There is the principle of the ‘long tail’ (coined by Chris Anderson). Wikipedia says, “Anderson argued that products that are in low demand or have low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is large enough.”
Let me put that in Learning terms, “That information which needs to be learned and which is in low demand or has low visibility can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current learning initiatives, if the distribution mechanism is large enough.”
Does that make sense? Now we have access to that long tail. Before it was only out there and very difficult to capture. That is no longer the case. It, in my opinion and in context of learning, has superseded in size the traditional, formal learning in business. And because of this case it can be more powerful and influential.
If we can make the tools that capture the knowledge lightweight and simple, we can harness the collective knowledge and use it to our advantage. The sharing then becomes a natural part of how an employee does their job.
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Currently, knowledge is governed by the Economy of Scarcity. It needs to be governed by the Economy of Abundance. Learning needs no longer to be limited by the resources of the Training Department, but only by the knowledge and skills of the worker. This, in reality, is endless because it includes innovation, imagination and creativity.
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I kind of had to laugh a little with the presentation from Microsoft. In a way, he made a case for wikis and profiles and other collaborative technologies, as if we need the case made to us. It was almost as if he was saying, “See, Microsoft isn’t out of it. We can do it too, and you can deploy it in your systems that you already have. Don’t forget, we can do it too. Don’t forget.” When so many topics by others during the day were pointed at quick software development, lite applications, flexibility, he was almost trying to say, “We are still in the game!”
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I asked one presenter, in a smaller forum, if I had it right: It seemed to me, that after all we talked about, there were two requirements: Individualization or Personalization and Engagement. He agreed. The personalization includes everything from profiles to searching to buddy lists. Engagement keeps them coming back – it is a sustainable activity. He said that the primary motivator is Discovery, not really of things or of places or of people, but of self (individualism). Not that he wanted to be all lovey-dovey, but they really want to define who they are.
Who we are is made up, in large part, of what we know. There is the direct link to learning.
