Social Bookmarking - Take 2 (Pt3 - Some Results)

(Number 3 in a series of posts - see also part 1 and part 2)

I've only been playing with Diigo for a few days and I'm starting to see how it can be used to benefit myself and KIN.


Firstly, I have created a Diigo KIN Group. As I bookmark things, any that I think are of interest to KIN, I add them to this group. Now in itself I think this is useful. Where it has the potential to be really useful is if other KIN members also start to add bookmarks to this group.

The bookmarks in this group can be seen here. Note the Tag Cloud in the panel on the right.
I have embedded the 'Tag Cloud' for the group links in the ET SIG Home Page, here and below.


I have created a list of bookmarks relating to the recent Wiki roundtable event and embedded this list in Memberspace.

I have tagged some bookmarks 'Prediction Markets' and embedded these links in the Winter 2009 workshop site (bottom right). The bit that's really cool - I think - about this one is that it has an RSS feed so those of you using feed readers can pick this list up directly!

I'm experimenting with what else I can do on the ET SIG site in 'Resources Pages'.

Key Advantage
In all of the above, the lists as seen in memberspace are not static. i.e. if I add bookmarks that meet the criteria, the lists as viewed will change.

Minor Disadvantage
Using the standard Sharepoint Link Lists, you can set up an alert to be notified of any additions to the list. Such alerts will not work for these lists.

Personally, I think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. What do you think?
Does anyone else use Diigo, and what features do they like best?

Social Bookmarking - Take 2 (Pt2 - Why?)

I want to share things I find on the web that I think will be of benefit/use/interest to KIN members. Easily.

Unfortunately, the KIN memberspace is not ideally suited to this. As you probably know, the KIN memberspace is a Sharepoint site. Sharepoint allows you to create lists of links. So why don't I want to use these?

Sharepoint Link lists shortcomings

• Which link list should I use ? There is one (sometimes several) on each Quarterly Workshop event site (example). There is one on each SIG site (example). So if I have found something that is of interest to more than one Special Interest Group and relates to a Quarterly Workshop, where should I post it? Should I post it more than once? Too many decisions, too much effort. (Not to mention what about links that relate to specific Roundtables or Masterclasses).
• Adding to the Link List is 'out of the flow'. So I've found something of interest. Now I have to open Memberspace, navigate to the Link List I've decided it should go in, click on add link and fill in a Sharepoint form. Again, too much effort.
• How can I see all 'my' links? With links scattered over several Link lists, how to I keep track of 'my' links and avoid having to duplicate effort by creating my own bookmark list?
• What, no tags? Sharepoint (at least the version we are using) does not provide for 'tagging' so that links that are related are easily found.

So will a Social Bookmarking tool help? I think so.
The tool I've decided to try (this time) is Diigo.




Diigo Advantages (vs Sharepoint Link Lists)

• I have a single repository for all my (tagged) bookmarks. And there are multiple ways to view this list.
  
• Bookmarking is done 'in the flow'. I can bookmark, tag and comment on my bookmark without leaving the page I am bookmarking.
• There is the facility for 'Community' tagging. I can (and have) set up a 'Diigo Group' for use by KIN members.

In addition to the above advantages which overcome the listed shortcomings, it is also possible to display Diigo bookmarks in Sharepoint such that as I add bookmarks, these additions automatically appear in the KIN memberspace. This can be done in various ways: by tags, by group, by lists (see my next blog post in this series of three - part1 is here).
And as I explore Diigo further, I expect I will discover other advantages. I'll let you know.

Social Bookmarking - Take 2 (Pt1)

Last year I started an experiment with Social Bookmarking (see this blog entry). I have to admit that it never really took off. I know people had some difficulties setting up accounts on Ma.gnolia.com and although I had an account the process of creating bookmarks didn't really seem seamless.



But I remain convinced of the potential benefits of using a Social Bookmarking tool for myself, for KIN members individually and for KIN members collectively. (If you aren't sure what Social Bookmarking is or how it might be usefule to you, see Social Bookmarking in Plain English).

So I've decided to try again. This time using Diigo which is a tool that Steve Goodwin put me on to. I believe the most popular social bookmarking tool is Delicious but the last time I looked it didn't appear to have a feature that I wanted and that is for a self-contained community such as KIN to be able to share their bookmarks amongst themselves. That said, I plan to try Delicious at some point in the future and compare it with what Diigo offers.

That's it for this post. This is the first of a series of three. The remaining two are:

Social Bookmarking - Take 2 (Pt2 - Why?)

and

Social Bookmarking - Take 2 (Pt3 - Some Results)

What, if any, social bookmarking tool do you use?

A New Special Interest Group - Enabling Technologies

Why a new SIG?
At KIN, we constantly strive to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our members. Over the last year, we have solicited input in various forms, mostly from KIN quarterly workshops. We have consolidated the inputs we have received (along with a few ideas of our own) and by the time you read this KIN members will have completed a survey that we initiated to more accurately gauge the level of interest in a range of topics so that we can ensure that the programme of events for 2009 truly meets the needs of our members.

We are using the results of this to prioritise which events to organise during the course of the year and to organise SIGs to meet member demand as far as we are able.


We tagged all of the inputs we reviewed prior to the survey being undertaken and generated the above 'tag cloud' based on the number of times a topic or theme was mentioned as an area of interest to KIN members. It was apparent that there was a lot of interest in what we loosely termed 'Collaboration Technologies'. So, we believe that there is sufficient demand for a new SIG based around 'Enabling Technologies'. We decided on 'Enabling Technologies' rather than 'Collaboration Technologies' so that we could encompass a wider range of tools than just those implied by the term 'Collaboration Technologies'.

What will be included in the 'Enabling Technologies' SIG.

When we undertook our review of the member inputs, we grouped the topics under the three themes. People, Process and Technology. The topics that were listed under the Technology theme were:

Seeking and finding	People and expertise search, Enterprise search strategy, Enterprise search tool selection, Metadata, RSS
Platforms and Intranets	Team/Community Workspaces, Collaboration technologies, SharePoint, Knowledge platforms, Portal/Intranet strategy, Discussion forums / boards
Wikis	WIKIs for Lessons Learned, Implementing Wikis, Practical Usage of Wikis, Encouraging participation, How do Wikis help
Web 2.0 and Social Media	Practical usage of Blogs,Social bookmarking,Social networking & media. Openness vs security of social media,Social networks vs heirarchy,Participative media
Knowledge capture tools - IT	Technology for capturing lessons learned ,Knowledge elicitation tools,Decision mapping tools
Information Management	Information and records management (not paper), Document management (including paper records), Content management

What will this SIG do and how can I participate?

This SIG will address many of the topics in the Technology theme. Clearly, none of the Technology things are 'just about the Technology' but have People and Process aspects also. My current intention with the ET SIG is to address the People and Process aspects which are 'driven' by the usage of specific enabling technologies. (This will, of course, be validated by canvassing the views of any and all KIN members who would like to participate in the ET SIG.)

So we won't be just talking about the technologies themselves, but looking at the pragmatic issues around their implementation and effective use. My initial thoughts are that the most useful thing that this SIG could do would be to pool their knowledge and experience and develop a set of guidelines and good practices and example policies for the implementation of Knowledge Sharing Enabling Technologies.

As with all the SIGs, there will be a range of Roundtables, Masterclasses, Webinars and Peer Assists organised.

So if you want to be part of this exciting new SIG (and you are a KIN member, of course) drop me a line I will ensure you are kept informed of future events.

Connecting & Collecting

Nick Milton just posted a good article about Connect & Collect on his blog. And I think he's absolutely right - you need a bit of both. I've been doing a bit of both myself only this morning.

I've just recently bought a Popcorn Hour Networked Media Tank. It's a bit of a mouthful, but essentially it's a piece of kit that allows me to stream Video, Music and Photos from my PC to the TV and A/V amp in my living room. It's a great piece of kit, but it does take a bit of technical savvy if you want to get all the bells and whistles jangling and tooting.
So I've been trawling the User Community bulletin boards for advice and solutions. There's lot's there, but it takes a bit of digging out.
There is also a Wiki. But at the moment the content on the Wiki is a bit sparse. So I decided that, when I find a nugget of useful information that helps me, hidden in the depths of the bulletin board, I will incorporate that nugget on the appropriate Wiki page. Hopefully others will too.

So those of us 'connecting' using the bulletin boards will 'collect' the helpful knowledge in the Wiki where it is more readily found.