Email client as a knowledge management tool?

“Email is often described as “the killer application of the Internet”. Based on our research, we think it is possible to be even more emphatic; email is a serial-killer application! It is seriously overloaded and has been co-opted to manage a variety of tasks that it was not originally meant to support.” (Ducheneaut & Bellotti, 2001)

Weblogs as a Personal Filing Cabinet

A weblog can serve as a personal “filing cabinet” of information (Pollard, 2003a). By “blogging” items – that is: referencing and citing pieces of information, annotating them and publishing them on a weblog – a weblog author (“blogger”) can build up his own personal information repository. The simplicity of the weblog system encourages filing and annotating things that were previously left unfiled. Ths structure of hyperlinks and free text and the absence of imposed hierarchy makes it possible to archive items that could not be organised well in file systems.

By linking to older entries in one’s own weblog or to other items found elsewhere, the user can build his own personal information structure that is tailored to his needs. When working on a specific task the weblog becomes the starting point of a search for information.

Weblogs as Knowledge Journals

Journal writing has always been an important task of learners and knowledge workers. Taking notes of things learned and expatiating thoughts is an important process to intensify learning (Kerka, 1996). Weblogs can serve as a medium in which to record ideas and thoughts and reflect on current work and things learnt. They become “representations of patterns of meaning” (Fiedler, 2003) or: representations of knowledge.

Weblogs and Feedback

Weblogs are published in public or at least to a defined audience. Weblog-authors are therefore not only using weblogs as personal journals but also to get feedback on their thoughts. Often, weblog-authors will publish “half-baked ideas” to get feedback on them and develop them into something more meaningful. Also, readers will often help an author with tips on where to find more information on a topic blogged about.

Source: Martin Röll