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[Transcript] The Changing Role of Information Professionals: New Opportunities Created by Enterprise 2.0
Chat Event:
Date & time:
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 17:00 - 18:00 UTC
Transcript:
| 4:00 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Good day all and welcome to today's #KMers chat! Let's take a few minutes to introduce ourselves to each other. #KMers |
| 4:00 pm | swanwick: | If you know people who are not Twitter users, tell them to go to http://KMers.org/chat to follow the discussion. #KMers |
| 4:02 pm | swanwick: | @lehawes Larry, its a pleasure to have you hosting today. Thx so much for agreeing to moderate. #KMers |
| 4:02 pm | stangarfield: | Stan Garfield, Community Evangelist for Deloitte, in Detroit, Michigan. #KMers |
| 4:02 pm | lehawes: | I'm Larry Hawes, Lead Analyst, Collaboration & Enterprise Social Software at Gilbane Group. I've been an active KMer for 12 years. #KMers |
| 4:02 pm | jeffhester: | Hello all. Jeff Hester from Fluor's enterprise KM team here in So Cal. #KMers |
| 4:03 pm | jmcgee: | Jim McGee here in Chicago area. KM consultant, former CKO and CLO in pro svcs firm. former techie, now org designer #KMers |
| 4:03 pm | lehawes: | @swanwick My pleasure, Swan, and thank you for inviting me to lead a session! #KMers |
| 4:03 pm | ithorpe: | Ian Thorpe, Knowledge Manager in UNICEF, will only be able to stay for a bit of discussion today unfortunately #KMers |
| 4:04 pm | ChiefExecMom: | Theresa Sullivan, KM at Bain & Company. Interested in topic as recent job searcher and potential off-ramper #KMers |
| 4:04 pm | swanwick: | Rob Swanwick. KM consultant and steward for the KMers.org community. Also run a few small companies #KMers |
| 4:05 pm | carlfrappaolo: | Hi Larry and all other #Kmers CarlFrappaolo here - Km vet of 20+ years yikes. |
| 4:06 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Good to see so many regulars here. If you're just joining, please introduce yourself. #KMers |
| 4:06 pm | elmibester: | Good day - Elmi Bester here, KM professional from CSIR (research), Pretoria, ZA - #KMers |
| 4:06 pm | timyoung: | Tim Young, founder of @socialcast; helping information managers at F1000 integrate new practices #KMers |
| 4:06 pm | swanwick: | @carlfrappaolo is one of the moderators lined up for an upcoming session. Anyone else like to give it a try? #KMers |
| 4:07 pm | lehawes: | RT @swanwick: @carlfrappaolo is one of the moderators lined up for an upcoming session. Anyone else like to try? (Painless so far!) #KMers |
| 4:08 pm | lehawes: | @timyoung Hey Tim! Great to see you here. Thanks for joining us today. #KMers |
| 4:09 pm | kcbower: | Hello all! Lurking today while working on other things. #KMers |
| 4:09 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Let's get started then. If you have just joined us, feel free to introduce yourself, even in the midst of discussion. #KMers |
| 4:10 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Q1: Information Professionals are stereotypically viewed as DB and newsfeed jockeys. Is that changing? Why or why not? #KMers |
| 4:10 pm | swanwick: | @lehawes Heh, exactly. Not much work involved, just a passion for #KM and a desire to explore a certain topic. :) #KMers |
| 4:10 pm | elsua: | Howdy, folks! Luis Suarez, KMer, CommunityBuilder & Social Computing evangelist @ IBM, Gran Canaria; in my spare time living #awwe #KMers |
| 4:11 pm | lehawes: | Re Q1: My informal research says view of corp. librarians, knowledge mgrs., etc. has NOT changed much in the last few years. Agree? #KMers |
| 4:11 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes Thomas Vander Wal intranet/social tool advisory roles to help orgs fix the gaps #KMers |
| 4:12 pm | elsua: | [May be slow catching up today... apparently my computer and the KMers chat decided to give me trouble at the same time :-//] #KMers |
| 4:12 pm | swanwick: | @lehawes Q1: don't most ppl these days consider themselves info pros? #KMers |
| 4:13 pm | lehawes: | RT @swanwick: @lehawes Q1: dont most ppl these days consider themselves info pros? {They should (i.e. PKM), but I don't think so} #KMers |
| 4:13 pm | carlfrappaolo: | #kmers Agree on Corp Librarians but have seen fair amt of KM mgrs assume "control" of E2.0 projects |
| 4:13 pm | ithorpe: | @lehawes wondering more if orgs sometimes want to keep KM in the library/database mode (not just ther people) #KMers |
| 4:13 pm | elsua: | Q1: @lehawes that may well be the case from a biz perspective;but from a knowledge workers I think it's changed a bit; + democratised #KMers |
| 4:13 pm | swanwick: | @lehawes Are u aiming at subset of knowledge workers that just includes the people developing people/process/tech to enhance sharing? #KMers |
| 4:14 pm | lehawes: | RT @carlfrappaolo: #kmers Agree on Corp Librarians but have seen fair amt of KM mgrs assume "control" of E2.0 projects [that's good] #KMers |
| 4:14 pm | infocloud: | @swanwick I think more people than ever consider themselves info pros, but more people need to be, but lack skills and tools #KMers |
| 4:14 pm | jmcgee: | re Q1 some info pros seem to prefer clear narrow defn of role vs explaining more organizationally rich possibilities #KMers |
| 4:15 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes I see tech pain points going through the roof with lack of solid info tools what work for people as info overload is norm #KMers |
| 4:16 pm | lehawes: | RT @ithorpe: @lehawes wondering more if orgs sometimes want to keep KM in the library/database mode (not just ther people) [good ?] #KMers |
| 4:19 pm | stangarfield: | Q1: Varies a great deal based on the organization and industry. Some KM programs are still mostly document management, but not all. #KMers |
| 4:19 pm | elsua: | @infocloud Thomas' point is just spot on! Struggling with those technical paint points myself as we speak! Arrrgggghhh (sorry) #KMers |
| 4:19 pm | lehawes: | Anyone else having difficulties posting through the chat room embedded in KMers.org? I am unable to. Posting from Tweetie instead. #KMers |
| 4:20 pm | ChiefExecMom: | Stereotypes may be same but now there is a greater value-added expectation #KMers |
| 4:20 pm | lehawes: | RT @jmcgee: re Q1 some info pros seem to prefer clear narrow defn of role vs explaining more organizationally rich possibilities. #KMers |
| 4:21 pm | timyoung: | We have seen info pros begin to focus on data engineering (data into $$) & using data to forge new employee relationships #KMers |
| 4:21 pm | ChiefExecMom: | @lehawes I am having lots of tech problems #KMers |
| 4:21 pm | jeffhester: | People seem to embrace E2.0 more readily than KM. Orgs that co-opt the E2.0 concepts see better adoption rates. #KMers |
| 4:21 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Good discussion! Let's move on to the next question (in next post). #KMers |
| 4:21 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes I see 4 pieces needed: tools (features), UX (ease of use), sociality (who interacts w/ whom), and InfoPro #KMers |
| 4:21 pm | elmibester: | @infocloud info overload key role for info pros - to assist them to create environments to guide and direct info flows #kmers |
| 4:22 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes That mix and balance is incredibly important. Knowing where the pain points reside is essential to improving #KMers |
| 4:23 pm | infocloud: | @elmibester yes, but that role needs to be at a level lower than info pros to, so people can recontextualize what is there #KMers |
| 4:23 pm | LLiu: | @swanwick @lehawes No, most ppl consider themselves "info slaves" -need better info/activity mgmt tools. #KMers |
| 4:24 pm | swanwick: | RT @elmibester: info overload key role for info pros - to assist them to create environments to guide and direct info flows #KMers |
| 4:24 pm | lehawes: | RT @LLiu: @swanwick @lehawes No, most ppl consider themselves "info slaves" -need better info/activity mgmt tools. [Ha! Spot on!] #KMers |
| 4:25 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Q2: Will the Information Professional role become obsolete as organizations become more social? Why or why not? #KMers |
| 4:25 pm | swanwick: | @LLiu Any kind of activity tool usually needs to stem from email since that is where most info workers "live". #KMers |
| 4:27 pm | elsua: | Rats!!! Apologies everyone @ #KMers; FireFox and KMers chat decided to play funny today & crashed my Mac; rebooting machine! Yuk! |
| 4:27 pm | jmcgee: | Q2 - one scenario - most info pro tasks migrate into everyone's job, pros retain finding/introducing new tools/techniques #KMers |
| 4:27 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes I see the role of info pro becoming more valuable as orgs become more social to help others get upto speed & fix pain points #KMers |
| 4:27 pm | timyoung: | @swanwick Although email won't disappear anytime soon; it will be marginalized and not the dominant source of biz activity info #KMers |
| 4:28 pm | LLiu: | @lehawes "jockeys" -they prefer 2b called "curators". Role diminishing due 2improved content/topic search. Ppl/expertise search next. #KMers |
| 4:28 pm | swanwick: | As @elsua will gladly tell you :) too many ppl are slaves to the inbox. Puts blinders on what info is available. #KMers |
| 4:28 pm | adreich: | #KMers hi all q2 I don't think the role will die as long as call centers keep adopting more robust kowledge base tools. |
| 4:29 pm | infocloud: | @LLiu 'info slaves' is an excellent perspective #KMers |
| 4:29 pm | swanwick: | @timyoung Heh, thought that tweet might perk you up. :) Activity tracking is such a gr8 idea, but chng mngmnt challenge. #KMers |
| 4:29 pm | elmibester: | Q2" info professionals now rethinking their role and identity as 'embedded librarians' or 'participative librarians' #kmers |
| 4:30 pm | ChiefExecMom: | Q2. First info profs must help orgs to become more social, then help recognize, organize and capture worthwhile bits #KMers |
| 4:30 pm | stangarfield: | Q2: There will always be a need for people to lead the way, who can use KM/SM processes/tools, and who are able to help others. #KMers |
| 4:31 pm | swanwick: | Q2: Info pro role will change, but not disappear. info mngmnt has always been about connecting. Need process/tools to help. #KMers |
| 4:31 pm | lehawes: | @infocloud I like it! You can tell us how info pros can become more valuable when you answer the next question. :>) #KMers |
| 4:32 pm | lehawes: | @stangarfield Agree on perpetual need for experts to guide others. #KMers |
| 4:33 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Q3: What opportunities are available for Information Professionals to help their organizations become more social? #KMers |
| 4:33 pm | jeffhester: | The role of a dedicated information professional is disappearing IMO, and becoming a portfolio role that many assume #KMers |
| 4:34 pm | jmcgee: | @stangarfield - challenge is that expert as guide is not = expert as expert - need a richer skill set to guide/teach #KMers |
| 4:34 pm | lehawes: | RT @elmibester: Q2" info professionals now rethinking their role and identity as embedded librarians or participative librarians. #KMers |
| 4:35 pm | swanwick: | @jeffhester So who will be responsible for the tools/processes? Aren't there business level roles there as well as tech? #KMers |
| 4:35 pm | lehawes: | @jeffhester Why is Info Pro role disappearing? Evidence? #KMers |
| 4:35 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes Info pros help others learn skills to find, hold onto, curate, & share more easily. Also push vendors to improve tools & UX #KMers |
| 4:36 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes Q3 Info pros will need to understand different types of tools for uses, many orgs have wrong tools for their needs #KMers |
| 4:36 pm | swanwick: | @jeffhester spread out responsibility often leads to less accountability #KMers |
| 4:36 pm | lehawes: | RT @infocloud: @lehawes Info pros help others learn skills to find, hold onto, curate, & share more easily. [so role doesn't change?] #KMers |
| 4:37 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes Q3 also understanding UX needs help and where the pain is there becomes an info pro role #KMers |
| 4:37 pm | ithorpe: | #KMers Twwetchat client not working too well today |
| 4:37 pm | LLiu: | @swanwick "stem from email" -agreed but activity mgmt tools have oppty 2shift user attention 2new inbox (aka "ActionBox") #KMers |
| 4:37 pm | ithorpe: | Q 2. don't think the role will die but will evolve. more people will learn KM skills as part of regular work, but expts still needed #KMers |
| 4:37 pm | elmibester: | @jeffhester agree-But info profession still holds NB perspectives - such as looking at E2.0 & implications 4 curation - can get lost #kmers |
| 4:37 pm | swanwick: | Q3: follow the value. What info is most helpful to workers? Are they able to get it? What would help? #KMers |
| 4:37 pm | elmibester: | RT @lehawes: RT @infocloud: @lehawes Info pros help others learn skills to find, hold onto, curate, & share more easily. [so role doesn't change?] #KMers |
| 4:38 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes Q3 info pros need to have a much better grasp of social (as humans do it with out tools) than many do now #KMers |
| 4:38 pm | lehawes: | @elmibester Can you please expand on your last thought/tweet re: info pros getting lost? #KMers |
| 4:39 pm | swanwick: | Q3: never underestimate change management. That has been many KM project's downfall #KMers |
| 4:39 pm | stangarfield: | Q3: Lead by example, conduct informal training, encourage others, change old ways (e.g., newsletter -> blog, emailing docs -> wiki) #KMers |
| 4:39 pm | ithorpe: | @elmibester I like the idea of "participative" librarians. It describes well how our work is evolving #KMers |
| 4:39 pm | elmibester: | Agree! infocloud @lehawes info pros need to have a much better grasp of social (as humans do it with out tools) than many do now #KMers |
| 4:39 pm | lehawes: | @infocloud Agree on better grasp of social. How do they get there? #KMers |
| 4:40 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes the info pro roles changes because the context and capabilities of the tools change, grounded in KM, but broader coverage #KMers |
| 4:40 pm | ChiefExecMom: | Info professionals must excel at change management which presumes they've embraced change themselves #KMers |
| 4:40 pm | jeffhester: | @swanwick Good question. I see the business/tech roles and the info professional as 2 different responsibilities #KMers |
| 4:41 pm | lehawes: | @ithorpe @elmibester Please expand on what you mean by "participative". I think that is a key notion. #KMers |
| 4:42 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes Getting a better grasp of social takes work & training. Most social media experts lack it, but ethnographers & soc anthro do #KMers |
| 4:42 pm | elmibester: | @jeffhester what do u regard as responsibilities of info professional? #kmers |
| 4:42 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Q4: What new skills are needed for current Information Professionals to remain relevant in their organizations? #KMers |
| 4:42 pm | ChiefExecMom: | @elmibester Like the participative librarian too. Our librarians are now in all team kick off meetings. KM folks are not. #KMers |
| 4:43 pm | swanwick: | @jeffhester gotcha so by ur def. info pros are content managers? Not ppl who establish practices? #KMers |
| 4:43 pm | jmcgee: | Q3 - info pros tend to be early adopters - biggest change mgmt challenge lies in empathizing with those who aren't #KMers |
| 4:43 pm | lehawes: | RT @ChiefExecMom: Info professionals must excel at change management which presumes theyve embraced change themselves. [oh yeah] #KMers |
| 4:44 pm | lehawes: | RT @ChiefExecMom: @elmibester Like the participative librarian too. Our librarians are now in all team kick off meetings. KM are not. #KMers |
| 4:44 pm | elmibester: | internet connection slooooowwwwww #kmers #seacom cable broken |
| 4:44 pm | jeffhester: | @elmibester I see info pros as expert connectors. Connecting people to people and to knowledge. #KMers |
| 4:45 pm | ChiefExecMom: | Q4 As recent job searcher, felt I needed a blog to show writing ability and thought leadership, SEO exp, exposure to SM tools #KMers |
| 4:45 pm | lehawes: | RT @jeffhester: @elmibester I see info pros as expert connectors. Connecting people to people and to knowledge. [Love it! Exactly!] #KMers |
| 4:47 pm | swanwick: | If you are having problems with tweetchat try tweetgrid: http://is.gd/bK4JG #KMers |
| 4:47 pm | lehawes: | RT @ChiefExecMom: Q4 As recent job searcher, felt I needed a blog 2 show writing ability & thought leadership, exposure 2 SM tools. #KMers |
| 4:47 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes Q4 new skills: cross context info use/sharing, human social skills, UX (social interaction design (SxD), and tool types #KMers |
| 4:48 pm | mcassettari: | RT @lehawes: RT @jeffhester: @elmibester I see info pros as expert connectors. Connecting people to people and to knowledge. [Love it! Exactly!] #KMers |
| 4:48 pm | stangarfield: | Q4: frequent user of existing and emerging social tools, good at writing/presenting /training, searching, asking the right questions #KMers |
| 4:49 pm | jeffhester: | @lehawes Top info pro skills? Communication, networking and leading by influence #KMers |
| 4:49 pm | lehawes: | @infocloud Those are new skills indeed for most established Info Pros. How does one develop those skills? #KMers |
| 4:50 pm | swanwick: | Q4: searching, feeds, writing, listening, understanding #KMers |
| 4:50 pm | LLiu: | @lehawes @infocloud "how 2get there" -by no longer thinking of themslves as "info pros" &more like curators/guides/facilitators. #KMers |
| 4:50 pm | mcassettari: | More on the changing role of the special librarian/info pro ... http://bit.ly/9ELNSP #KMers |
| 4:51 pm | lehawes: | @stangarfield Interesting that you put "frequent use of existing and emerging social tools" first on your list. Is is that important? #KMers |
| 4:51 pm | elmibester: | @jeffhester we may not always refer 2 them as info profs-as implied by portfolio roles but it is still a role that someone is playing #kmers |
| 4:52 pm | lehawes: | RT @LLiu: @infocloud "how 2get there" -by no longer thinking of themslves as "info pros" &more like curators/guides/facilitators. #KMers |
| 4:52 pm | swanwick: | @lehawes developing skills = practice. Developing well = focused practice. #KMers |
| 4:52 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Moving on to our last question. Thanks for great discussion so far! #KMers |
| 4:52 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes At the moment getting those skills is tough as there are few that have the skills. Find someone who can guide to depth #KMers |
| 4:53 pm | swanwick: | @lehawes I love new as much as the next guy, but it's easy to go for the shiny ball rather than what is most effective. #KMers |
| 4:53 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} Q5: Are Information Professionals becoming Community Managers? Should they? Why or why not? #KMers |
| 4:53 pm | ChiefExecMom: | Going back to Q1 and the Info Prof stereotype, how hard is change mgt and leading by influence? Tough to find best ppl #KMers |
| 4:54 pm | stangarfield: | @lehawes Yes, you need to lead by example. Best way is to jump in and try tools so you can speak from experience and fit to needs. #KMers |
| 4:54 pm | jeffhester: | @elmibester we may not always refer 2 them as info profs... / probably many MORE someones #kmers |
| 4:55 pm | swanwick: | @lehawes Communities need to be very fluid. They must rise and fall as needed. Tough to find right balance btwn support & control. #KMers |
| 4:55 pm | lehawes: | @swanwick Yes, but wouldn't you agree that shiny new ball needs to be played with also, to determine its effectiveness? :>) #KMers |
| 4:55 pm | lehawes: | RT @stangarfield: Need to lead by example. Best way is to jump in and try tools so you can speak from experience and fit to needs. #KMers |
| 4:56 pm | infocloud: | @lehawes I have a short webinar with ToughtFarmer that outlines some of this in a video http://bit.ly/9BsnV4 #KMers |
| 4:56 pm | swanwick: | @lehawes of course, but not 100% of time should be devoted to revolutionary R&D. #KMers |
| 4:57 pm | elmibester: | @swanwick to establish the [right] practices, you have to practise first yourself... #kmers |
| 4:58 pm | lehawes: | And there's the 2 minute warning! We can continue past the hour, but feel free to exit if you must at 1:00 EST. #KMers |
| 4:58 pm | lehawes: | RT @elmibester: @swanwick to establish the [right] practices, you have to practise first yourself... #KMers |
| 4:59 pm | jeffhester: | @lehawes A good community mgr is also a good info pro, but not all info pros will be community mgrs. #KMers |
| 5:00 pm | elmibester: | @jeffhester many MORE someones/because the dedicated role of InfoPro is not relevant anymore, or because infoPros not ready #kmers |
| 5:00 pm | lehawes: | RT @jeffhester: @lehawes A good community mgr is also a good info pro, but not all info pros will be community mgrs. [but should be?] #KMers |
| 5:00 pm | swanwick: | @lehawes I have a 1pm. Gr8 job moderating. I'll post transcript this afternoon. #KMers |
| 5:01 pm | stangarfield: | Q5 Both community leaders and members. Once again, lead by example. CoPs are key, so be visible in leading and participating in them. #KMers |
| 5:01 pm | lehawes: | {moderator} So that wraps up our official time for #KMers chat. Please feel free to continue the discussion. Thanks to everyone! #KMers |
| 5:01 pm | infocloud: | RT @jeffhester: @lehawes A good community mgr is also a good info pro, but not all info pros will be community mgrs. #KMers +1 |
| 5:02 pm | lehawes: | @swanwick Thanks! Will look forward to reading transcript. Sure I missed much in the flow. #KMers |
| 5:02 pm | elmibester: | Q4 - facilitating/guiding/informing right-time info flows #kmers |
| 5:02 pm | lehawes: | RT @elmibester: @jeffhester many MORE someones/because dedicated role of InfoPro is not relevant anymore, or infoPros not ready. #KMers |
| 5:03 pm | carlfrappaolo: | @lehawes nice job Thanks #kmers |
| 5:03 pm | jeffhester: | @lehawes Thanks for leading this, Larry. Great questions! #KMers |
| 5:04 pm | lehawes: | @jeffhester My pleasure, Jeff. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for participating! #KMers |
| 5:05 pm | lehawes: | @carlfrappaolo Thank you, sir. Glad you were here! #KMers |
| 5:06 pm | ChiefExecMom: | I have info on a KM Org practice position in Boston (2-4 yrs experience) DM me for details #KMers |
| 5:07 pm | ChiefExecMom: | @lehawes Thanks for another great discussion #KMers |
| 5:08 pm | lehawes: | RT @ChiefExecMom: I have info on a KM Org practice position in Boston (2-4 yrs experience) DM me for details. #workwednesday #KMers |
| 5:08 pm | elmibester: | RT @jeffhester: @lehawes Thanks for leading this, Larry. Great questions! #KMers |
| 5:08 pm | lehawes: | @ChiefExecMom Thank you for chatting with us! #KMers |
| 5:08 pm | elsua: | @lehawes Really sorry, Larry, I kept struggling with today's #KMers chat; looks like FF didn't want to play nice! Will catch up w/ chat soon |
| 5:09 pm | AnaDataGirl: | Let me just say that as a bystander I find your #KMers chats really interesting. I learn a lot from you. Thanks! |
| 5:09 pm | lehawes: | @elmibester Thank you! You offered some great input; glad you were here! #KMers |
| 5:10 pm | lehawes: | @elsua No worries, friend. I was fighting TweetChat most of the time and failing over to Tweetie to post. Ca marche... #KMers |
| 5:11 pm | lehawes: | @AnaDataGirl Thanks! Please jump right in next week! #KMers |
| 5:19 pm | elsua: | @jackvinson Ha!! That's the big joke! I know FF already & never keep more than 3 to 5 tabs open; one of them was #KMers chat :-(( |
| 5:21 pm | elsua: | @smithlc Only have got 5 plugins, work related & rather safe / harmless; think this last crash was provoked by #KMers chat event [sigh] |
| 5:33 pm | lehawes: | @AnaDataGirl Watching and learning are always completely acceptable. I do it too on some chats. Feel free to lurk at #KMers any time. :>) |
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