Welcome to the Knowledge Management Asia Blog
This site is intended for kneXco to share updates and thoughts. Please feel free to comment to the posts.
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/4289/470401686115242/692/951540/gse_multipart62184.jpg)
Knowledge Management made Practical
3 Jun 2010
31 Jan 2007
Knowledge Cafe Hosted By David Gurteen and Raksha Sukhia gets mention in the Hong Kong Ming Pao newspaper in the Hong Kong Ming Pao newspaper
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDGrNMLYyQVV1dpEBUpU_SkC0368huB8ZLWLy_gW3UolbRafg0C2FEiOHpF7MG_m5d6aCi0-ZXvwFgllIv7dIy-ieqMJDMHaPultvko6TZcbzkHc-Zj4z3H6tJjKbJjDkY4lo6Oc4smzs/s320/Close+Up++k-Cafe.jpg)
The recent Knowledge Cafe at KMAP 2006 conference and hosted by David Gurteen and Raksha Sukhia recieved mention along with the conferenc in Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper.
The cafe, which hosted about 60 participants, was split into two sections: the first session focused around barriers to the sharing while the second foucsed on ways to overcove those barriers.
Amongstht he many interesting and very animated dialogue that ensued, topics such as leadership behaviors, reward (the carrot versus the stick approach) and other issues of embedded organizational cutlture were discussed.
A provacative discussion around the need for forcing knowledge sharing to really make it happen in organizations and some lively debate occured.
A provacative discussion around the need for forcing knowledge sharing to really make it happen in organizations and some lively debate occured.
Participants left the Cafe having had fun, with their views heard and with a deeper undersatnding of the challenges that lie before them in their KM programs.
8 Dec 2006
Arup's Autonomy-Powered KM Platform Wins Best Innovation in Knowledge Management Award
Thursday December 7, 4:00 am ET
Autonomy and Arup Win at the International Information Industry Awards 2006
CAMBRIDGE, England and SAN FRANCISCO, California, December 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU. or LSE: AU.L), a global leader in infrastructure software for the enterprise, today announced that Arup, a global firm of designers and business consultants providing a diverse range of professional services to clients around the world, has won the Best Innovation in Knowledge Management category at the International Information Industry Awards 2006 for their Autonomy-powered KM platform. The award recognizes any project that has shown exceptional innovation in the field of knowledge and information management, reaping specific and quantifiable benefits for the organization.
Autonomy and Arup Win at the International Information Industry Awards 2006
CAMBRIDGE, England and SAN FRANCISCO, California, December 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU. or LSE: AU.L), a global leader in infrastructure software for the enterprise, today announced that Arup, a global firm of designers and business consultants providing a diverse range of professional services to clients around the world, has won the Best Innovation in Knowledge Management category at the International Information Industry Awards 2006 for their Autonomy-powered KM platform. The award recognizes any project that has shown exceptional innovation in the field of knowledge and information management, reaping specific and quantifiable benefits for the organization.
Labels:
Award,
Best Practice,
KM Systems,
Search Technology,
Tools,
Vendors
6 Dec 2006
News: Webex and Geolearning Launch new learning Managment System
WebEx and GeoLearning Target Learning Management Systems Market with Affordable On-Demand SolutionMonday December 4, 8:05 am ET
New Learning Manager by GeoLearning Provides Powerful Learning Capabilities in Easy-to-Use On-Demand Service for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- According to Forrester research, today's competitive market puts constant pressure on companies to keep employees highly trained and productive(1). To manage this challenge, many companies are acquiring learning management systems (LMS) to help them create and manage training materials and courseware. Analyst firm Bersin & Associates projects the potential market for LMS to be $3 billion once fully penetrated, with small and medium-sized businesses representing $1.2 billion of the market(2).
Visit http://www.webex.com for
New Learning Manager by GeoLearning Provides Powerful Learning Capabilities in Easy-to-Use On-Demand Service for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- According to Forrester research, today's competitive market puts constant pressure on companies to keep employees highly trained and productive(1). To manage this challenge, many companies are acquiring learning management systems (LMS) to help them create and manage training materials and courseware. Analyst firm Bersin & Associates projects the potential market for LMS to be $3 billion once fully penetrated, with small and medium-sized businesses representing $1.2 billion of the market(2).
Visit http://www.webex.com for
Potential problems with knowledge management systems- a legal perspective
Interesting article about the potential liabilities to consider when implmenting KM Systems.
Bits & Bytes: Potential problems with knowledge management systems
Written by Alan Gahtan
Monday, 27 November 2006
Articles are frequently written about knowledge management or document management systems to highlight their advantages.I won't bore you with yet another. Instead, I thought I would review some of the potential liability concerns surrounding their implementation and use.A document management system, and particularly version control features can be a real benefit when multiple lawyers need to work on the same document. For example, a partner may need to review a draft prepared by an apprentice, or other specialists in the firm may need to review specific sections of the same document.Better indexing may also make it easier to find a particular document worked on in the past when only limited information about the associated transaction can be remembered.However, easy access to precedents and sample agreements may also make it easier for other lawyers in the firm to pull up a document for use on a transaction where they lack sufficient experience. This has been known to happen when someone having a slow billable month gets a call from a client needing help in another practice area. An un-annotated contract used by someone lacking the proper experience, on the other hand, can be a disaster waiting to happen.Relying solely on the results generated by a document management system can also be a problem even for practitioners in the same practice area. While a document management system may help identify the most recent draft of a document, that draft may have been heavily negotiated and may not be the best version to start with on a new transaction.So, an important rule is to always speak to the author of a document before using it.While these practice management issues can be a concern, they can typically be managed. The more important concern is the potential of generating liability for the firm either as a direct target, or indirectly if the firm's client is sued or suffers damages due to the actions of the firm's legal practitioners. The top two potential sources are copyright infringement and breach of confidentiality obligations.Legal contracts, like other literary works, are protected by copyright. Many comprehensive agreements could cost tens of thousands of dollars to develop. A small portion may have been negotiated (and therefore changed) for a particular transaction but the remainder would likely still be protected as a copyrighted work of its author. Taking such a document, stripping out the confidential client information, and providing it to another client (even with further modifications) may expose the new client (and the firm) to liability for copyright infringement if discovered.Also, in many transactions, the agreement may constitute, or may even be specifically designated as, the confidential information of one or each of the parties. Properly worded confidentiality provisions typically contain an express prohibition on any use or disclosure of the confidential information to any other person except on a need-to-know basis.The specific lawyer negotiating a transaction can be presumed to have a "need to know." But how does one argue that another lawyer in the same firm who may wish to look at the agreement for a different purpose (for example, developing a precedent for a competitor of a client's supplier) have a need to know? Could putting such a contract on a document management system and indexing it so that it can be easily "leveraged" by others in the firm cause the firm's client to breach their confidentiality obligation to the other side?Consider if a firm represents a customer in a transaction with a particular supplier and then is asked to negotiate a similar agreement for another customer with the same supplier. If the supplier subsequently discovers that same exact language or unique terms being requested by another customer, represented by the same law firm, it may be sufficient proof of unauthorized access and use.Even if the contract contains a general limitation on the client's liability to the other side, the client's liability for breach of confidentiality obligations may have been excluded. The confidentiality breach may also entitle the other party to terminate the contract "for cause" as a means of breaking what may have become a disadvantageous arrangement for other business reasons. So even if the other party's damages are difficult to ascertain or prove, if they are able to successfully use the confidentiality breach as a means for terminating their contract with the firm's client, the firm can end up with a liability exposure to its client.Implementing a good knowledge management system can provide lots of benefits to a firm. It's important to consider, however, the legal issues surrounding their use and not focus solely on what they can do from a technical perspective.
Alan Gahtan is a Toronto-based technology lawyer. His web site is www.gahtan.com/alan
Bits & Bytes: Potential problems with knowledge management systems
Written by Alan Gahtan
Monday, 27 November 2006
Articles are frequently written about knowledge management or document management systems to highlight their advantages.I won't bore you with yet another. Instead, I thought I would review some of the potential liability concerns surrounding their implementation and use.A document management system, and particularly version control features can be a real benefit when multiple lawyers need to work on the same document. For example, a partner may need to review a draft prepared by an apprentice, or other specialists in the firm may need to review specific sections of the same document.Better indexing may also make it easier to find a particular document worked on in the past when only limited information about the associated transaction can be remembered.However, easy access to precedents and sample agreements may also make it easier for other lawyers in the firm to pull up a document for use on a transaction where they lack sufficient experience. This has been known to happen when someone having a slow billable month gets a call from a client needing help in another practice area. An un-annotated contract used by someone lacking the proper experience, on the other hand, can be a disaster waiting to happen.Relying solely on the results generated by a document management system can also be a problem even for practitioners in the same practice area. While a document management system may help identify the most recent draft of a document, that draft may have been heavily negotiated and may not be the best version to start with on a new transaction.So, an important rule is to always speak to the author of a document before using it.While these practice management issues can be a concern, they can typically be managed. The more important concern is the potential of generating liability for the firm either as a direct target, or indirectly if the firm's client is sued or suffers damages due to the actions of the firm's legal practitioners. The top two potential sources are copyright infringement and breach of confidentiality obligations.Legal contracts, like other literary works, are protected by copyright. Many comprehensive agreements could cost tens of thousands of dollars to develop. A small portion may have been negotiated (and therefore changed) for a particular transaction but the remainder would likely still be protected as a copyrighted work of its author. Taking such a document, stripping out the confidential client information, and providing it to another client (even with further modifications) may expose the new client (and the firm) to liability for copyright infringement if discovered.Also, in many transactions, the agreement may constitute, or may even be specifically designated as, the confidential information of one or each of the parties. Properly worded confidentiality provisions typically contain an express prohibition on any use or disclosure of the confidential information to any other person except on a need-to-know basis.The specific lawyer negotiating a transaction can be presumed to have a "need to know." But how does one argue that another lawyer in the same firm who may wish to look at the agreement for a different purpose (for example, developing a precedent for a competitor of a client's supplier) have a need to know? Could putting such a contract on a document management system and indexing it so that it can be easily "leveraged" by others in the firm cause the firm's client to breach their confidentiality obligation to the other side?Consider if a firm represents a customer in a transaction with a particular supplier and then is asked to negotiate a similar agreement for another customer with the same supplier. If the supplier subsequently discovers that same exact language or unique terms being requested by another customer, represented by the same law firm, it may be sufficient proof of unauthorized access and use.Even if the contract contains a general limitation on the client's liability to the other side, the client's liability for breach of confidentiality obligations may have been excluded. The confidentiality breach may also entitle the other party to terminate the contract "for cause" as a means of breaking what may have become a disadvantageous arrangement for other business reasons. So even if the other party's damages are difficult to ascertain or prove, if they are able to successfully use the confidentiality breach as a means for terminating their contract with the firm's client, the firm can end up with a liability exposure to its client.Implementing a good knowledge management system can provide lots of benefits to a firm. It's important to consider, however, the legal issues surrounding their use and not focus solely on what they can do from a technical perspective.
Alan Gahtan is a Toronto-based technology lawyer. His web site is www.gahtan.com/alan
News: Open Source ECM: Alfresco Selected Pioneer at The World Economic Forum Announces Technology Pioneers 2007
The World Economic Forum Announces Technology Pioneers 2007: Alfresco Selected
LONDON -- (MARKET WIRE) -- December 04, 2006 -- The World Economic Forum today announced 47 Technology Pioneers for 2007. Alfresco Software has been selected as one of these Technology Pioneers. The Technology Pioneers were nominated by the world's leading venture capital and technology companies. The final selection from 225 nominees was made by a panel of leading technology experts appointed by the World Economic Forum. Technology Pioneers 2007 are invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum to be held in Davos, Switzerland from 24-28 January 2007.
Alfresco Software (www.alfresco.com) is an open source enterprise content management (ECM) system that brings the disruptive power of the open source model to the $3.9 billion ECM industry. Alfresco's co-founder John Newton, CTO and Technology Pioneer representative, who also co-founded the market leader Documentum, has had a big influence on the ECM industry. Alfresco is freely available content management software that controls and accesses content, such as web pages, images, or documents, throughout the enterprise. With cost advantages of open source, even small or poorly funded organizations, including those in the developing world, can meet regulatory requirements, serve customers and citizens, and discover important research.
"We are proud to have won this award recognizing Alfresco's technology, the global power of open source and the importance of managing content in economic development," said John Newton. "We hope to use the opportunities created by this award to gain greater visibility to how information can help solve some of the world's most pressing problems and how sharing and retaining knowledge can level the playing field for companies outside of the developed world."
Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areas of energy, biotechnology and health, and information technology. This year's class of companies has been selected not only because of the cutting-edge work undertaken by these organizations, but also because their work has potential long-term impact on business and society.
The companies' products include microscopic pill cameras, bio sensors that localize landmines, implantable medical devices for the treatment of brain tumours, mobile television service, blog search engines, open source webrowsers, video headsets, thin-film diamond coatings, solar air-conditioner equipment, paper batteries for music-playing greeting cards, and even an automatic and compacting trash bin powered by solar energy.
Highlighted Links
Alfresco Software
Over half (27) of the Technology Pioneers 2007 are US-based companies, with 13 located in California. The United Kingdom boasts six Technology Pioneers 2007; the Netherlands, India, Israel and Singapore boast two each; Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland have one each.
"The competition to become a Technology Pioneer has been more intense than ever. It is evident that technology and innovation is playing a key role in the shifting power equation at a global level. Driving this shift is the tremendous amount of innovation taking place outside of traditional hubs. The wide geographic spread of this year's Technology Pioneers is a testament to this trend. We are pleased to welcome these exciting companies to our Community of Technology Pioneers, and look forward to engaging these industry leaders of the future into the community of the World Economic Forum," said Peter Torreele, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.
To be selected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. In addition, it must demonstrate visionary leadership, show all the signs of being a long-standing market leader -- and its technology must be proven. Previous Technology Pioneers have included Autonomy, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Encore Software, Google, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Napster.
Go to www.weforum.org/techpioneers/2007 for the entire list of Technology Pioneers and interviews with the CEOs of the selected companies.
The selection criteria include:
1) Innovation. The company's technology must be truly innovative. A new version or repackaging of an already well-accepted technological solution does not qualify as an innovation. The innovation should be recent -- not more than two years old. The company should invest significantly in R&D.
2) Potential Impact. This company's technology must have the potential to have a substantial long-term impact on business and society in the future.
3) Growth and Sustainability. The company should have all the signs of being a long-term market leader and should have well-formulated plans for future development and growth.
4) Proof of Concept. The company must have a product on the market or have proven practical applications of the technology. Companies in "stealth" mode and companies with untested ideas or models will not qualify.
5) Leadership. The company must have visionary leadership that plays a critical role in driving the company towards reaching its goals.
6) Status. The company must not currently be a Member of the World Economic Forum. This criterion applies to the parent company -- thus wholly owned subsidiaries of large firms are not eligible.
Alfresco was launched in January 2005, by John Newton, co-founder of Documentum, and CEO John Powell, former COO of Business Objects, to transform the ECM market. Alfresco successfully brought the first versions of its software to market in 6 months and has evolved very quickly with releases that have significant scalability, stability and robustness, due in large part to the large number of people downloading and testing the system. Many Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies now use Alfresco in production with mission critical applications such as document management, contract management, intranet information distribution, records management and corporate web sites.
About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (http://www.weforum.org), based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an independent organization committed to improving the state of the world. Funded by the contributions of 1,000 of the world's foremost corporations, the Forum acts in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further economic growth and social progress. The Forum serves its members and society by creating partnerships between and among business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society to define, discuss and advance key issues on the global agenda. Incorporated in 1971 as a foundation, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit, and is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. In 1995 the Forum was awarded NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
LONDON -- (MARKET WIRE) -- December 04, 2006 -- The World Economic Forum today announced 47 Technology Pioneers for 2007. Alfresco Software has been selected as one of these Technology Pioneers. The Technology Pioneers were nominated by the world's leading venture capital and technology companies. The final selection from 225 nominees was made by a panel of leading technology experts appointed by the World Economic Forum. Technology Pioneers 2007 are invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum to be held in Davos, Switzerland from 24-28 January 2007.
Alfresco Software (www.alfresco.com) is an open source enterprise content management (ECM) system that brings the disruptive power of the open source model to the $3.9 billion ECM industry. Alfresco's co-founder John Newton, CTO and Technology Pioneer representative, who also co-founded the market leader Documentum, has had a big influence on the ECM industry. Alfresco is freely available content management software that controls and accesses content, such as web pages, images, or documents, throughout the enterprise. With cost advantages of open source, even small or poorly funded organizations, including those in the developing world, can meet regulatory requirements, serve customers and citizens, and discover important research.
"We are proud to have won this award recognizing Alfresco's technology, the global power of open source and the importance of managing content in economic development," said John Newton. "We hope to use the opportunities created by this award to gain greater visibility to how information can help solve some of the world's most pressing problems and how sharing and retaining knowledge can level the playing field for companies outside of the developed world."
Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areas of energy, biotechnology and health, and information technology. This year's class of companies has been selected not only because of the cutting-edge work undertaken by these organizations, but also because their work has potential long-term impact on business and society.
The companies' products include microscopic pill cameras, bio sensors that localize landmines, implantable medical devices for the treatment of brain tumours, mobile television service, blog search engines, open source webrowsers, video headsets, thin-film diamond coatings, solar air-conditioner equipment, paper batteries for music-playing greeting cards, and even an automatic and compacting trash bin powered by solar energy.
Highlighted Links
Alfresco Software
Over half (27) of the Technology Pioneers 2007 are US-based companies, with 13 located in California. The United Kingdom boasts six Technology Pioneers 2007; the Netherlands, India, Israel and Singapore boast two each; Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland have one each.
"The competition to become a Technology Pioneer has been more intense than ever. It is evident that technology and innovation is playing a key role in the shifting power equation at a global level. Driving this shift is the tremendous amount of innovation taking place outside of traditional hubs. The wide geographic spread of this year's Technology Pioneers is a testament to this trend. We are pleased to welcome these exciting companies to our Community of Technology Pioneers, and look forward to engaging these industry leaders of the future into the community of the World Economic Forum," said Peter Torreele, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.
To be selected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. In addition, it must demonstrate visionary leadership, show all the signs of being a long-standing market leader -- and its technology must be proven. Previous Technology Pioneers have included Autonomy, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Encore Software, Google, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Napster.
Go to www.weforum.org/techpioneers/2007 for the entire list of Technology Pioneers and interviews with the CEOs of the selected companies.
The selection criteria include:
1) Innovation. The company's technology must be truly innovative. A new version or repackaging of an already well-accepted technological solution does not qualify as an innovation. The innovation should be recent -- not more than two years old. The company should invest significantly in R&D.
2) Potential Impact. This company's technology must have the potential to have a substantial long-term impact on business and society in the future.
3) Growth and Sustainability. The company should have all the signs of being a long-term market leader and should have well-formulated plans for future development and growth.
4) Proof of Concept. The company must have a product on the market or have proven practical applications of the technology. Companies in "stealth" mode and companies with untested ideas or models will not qualify.
5) Leadership. The company must have visionary leadership that plays a critical role in driving the company towards reaching its goals.
6) Status. The company must not currently be a Member of the World Economic Forum. This criterion applies to the parent company -- thus wholly owned subsidiaries of large firms are not eligible.
Alfresco was launched in January 2005, by John Newton, co-founder of Documentum, and CEO John Powell, former COO of Business Objects, to transform the ECM market. Alfresco successfully brought the first versions of its software to market in 6 months and has evolved very quickly with releases that have significant scalability, stability and robustness, due in large part to the large number of people downloading and testing the system. Many Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies now use Alfresco in production with mission critical applications such as document management, contract management, intranet information distribution, records management and corporate web sites.
About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (http://www.weforum.org), based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an independent organization committed to improving the state of the world. Funded by the contributions of 1,000 of the world's foremost corporations, the Forum acts in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further economic growth and social progress. The Forum serves its members and society by creating partnerships between and among business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society to define, discuss and advance key issues on the global agenda. Incorporated in 1971 as a foundation, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit, and is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. In 1995 the Forum was awarded NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
Social search - KM thinking
In his blog, Denham Grey takes a look at the new wave of social search forms. Its an intersting article that highlights many of the new forms and ways that infomation retrieval is heading towards being more socially centric.
Social search - KM thinking
Social search is touted as the next big thing for improving information retrieval, relevance and awareness. Let's take a look.
What exactly is Social Search?There is no clear answer as the field is emerging and changing at a rapid pace. Here is one early definition: "..a collection of Internet wayfinding tools informed by human judgment. That judgment takes place in the form of tags, click-through activity, search history, and other actions". Source These technologies are being applied to bookmarks, images, tags, blogs, bibliographies.
Social search comes in many favors. New engines are riding the web2.0 wave making it difficult to evaluate progress in this heaving landscape.
Subscribing to a Flickr, del.icio.us, diigo or technorati tag via RSS - allows you to connect to a community, annotate, scan for recency, popularity or some rating measure as applied to posted images, bookmarks, URL links or blog posts. This brings new finds directly into your aggregator helping keep you up-to-date and raising your awareness.
Scanning or searching Digg or Wink - helps you quickly zero in on news, posts and items others have rated as interesting, worthwhile or can be used for finding experts.
Social search engines such as Eurekster, Prefound, Searchles, Gravee, Collarity, Zimbio, .... claim to use collaborative filtering, relevance rankings, community activity & behavior, 'collections', unique ranking scores to improve search returns, provide a 'personal touch', guide inquiry and add 'meaning' to those coded search algorithms the big boys use.
AffordancesWhat do we need to make social search really work?
Dedicated community - people who share your interests, are sincere, active, honest and helpful - not always easy to find and maintain.
Visual help and tools to refine a search - Quintura looks interesting with their interactive keyword clouds.
Permanent URL - so individual searches can be stored, shared and updated.
Ranking or scoring mechanism - simple but intelligent enough to prevent obvious spamming and gaming.
RSS feeds - so you are alerted when rankings change, a repeated search yields new findings or friends provide annotations.
An intuitive back-channel and community directory - to converse around results, rankings and relevance.
Critical mass - there is a tipping point when social search offers greater value, improved relevance and increased awareness - no single engine is there yet.
So is your search social- yet?
Social search - KM thinking
Social search is touted as the next big thing for improving information retrieval, relevance and awareness. Let's take a look.
What exactly is Social Search?There is no clear answer as the field is emerging and changing at a rapid pace. Here is one early definition: "..a collection of Internet wayfinding tools informed by human judgment. That judgment takes place in the form of tags, click-through activity, search history, and other actions". Source These technologies are being applied to bookmarks, images, tags, blogs, bibliographies.
Social search comes in many favors. New engines are riding the web2.0 wave making it difficult to evaluate progress in this heaving landscape.
Subscribing to a Flickr, del.icio.us, diigo or technorati tag via RSS - allows you to connect to a community, annotate, scan for recency, popularity or some rating measure as applied to posted images, bookmarks, URL links or blog posts. This brings new finds directly into your aggregator helping keep you up-to-date and raising your awareness.
Scanning or searching Digg or Wink - helps you quickly zero in on news, posts and items others have rated as interesting, worthwhile or can be used for finding experts.
Social search engines such as Eurekster, Prefound, Searchles, Gravee, Collarity, Zimbio, .... claim to use collaborative filtering, relevance rankings, community activity & behavior, 'collections', unique ranking scores to improve search returns, provide a 'personal touch', guide inquiry and add 'meaning' to those coded search algorithms the big boys use.
AffordancesWhat do we need to make social search really work?
Dedicated community - people who share your interests, are sincere, active, honest and helpful - not always easy to find and maintain.
Visual help and tools to refine a search - Quintura looks interesting with their interactive keyword clouds.
Permanent URL - so individual searches can be stored, shared and updated.
Ranking or scoring mechanism - simple but intelligent enough to prevent obvious spamming and gaming.
RSS feeds - so you are alerted when rankings change, a repeated search yields new findings or friends provide annotations.
An intuitive back-channel and community directory - to converse around results, rankings and relevance.
Critical mass - there is a tipping point when social search offers greater value, improved relevance and increased awareness - no single engine is there yet.
So is your search social- yet?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)