kerfoot, taught me about tenacity, southern hospitality, and the perfect time to eat a persimmon.  At the senior center where my mom worked part of the time, I learned about history, the importance of family, and how to play chess. Volunteering at the Red Cross, I figured out at about 5 years of age that Santa couldn’t be real.  Why would I need to be assembling gift baskets for poor families if Santa  had it under control?  By traveling with my mom during the summer to delivery commodities (a food program), I saw the reality of poverty and the need for compassion.

In middle school, my world expanded with the invention of Bulletin Board systems.  With a computer, a modem, and the hope that your sibling or parent wouldn’t pick up the phone and break your connection, you could enter a chat room with 2-20 other people!  Woah. Cool beans!  Any topic you wanted to learn about, you could find a chat room and expand your knowledge by talking with other people around the world who shared your interests.

Of course the transition to the World Wide Web blew us all away.  Even all these years later, I’m still in awe of what the Internet has become (both good and bad).

So why am I sharing this?

Well, as a kid, I equated learning with books, magazines, and people.  And I loved all things that allowed me to learn.  But over time, I realized more than loving books, I loved information.  Books were just the vessels in which that information was contained.

Fast forward to 2014.  Where can I find the information I need?  It’s everywhere! How in the world will I be able to collect it all in an efficient way, compile it, and share it?  That’s where librarians come in.  Finding information isn’t always as easy as putting a keyword in a Google search bar.  In a world that is now overloaded with information, all industries and fields are in need of people who are trained to research, organize, manage, and disseminate information.  The advent of Big Data is good to an extent, but real people will still need to be waiting in the wings, with common sense and critical thinking skills, in order to make sense of it all.  As time goes on, the need for information professionals will only increase…

GAO’s Evaluation of KM Strategies: Champions of Common Sense (Part Two)

If you haven’t read part one of this blog post go here.

 

Despite the old adage about curiosity killing the cat, I’ve always been one who doesn’t like to leave questions unanswered.  So it’s surprising, actually, that it took me as long as it did to research what GAO was all about.  In fact, it didn’t happen until yesterday.  I caught the tail end of a story on the radio about the Pentagon’s plans to destroy over 1 billion dollars in ammunition.  I didn’t hear enough of the story to know why they were destroying the ammunition or who uncovered this information.  But I didn’t have to hear it- I immediately knew the Government Accountability Office was behind the story.

Here’s what the GAO uncovered:

• The ammunition slated to be destroyed, totaling over a billion dollars, is being destroyed because they’re not sure if it’s still good or not.  Why, you might ask, don’t they know the quality/condition of the ammunition?  Well, it appears the Defense Department’s inventory can’t share information effectively.  According to the USA Today story on GAO’s report, “A request for ammunition from the Marine Corps, for example, is e-mailed to the Army. The e-mail is printed out and manually retyped into the Army system because the services cannot share data directly. Not only is this time consuming, but it can introduce errors — by an incorrect keystroke, for example.”
• Despite decades of efforts to create a system in which all divisions of the military could directly share inventory information, one has yet to be created.  In fact, only the Army currently has a system that is in the same format that the Pentagon uses.
• Even though the GAO uncovered more than a billion dollars of waste, the total amount of waste is impossible to calculate.  The divisions of the military aren’t required to reveal all of their inventory disposals, including missiles. Also, there have been instances in which required inventories have not been submitted.

So, if you aren’t aware of the GAO, are you becoming curious about who they are?  According to their website, “The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the “congressional watchdog,” GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. The head of GAO, the Comptroller General of the United States, is appointed to a 15-year term by the President from a slate of candidates Congress proposes.”

GAO initially stood for “General Accounting Office”.  It was created in 1921 through the Budget and Accounting Act. The agency was created to help Congress manage the government’s spending due to the increased National Debt caused by WWI. Later the name was changed to help clear any confusion about the organization just being a group of accountants. Currently the GAO focuses primarily on investigating spending by federal programs and answering Congressional requests for information.  Though the process of auditing a federal agency must cause some tension, the agencies who are audited general implement the suggestions made by GAO.

Though I’m sure it must sometimes feel like they’re fighting an uphill battle, I am thoroughly fascinated by and impressed with the work GAO is doing.  Two thumbs up for critical thinking and common sense!!!

Sources:

Alavi, Maryam and Dorothy E. Leidner. “Review: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues.” MIS Quarterly 25 (2001): 107-136.

Government Accountability Office (GAO) Web. Retrieved on 30 April 2014.  http://www.gao.gov/about/index.html.

USA Today. Retrieved on 30 April 2014. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/04/27/pentagon-ammunition-sen-tom-carper-gao-waste/8145729/.

 

GAO’s Evaluation of KM strategies- Champions of Common Sense (Part One)

Okay, I should start with a confession.  The first time I passed the Government Accountability Office while on a bus in D.C.,  I laughed.  It just struck me as an oxymoron… but besides the passing moment of chuckles, I forgot all about it.

Fast forward to about a year ago when I started developing an interest in studying vulnerable populations in times of disaster.  Even though the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina was 8 years in the past at that point, the images still burned in the forefront of my mind.  It only takes a few minutes of thinking about your own family and friends to think of someone who would need assistance during an emergency evacuation.

My grandmother, who at 86 is still spry and full of sass, has never possessed a driver’s license.  Her husband, my grandfather, passed away over 20 years ago, and since then she’s depended on family for transportation. She still lives independently about 40 minutes away from where I live. My mom lives about 45 minutes away.  If there was a sudden disaster situation, and we were unable to physically get to her, who would help her?

My grandfather (on the other side of the family) is also in a similar situation.  At 96 years old, he still lives on his own, and still does all the chores around his house.  Though he drove for most of his life, he had to give up his license a few years ago because of his failing eyesight due to Macular Degeneration.  His closest family member is over an hour away.  Because family members take turns helping him get to appointments, the grocery store, etc., he’s never had a need for public transportation, and wouldn’t know the first thing about how to use that service (if it was even available during an evacuation).  Who would help him if a family member couldn’t get to him?

When you start to think about disasters like Katrina through the lens of your own realm of existence, it really starts to hit home.  Imagine back to the Superdome and replace the random elderly person sitting outside in the heat without access to even basic things like food and water- and then replace that person’s face with the face of your grandparent. Or your child.  Or your best friend.  How much more frustration, despair, and anger would you have felt if those images in the media were your love ones being forgotten during a disaster?

So when I started researching the issue, I ran into lots of committees and politicians sitting around pointing fingers and then eventually creating more policies, laws, and procedures.  It brought up this question in my mind- Did all the policies and rules that existed within the government help us or hurt us during Katrina?  When agencies were being turned away from helping victims because of bureaucracy and red tape, would more policies have fixed the problems?  Don’t get me wrong- we need policies and laws, but when the policies override our ability to critically think and adjust to the situation at hand, we’ve lost something very important- common sense.

Okay, back to GAO.  So I was pulling tons of government information about the aftermath of Katrina, when I came across a breath of fresh air.  In 2006, GAO testified before the Special Committee on Aging in the U.S. Senate.  Their testimony created some preliminary observations on the evacuation of vulnerable populations due to hurricanes and other disasters. Wow.  I had never enjoyed reading a government document so much as I enjoyed that one!  The statement given by Cynthia Bascetta, the DIrector of Health Care, was overflowing with common sense. It was to the point- this is what went wrong. And this is what needs to be done to begin to fix the problems.  It wasn’t 200 pages of a report or testimony- I believe it was about 9 or 10 pages. So I started to wonder…what is the Government Accountability Office?

 

Sources:

GAO. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: Preliminary Observations on the Evacuation of Vulnerable Populations due to Hurricanes and Other Disasters.  GAO-06-790T: Published: May 18, 2006. Publicly Released: May 18, 2006.

Trkman, Peter and Kevin C. Desouza. “Knowledge risks in organizational networks: An exploratory framework.” The Journal of Strategic Information Systems 21 (March 2012): 1-17.

The use of GIS in Knowledge Management (and an update on my life!)

Now that I’m just weeks away from graduation, the obvious question is- what in the world will I do next? Like many SLIS students, I’ve been frantically completing Fellowship and job applications in the hopes that all this hard world will result in an actual job! I’ve had the opportunity in the past few months to talk with several professors at both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville in an attempt to gain knowledge and advice in the best fields to pursue. Every. Single. Professor. told me I need to look into either crime or intelligence analysis. To be honest, I hadn’t really considered that field until I got confirmation from many independent sources that my brain is primed and ready for such a job! The more I’ve researched, the more excited I’ve become. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to break into the field, but I’m looking forward to exploring it further in the coming weeks and months.

So what does this all have to do with GIS and KM? Well, as I’ve been exploring the fields of disaster management, and crime/intelligence data analysis, one skill set keeps popping up- GIS. GIS, which stands for geographic information system, utilizes software, hardware, and data to capture, manage, and analyze all kinds of geographically referenced information. By looking at information in a visual way, we are able to understand and interpret data by finding patterns, relationships, and trends. GIS is used in many fields beyond the ones I’ve mentioned- healthcare, public health, library science, meteorology, banking, retail, insurance, real estate, utilities, just to name a few- the list goes on and on!

Using GIS within a field can help organizations become more efficient, save them money, improve record keeping, and give them more information to assist in decision making. GIS allows you not only to map where things are, but relationships between data to solve problems and improve processes.

I know we can’t be experts at everything (even though us librarian-types sure try!), but it’s still a good idea to look into GIS and determine if it could benefit you in your current and/or future work. In addition to colleges offering GIS courses, there are many online classes, workshops, and self-guided options for learning.

 

Sources:

Moore, D. GIS in a Knowledge Domain: Bringing GIS to operational integration in Spatial Planning. URL: http://www.ec-gis.org/Workshops/8ec-gis/cd/papers/3_sp_dm.pdf

Klimešová, D., &Vostrovský, V. (2008). Horizontal Integration of Knowledge. URL: http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2008/ZOI/klimesova-horizontal%20integration%20of%20knowledge.pdf

 

 

Using KM to evacuate vulnerable populations- do registries work?

The more I learn about KM and disaster management, the more my head swims.  There isn’t just a handful of problems to be solved; there’s layer after layer of complexity.  Can we ever succeed in managing knowledge within the chaotic nature of crises?

I’m not sure of the answer to that question, but I do think we can vastly improve upon the current structure of disaster planning and management.  Start with the subject of evacuations.  One only has to think back a few years to the images of Katrina to know that we as a country have a long way to go in protecting vulnerable populations during disasters.

So how do we currently manage knowledge of vulnerable populations in large cities?  The most common solution is developing a registry.  The idea behind the registry is to develop a voluntary system in which vulnerable populations (elderly, disabled, non-English speakers, transportation disadvantaged, etc.) can provide information to assist in an evacuation.  The information provided would include general information, such as an address, phone number, what type of assistance is needed, and the number of individuals in a location.  Additional information could be provided, depending on the population- type of disability, mobility issues, medications/medical equipment needed, language spoken, pets in the home, etc.

How is this knowledge stored/managed and who is in charge of this information? It varies.  A registry can be as a list kept at the local police or fire station, or an extremely complex online system with many layers of information.  Depending on the city, a registry may be managed by a fire station, police department, emergency management, or the local government.

What are the challenges of managing knowledge in this way?  People may not want to share their personal and/or medical information, especially if they don’t trust the people in charge of that information.  Even if they’d be willing to share their information, some may not know that such a registry exists.

Personal and medical information doesn’t stay the same.  People move. People die.  If they have a medical condition, it may get better or worse.  Even if you can collect a significant amount of data on vulnerable residents in a city, keeping the information up-to-date may prove to be difficult.

When you provide a registry for vulnerable populations, you are in essence telling them that they will be given evacuation assistance in the event of a disaster.  There are some scenarios in which it may be difficult or even impossible to provide assistance in a timely fashion.  In these cases, there are ethical considerations that need to be evaluated.

How can we improve registries?  Or should we even try? The effectiveness of registries is a hot topic among those who study vulnerable populations and disaster management.  Some say that registries would be more effective if there was a standard for the KM tools to collect and update the information.  One challenge for those who want a more unified system is overcoming privacy (HIPAA) obstacles.  The same laws that have been put into place to protect our privacy are the same laws that are prevent agencies from effectively sharing information with each other that would help identify those who would need help during an evacuation.

What are the alternatives to registries? There are many alternatives to registries, though many of them have not been around long enough to have research to validate their effectiveness.  The best approach for many cities may be to incorporate several of these strategies.  They include:

• Involving vulnerable populations in the planning stages of emergency management
• Creating programs to promote neighbors helping neighbors during an evacuation
• Using population surveys to identify vulnerable populations
• Utilizing GIS technology to map areas in which vulnerable populations live
• Form networks with social service agencies, community centers, and other relevant agencies to keep track of those who will need help during an evacuation. By cooperating which such agencies, the information about each resident is more likely to be up-to-date and the resident is more likely to respond to someone they already have a connection with and trust.
• Provide education through a number of outlets, by many modes of communication, to reach vulnerable populations and inform them of how to plan ahead of time for a potential evacuation scenario.

The challenge of evacuating vulnerable populations is not for the faint of heart!  It won’t be solved overnight, but I have been encouraged to see that there is a genuine desire among many agencies and non-profit organizations to improve our ability to care for the most vulnerable within our communities.

Sources:

Chalmeta, Ricardo and Reyes Grangel. “Methodology for the implementation of knowledge management systems.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 59 (March 2008): 742-755.

Chua, Alton Y. K. “A tale of two hurricanes: Comparing Katrina and Rita through a knowledge management perspective.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 58 (August 2007): 1518-1528.

Massingham, Peter. “Knowledge risk management: a framework.” Journal of Knowledge Management 14 (2010): 464-485.

 

 

 

When Knowledge Management and Disaster Management Collide

For the past year or so, I’ve felt that I’ve had one foot in the world of Library and Information Sciences, and one foot in the world of Risk Sciences. The move in that direction wasn’t intentional, but it’s just so easy to slide out of LIS and right into another field. Why is that? The more I pondered, the more I concluded that the management of knowledge is more complicated than ever. It’s not just a matter of alphabetizing some index cards or keeping a list. Knowledge- both tacit and explicit, overwhelms us. It’s often more than we can handle as individuals, and this issue becomes compounded in organizations and agencies. How do we even begin to wade through it all and make sense of it?

Enter the LIS professional. Not only do we have a skill set to be able to effectively manage knowledge, we love knowledge! Getting a job one day in which I could sit behind a computer compiling and analyzing information would be a dream come true! And isn’t that the point? To find a job that doesn’t feel like a job at all?

But no matter how qualified the LIS professional, some knowledge is just plain hard to manage. Take the example of disasters. Even though we plan for disasters, are we ever truly prepared? Take it one step further. Think about the task of mandatory evacuations in times of disaster- and not just evacuating able-bodied people, but people who are sick, disabled, poor, elderly, without transportation, homeless, drug-addicted, mentally ill… Now imagine a city in which a large percentage of the population would fit into one or more of these categories. This was the situation in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina and the resulting levee breaches devastated New Orleans with flooding.

Hurricane Katrina has been heavily researched, in part because of the lessons that can be learned. One of the areas of study has been the communication breakdown during the evacuation of vulnerable populations. It’s easy to make blanket statements like, “The evacuation effort failed on so many levels”, but it’s much harder to take the needed steps to find a solution to the problem. KM can be very complex, and there are always many uncertain variables at play during any disaster situation.

I am planning on writing a few more blog posts about this topic over the next few days and would love to hear your feedback and/or opinions.

 

Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 107-136. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3250961

Chalmeta, R., & Grangel, R. (2008). Methodology for the implementation of knowledge management systems. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(5), 742-755. doi:10.1002/asi.20785

Chua, A. Y. K. (2007). A tale of two hurricanes: Comparing Katrina and Rita through a knowledge management perspective. Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology, 58(10), 1518-1528. doi:10.1002/asi.20640

 

Why distance learners hate discussion boards…

I’m in the homestretch of my journey through graduate school, and with the exception of one face-to-face class I’m taking this semester, all my classes have been taken online as a distance learner.  The current system used by the University of Kentucky is Blackboard. Since Blackboard is the only system I’ve ever used for online learning, I have nothing to compare it to, but there has to be a better way!

I’ve NEVER met a fellow distance learner who had anything nice to say about Blackboard.  In fact, typically within 10 minutes of meeting a fellow Blackboard user, you begin to bond by sharing your horror stories about the system, and in particular, the woes of discussion boards.  

Oh, the dreaded discussion posts. If you work during the weekdays like I do, you can really feel the pain.  By the time us weekend learners make it to the discussion posts, there are about 500 posts to sort through.  You’re faced with a problem- do you: A) Post on the topic without reading all the posts and hope you didn’t say the exact same thing as 10 other people?, B) Scan through the posts, try to think of something original to say, and then move on?, or C) Spend 3 hours reading all the posts, know for sure there’s nothing left to say, but then try to think of something anyway?

So why is it that so many people are willing to participate in other types of online discussion boards, when the Blackboard discussion boards feel like torture?  The article, “Why Should I Share? Examining Social Capital and Knowledge Contribution in Electronic Networks of Practice” by Wasko and Faraj gave me a glimpse into a possible answer.  In their study, they examined online discussion forums, and tried to answer the question of why people decide to help strangers through these online networks.  In part, their study found that participants choose to contribute if they think it could enhance their professional reputation or if they have experiences to share.  The authors of the study were surprised to find that the participants in online communities are willing to help even if they aren’t deeply connected to the network and that they had little to no expectations of receiving anything in return.  

When you take the information gathered by Wasko and Faraj in their study, and apply it to online discussion boards, you start to see were the underlying problem exists:

The first reason Wasko and Faraj gave for why people choose to contribute in online forums was to enhance professional reputation.  Besides hoping that the posts written on Blackboard will lead to a better grade, there is no motivation that the posts will enhance a student’s professional reputation.  That could explain why I’ve always invested much more time into my Facebook and LinkedIn presence than the world of Blackboard.  In social media forums, I have the chance to network with professionals in the areas I’m hoping to pursue after I complete my graduate work.  The Blackboard system is very disjointed, and doesn’t allow for natural (or socially acceptable) communication to take place. In a forums like Facebook, users can easily banter back and forth, and if a user decides to use the forum for professional networking, it can be very beneficial.  

Another reason the study uncovered was that people like sharing experiences that could be helpful to others.  This reason made me laugh.  Maybe that’s why I always felt so frustrated as I tried to come up with something useful to say after reading the 500 posts!  The truth was that the only useful posts were the first 10 or so, and the other 490 were in the same boat as me.  Since we all knew that was the case, it seriously impacted the validity of the forum as a whole. It became a chore we all participated in because it was required, and not one that we willingly chose to communicate through.  

It would be great to apply this research to improve the current system of online learning.  By creating a format that allows for more natural communication, and gives opportunities for students to chose to network by sharing experiences and knowledge, we would be taking a big step in the right direction!

 

How viral events are changing the fields of knowledge management and image repair

My guess is that most people have seen the YouTube video, “United Breaks Guitars” created by the band “Sons of Maxwell” in 2009.  David Caroll, the lead singer, tells the tale of a 9 month long saga in which he tries unsuccessfully to resolve an issue with United Airlines over a broken Taylor guitar.  If you somehow missed the viral video, here it is:

United Breaks Guitars

As of the writing of this post, the video has been viewed over 13.7 million times.  The incident sparked many scholars to begin examining the way knowledge travels during viral events, and the way in which organizations must learn to operate within this new knowledge ecosystem (Hemsley & Mason, 2013). The speed at which information is disseminated during a viral event can leave organizations overwhelmed and unprepared to deal with the repercussions.

In the case of the “United Breaks Guitars” video, the YouTube video was picked up by a popular blog just two days after it was created.  The blogger learned about the video through a Twitter user.  From that point the video was shared and re-shared through social media, and in just ten days it had been viewed more than 3.5 million times.  Because of the popularity of the video, traditional media outlets took notice, including London Times.  Within four days of the creation of the video, a Wikipedia page was created, and in just a couple of weeks it had over 1700 views (Wikipedia, 2012).

After the video reached 150,000 views, United offered to pay Caroll to essentially make the video go away.  At that point he decided his experience with United was about more than money, so he turned down the offer and suggested they give the money to charity (Wilson, 2011).  The winner in this situation?  Caroll was possibly the biggest winner- he now travels as a professional speaker discussing social media and branding.  He also created a website, gripevine.com, which is an online customer complaint platform that encourages customers and companies to resolve issues in a mutually beneficial way.

Interestingly enough, Taylor Guitars was also a winner in this situation.  After hearing about the viral event, they gave Caroll a new guitar.  They also made their own YouTube video empathizing with customers, and offering tips for how to travel safely with your guitar.  Way to use the situation to come out on top!

Viral events have led many companies to take part in “reverse mentoring” (Hemsley & Mason, 2013).  Reverse mentoring includes involving and retaining younger workers who best understand the changing face of social media.  These workers in turn train other workers who may not be as educated in emerging technologies.  Honestly, this strategy is the best possible way to keep up.  I’m in my 30’s, and even though I pride myself on keeping up with technology, I’m noticing I find out about up-and-coming platforms primarily from teenagers!  Utilizing younger workers is a brilliant way for companies to keep their finger on the pulse of the new “knowledge ecosystem”.

 

Sources

Hemsley, J., & Mason, R. M. (2013). Knowledge and knowledge management in the social media age. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 23(1), 138-167. doi10.1080/10919392.2013.748614

“United Breaks Guitars.” Wikipedia. N.p., 27 Feb 2014. Web. 3 Mar 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Breaks_Guitars&gt;.

Gripevine. N.p.. Web. 3 Mar 2014. <www.gripevine.com>.

Wilson, Richard. “A Public Relations Disaster: How saving $1200 cost United Airlines 10,722,839 Negative Views on YouTube.” Marketing Rocket Fuel. Sentium, Strategic Communcations, n.d. Web. 3 Mar 2014.