Engaged Learning

Why #6: Liberating Knowledge

Oct 30, 2008 Selling Social Learning, Verbs of Social Learning

Image by DavidErickson via Flickr

WHY #5: Liberating Knowledge

There are reasons, but for the most part, why stick perfectly good information in email?  No one else can learn from what you just learned when it is in email.   Here is a simple example.  I know one person who was looking for a corporate template.  He was about to email the marketing department and knew it might take a couple days and a few routed emails before he saw it.  Instead, he did a quick search and found that someone had shared it with everyone.  Problem solved.

What if we could do that with other knowledge?  As a general rule, I use email only when it needs to be 1:1 or is sensitive. Other than that I try to use anything but email.

Next time, instead of asking a question in email, ask a question using a forum, or a blog, for exameple.  When you do, the question doesn’t go to just one person, it goes to potentially thousands of people.  Anyone can answer it.  And the beauty of this is that everyone has a different perspective.  Sure, there may be one basic answer to a question, but we all have our own view.  My view of it may not match yours - it may be just a bit off.  But someone else may share your view and give you the exact answer you are looking for.  Also, if the answer can be debated, you get a wealth of knowledge in the exchange of ideas.

Make it your quest - make it easy to for others to find information and learn – the easier the better.  If the process is difficult others will either 1) not use it or 2) put up with it and grumble the whole time.

Social Learning liberates knowledge.

Related Posts:

Why #5: Adapting to a New Learning Structure
Why #4: Distributing Ownership (Cont’)
Why #3: Discovering Experts
Why #2: Personalizing Learning
Why #1: Focusing on People (Part 1) (Part 2)

Tags: liberate, why