There is no such thing as "new" technology.....

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

In studying the genesis of technology,  I now know that there is no such thing as  a “new technology”, simply because  each “new” technology is an evolution of an “older” technology.  

History shows that the introduction of any “new” technology is inevitably accompanied by a group of skeptics and alarmists who go wax poetic about the perils and dangers of the “new” technology.

Let’s take a journey in a time machine and go to ancient Greece of Socrates.

The advent of writing was a source of major concern and distress for Socrates. He believed that one could only gather and gain knowledge through dialogue and interaction - that is to say, you need to ask questions and get answers.... “dialogue where ideas are interrogated until the knowledge is truly understood”. He then went to say that this was not possible with a book - “written words” - or with a painting. 

Now, let’s fast forward to today.... As knowledge management practitioners, we advocate for documenting and capturing the learning and lessons as they emerge. We then produce papers, case studies, publications, a myriad of PDF files which accordingly to the latest World Bank Knowledge Management Evaluation no one reads.

When we have the luxury and opportunity of “hearing the story” of that lesson learnt first hand, that is when we truly understand and assimilate the learning. And this is not only because we hear it orally, but as Socrates said, it is because we have the opportunity to interact with the “author” or the story teller.

Socrates was also concerned that because written words are disembodied, the art of memorization, delivering speeches, rhetorics and more broadly dialectic is at great risk. For sure, today the art of memorizing poetry or epic stories is not something common. Similarly individuals excelling in rhetorics may be sneered at and deemed as arrogant and self-centred. 

However,  I believe the “new” media - aka social media - has created a fertile ground for conversation and engagement - albeit virtually and not face-to-face. I know Socrates would not necessarily be happy with this compromise, but nonetheless, it is probably better than the one-way traditional media. 

This said, when it comes to education, nothing in the world can nor should replace the role of the teacher, instructor, mentor, whatever you want to call this figure. So, no I am not at all for on-line courses nor e-learning. These are tools that are useful when you have a grasp of a subject matter. There are just like dictionaries... You do not learn a language or a philosophy by “reading” or “consulting” a dictionary.

 While we’re in the time machine, let’s visit the 21st century and examine the “novelty”  or lack of thereof social media. The Economist article “How Luther went viral”, very eloquently demonstrates how social media has been around at least since reformation, if not earlier.

It shows how Luther then and how social media users now are taking advantage of a decentralized model to share information, put pressure, raise awareness about issues and engage in a multidirectional conversation. In other words, we are in as much of a networked world today as we were back in 1500s and earlier.

By the same token, while Luther exploited the power of print and distributed short pamphlets instead of huge tomes, we communicate with 140 characters the headline of a news or the news itself via a tweet. Instead of writing an academic paper with lots of footnotes and citations, we blog and instead of creating 40 minute documentaries to raise awareness about atrocities happening in the world, we make a one-minute Vine video.

And when it comes to measuring success, instead of counting the reprints of a pamphlet, we measure it by the number of “Likes”, “Retweets”, “Shares”  and comments.

I wonder whether the discussions and exchange of views and ideas happening on social media channels would have tranquilized Socrates’ and changed his view vis-a-vis the fact that written words are not necessarily disembodied..... Who knows. 

Another extraordinary aspect of mainstreaming any “new” technology is its agency to create new lines of jobs. These jobs can either see the light of the day to protect the very essence of the technology or be created as a result of user appropriation.

For example, as writing became mainstreamed and the norm, this gave rise to forgery and falsification of manuscripts and scriptures. This  in turn led to whole new genre of employment requiring academics and experts to examine writings on clay, parchments, papyrus, silk and paper to detect whether these were original or the fruit of a forgery. Similarly, the mainstreaming of social media has led to creation of jobs such as professional bloggers who raise awareness about social, economic and developmental issues, or act as whistle blowers;  social media strategists and ghost writers for prominent personalities and celebrities.

I’ve also learnt that it is prudent not to sing too much the praises of any technology and make it seem as if it is the panacea. Here are some examples of great technologies that “changed our lives” or where supposed to change our lives which now have retired to an obscure section of our memory lane....... telegraph, fax, typewriter, Concorde, Kodak film and more recent ones, GoogleWave, Google glass, MySpace and list goes on and on.....

Be forewarned, some of the “old” technologies come back in new guise..... Think of the scroll, which became old technology with the introduction of codex - or book..... And guess what .....good old scroll is back big time! How many times did you have to scroll while reading this blogpost?

I find immense comfort in studying history, as it allows me to put things in perspective, understand where we are coming from and how we got to where we are. 

I’ve also learnt that being an early adopter puts you in a vantage position to live passionately through the hype, sit back and wait for the next “big new” technology. 

As an early adopter I also cherish raising awareness about the benefits of the “new” technology and convincing the “cavemen” how the “new” technology can and will make a difference!

As I mentioned in an earlier blogpost, I am a technological determinist and one who is maturing to be more balanced.

More to come.... so check back in and I would love to hear your views and ideas.

Putting fresh air in my brain

This morning as I was walking over to the campus, I thought to myself how lucky I am to be breathing the fresh air....

And here I'm not just talking about the early morning crisp, unpolluted air of Berkeley, rather.....

• Breathing the fresh air of respecting and valuing intellectual diversity
• Breathing the fresh air of being intellectually challenged
• Breathing the fresh air of learning and sharing
• Breathing the fresh air of being inspired
• Breathing the fresh air of academic rigor
• Breathing the fresh air of being around young people
• Breathing the fresh air of critical thinking
• Breathing the fresh air of alternative ideas and thinking
• Breathing the fresh air of collaboration
• Breathing the fresh air of different culture and setting
• Breathing the fresh air of questioning and reflecting on 'defaults'  and 'standards'
• Breathing the fresh air of seeking the 'other' truth
• Breathing the fresh air of possibilities

As I got to my class, I thought of what a quote from Ernesto Bertarelli - a businessman and philanthropist:

You cannot change who you are, but you can change what you have in your head, you can refresh what you are thinking about, you can put some fresh air in your brain

I feel so privileged to be able to put some fresh air my brain!

Is Facebook making us more lonely?

First day as visiting scholar at UC Berkeley, after a series of inspiring talks and equally inspiring and engaging students, I got the right framing question from Prof Jenna Burrell to write about the impact of social media on relationships. She shared an Atlantic piece 'is Facebook making us lonely' and Claude Fischer's rebuttal 'the loneliness scare', and asked us to draw from the evidence and arguments of these articles, and assess whether 'Facebook is making us lonely?'

Here is my take.... Facebook is only a tool and as such cannot make us lonely. I feel it is like saying that a knife can turn us into a serial killer.

This said, if you are a chronically lonely person, probably Facebook may keep you lonely. If however, you feel isolated, Facebook may help you reconnect with your loved ones. By the same token if you are a  narcissist, probably Facebook will contribute to make you a bit more of a narcissist. In other words, it definitely plays a role in accentuating our traits.

I am firm believer of Robin Dunbar’s theory. Dunbar says that there is a direct correlation between the size of our social group and the size of our brain and he sets that number to 150 - better known as Dunbar number.

Basically what he says is that we can only have a meaningful and trusted relationship with 150 people and these are people with whom we have a personal history.

What does this mean to our “friends”  on Facebook.... Well, no matter how many “friends”  we have, we can only have a meaningful interaction only with our trusted “friends”  which cannot be more than 150.  And these are people who we know, who we’ve met face-to-face and have some sort of history with. And in this case Facebook can enhance and contribute to making these relationships stronger, especially if there is a physical distance between us and our “friends”.

Facebook itself allows the user to segregate “friends and family”  into different categories, thus allowing us to maintain the meaningful relationship with the magic Dunbar number!

Fischer’s observation that “e-communication does not replace in person contact” is very true, however, once that personal contact is made, e-communication can definitely help maintain the relationship.

I guess what Facebook has done is to contribute to an increased voyeurism. This said, we must bear in mind that as a tool it is used differently by different people. 

For example, for a vast majority of people living in developing countries not only it is a way of keeping in touch with their loved ones who have migrated abroad, but also a source of information and one that provides them with a bird’s eye view to the world. Similarly, for the diaspora, it is a great source of information and content about their home country and a way to keep in touch with their local culture.

So to conclude, if we do not feel lonely, Facebook does not make us lonely and if we do feel lonely, Facebook can help maintain status quo, or can help us reconnect with one the 150 people in our social group, thus contribute to make us less lonely!

Yes, I am an optimist and a technology determinist!

Clearing the mental clutter

As a child, our parents continuously encouraged us to clean our room and put things in order. 

When we became adults, at regular intervals we get an urge to clear the physical clutter which we may have accumulated over time. This then may lead to some sort of massive or modest spring cleaning. Typically after these “ surges”  we feel good and gratified.... ready to accumulate more :)

Two weeks into my new adventure, I discovered mental clutter.

And to my biggest chagrin this is something  that I have never paid attention to, nor taken the necessary time to clear.

Mental clutter is the most deadly form of clutter.... To start with, its burden can literally break your back and because it has no physical manifestation and is invisible, one tends to ignore it or even worse not pay any attention to its various signs and symptoms.

As I embarked on my new adventure, in a whole new setting, with a whole new regime, I miraculously - and believe me this was not by design - am clearing my mental clutter which was sapping my energy and taking up so much of my brain bandwidth. And I can tell you it feels so good.

This healing process is helping me to focus on my needs and interests. It is helping me to understand what are the real priorities in life. I’ve come to cherish more than ever the love and affection of my loved ones, my friends and the very people who really care about me and the very people I care about most.

My new adventure may have seemed a bit out of character for someone like me. But I believe it probably will end up being one of the better things I’ve done for myself. I am looking forward to every minute of it, as for me it is a learning, healing and inspiring adventure.

Thank you for touching my life....

By now I know that when something  happens in my life, it is for a good reason. I've learnt that even if I do not understand why something is happening, I should not ask too many questions, as  sooner or later I may understand the "design" and intent of the event. And more importantly, I've learnt that the best and perhaps the only thing I can do is to learn so that I can grow.

These life changing events can come in different flavours. They can be a life changing incident, or a life changing encounter with a person.

Today, I wish to say thank two extraordinary people who over the course of the last twelve months were my travel mates on a journey of self-discovery and introspection.....

The first person  is a total stranger by the name of Luiga. Luiga came to my life when I most needed someone who could help me verbalize my feelings and state of mind. With  beautiful eyes and a disarming emotional intelligence and empathy she managed to dig  deep into my emotions and thoughts, she held me by hand, listened to the words that came out from my heart  without passing judgement and said a prayer for me.

I feel blessed, fortunate and privileged to have  learnt the art of  selflessness and giving from this wonderful person. Thank you Luiga.

The second person is my coach who taught to see opportunity in vulnerability and showed me how to transform fragility to strength. She helped me understand that all events of life are a gift. She made sure I remained engaged and motivated; helped me explore the uncharted waters of  mindfulness; taught me the importance of pausing and setting aside time to reflect, breath and showed me how to ask powerful questions; and reminded me of the power and potential of being curious.

I will eternally be grateful to her for helping me get back my life in my hands. I hope she is proud of me for putting to practice the power of pause - something that I am really looking forward to as I enter the final countdown to a new chapter in my life .....

I'll be for ever indebted to both of you. I hope I can give back some of the wonderful things I learnt from you both and to make a difference in someone's life, the way you made a difference in my life.

THANK YOU for touching my heart, for lighting the extinct flame in me, for shining light and holding my hand as I found my way through a bumpy and dark trail. I am very lucky to have had both of you as guides, coaches and mentors. As Marcel Proust said, you are the gardeners who made my soul blossom. THANK YOU.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust

Be the leader who opens the door to knowledge #kmers #km

Peter Drucker many years ago said, "If knowledge is not challenged to grow, it disappears fast". He also cautioned that "Knowledge is infinitely more perishable than any other resource we have ever had."

So, what does it take to make sure we do not perish our most valuable resource: our knowledge?

After seeing many different incarnations of knowledge management initiatives and activities, I have reached the conclusion that we do not need more than the umpteenth website or a publication to keep knowledge alive... What we need is leadership.

We need leaders who create:

• the right environment to increase the flow of information and learning both inside and outside organizations
• a safe space for people to share their successes and failures
• a collaborative environment  based on trust that fosters organic learning and sharing

And we need leaders who move their people beyond sharing what's already known and allow them to dig deep so that they can unearth the many hidden gems.

If you want your KM initiative to succeed, show leadership.... Resist the temptation of putting in place a stand-alone KM activity. Be bold one to put in place a KM initiative that supports the mission and vision of your business.  Get your head around the fact that reinventing the wheel is not only an expensive proposition, it simply not an option at all.

Before embarking on a KM journey, ask yourself: "Do I know what knowledge I have and do I know what I need". Once you've answered this fundamental question, consider the following:

• are you acting on the knowledge that you have
• are you using the knowledge that you have to create something new
• are you sharing and documenting what is working and what is not working
• are you motivating people and allowing them to share their successes and failures
• are you creating a sense of purpose for people to share their knowledge

Remember learning and sharing is rewarding and needs to be considered as an act of love. 

For knowledge to grow, as a leader you need to keep at bay internal rivalries, you need to make sure people do not feel threatened by sharing and help them understand that sharing knowledge is a pathway to growth. 

So as a leader of your KM activities and agenda, have a vision and lead your people to translate the vision into reality.  Show your leadership by removing all barriers, create a space safe to learn, share, generate new knowledge and influence. Nurture those who share and learn willingly.

And yes, be inspired by Rumi..... "The art of knowing is knowing what to ignore"..... so ignore the naysayers and continue to pursue your vision of being a leader.

And remember as Rumi said "Ignorance is God's prison. Knowing is God's palace. " So lead and be the one who opens the doors to God's palace.

The battle of giants.... Taxonomy vs folksonomy

Martial Raysse - Painting exhibited at
Raysse exhibition in Paris

The other day I came across Patrick Lambe's (Patrick is one of my knowledge management mentors) book entitled "Organizing Knowledge: Taxonomies, Knowledge and Organisational Effectiveness".

Patrick wrote this book about seven years ago. Reflecting on the changes over the last seven years, and more specifically the fact that folksonomy has somewhat invaded and overshadowed taxonomy's territory, I am wondering how relevant taxonomy may be today....

Of course, it goes without saying that taxonomy is the foundation for folksonomy.

To use an analogy, while today there are fewer and fewer artists producing Piero della Francesca type masterpieces and perhaps we see more Martial Raysse type works of art; yet both pieces of art stir emotions, are admirable, appealing to our various senses.

Portrait of Duke and Duchess of Urbino
By Piero della Francesca

Art critiques go out of their way to analyze both the old and the new. And art students cannot finish their degree without learning all there is to learn about art history.

In a way, this may holds true with folksonomy. Do we need to have some understanding of taxonomy to create good and meaningful hashtags, tags or labels?


No doubt that the 21st century knowledge worker, needs to have some understanding of good classification practices - and I guess you can call it taxonomy.

Similarly, Martial Raysse most probably studied Piero della Francesca's work extensively before he did his masterpiece.

I'm not an art critique, so I will limit my observations to the KM world..... I believe today's knowledge worker  is perhaps a bit luckier than his/her ancestors, as  thanks to folksonomy - which is a less rigid,  more dynamic and user-friendly - we do not need to adhere to "forced rules" and can create our classification as and when needed.

This means that while some of the classifications (hashtags, tags or labels) will end up staying with us for a long period of time, others, once they have served their purpose will die of natural death.

More importantly, folksonomy does not require us to retrofit our classification system.... What ever was - continues to be - and what ever is to be, will benefit from the new classification.

Another advantage of folksonomy is the fact that we do not  need to use or memorize a huge tome of terms,  become experts or rely on experts to classify content.

When hashtags - which are our new way of classifying content - go viral, we all become experts as we find it pretty intuitive to use the right hashtag, label or tag  for  the right content.

I may have oversimplified it tremendously, but I cannot help asking myself whether we still need taxonomy in its original incarnation to help us share content, or if folksonomy and what ever will come next is doing an equally good if not a better job?

I  love to hear Patrick's and your view on this.