June 3, 2004

Britt Blaser holds forth in a great post on the effects of transparency (enabled by technology and interconnected minds) on command-and-control.

It’s Transparent, See?

Transparency: a manager’s nightmare. With transparency comes accountability and its twin scourge, responsibility. No manager wants to be subject to the kind of scrutiny that s/he imposes on the people at the next level down.

Leaders, however, welcome visibility because a leader’s genius is exposing the group’s core values and expressing its beliefs.

Over the past couple of years many knowledgeable and committed bloggers have held forth on how blogging can replicate the dynamics of dialogue.  They have also offered opinions and examples of how blogs and blogging can (potentially) be extremely useful for what we call “knowledge management”.

In addition, there have been various anecdotes and examples of how reading blogs, commenting on blogs, and creating blog posts are activities that accelerate learning.

All this makes good sense.  There are core aspects of blogging that facilitate learning in simple and effective ways. 

Firstly, individual or group blogs that are focused on a domain of information and expertise chronicle and catalogue the blogger(s)’ knowledge.   Over time, this grows to create a recognizable “body of knowledge”.

Secondly, by offering the capability of commenting and interacting, the information on offer can be better defined, refined, explored, tested, and built upon.

Thirdly, the information on offer provides a latent platform for action - information that can be acted upon often turns into knowledge that can be shared and used in various ways.

Fourth, by linking to the blog or blogs that offer related information, the knowledge that is built can be shared more and more widely, if desired.

Fifth, the rhythym and cadence of the posting, reading, commenting and linking replicated the dynamics of dialogue in very effective ways.  There aren’t the same kinds of interruption and distraction that so often occurs in conversations that only weakly replicate the dynamics of dialogue.

Finally, an ecosystem of knowledge can develop that consists of the aggregated sets of links and content the participants in a blogalogue create.  And this “body of knowledge” and understanding remains online, available to anyone who cares to become involved.

I think these dynamics hold great promise - they demonstrate the characteristics that many have suggested are desirable and necessary for learning communities and learning organizations.

Gary Turner has sidled off into a non-blogging period of life, Jeneane Sessum is waning and wondering, David Weinberger reflects on the scope and inclusiveness of his blogging, Shelley at Burningbird seems (to me) worried in her comments on Jeneane’s blog, and there are others I’ve watched come and go, including myself (though my circle of readers is much smaller than theirs).  Billmon at the Whiskey Bar went silent for two weeks - now that was traumatic for me.

It was interesting to note that when I went to Europe and my blogging became infrequent, some people went looking for me.  That felt kinda nice.

Now, I notice that bmoeasy (Brian Moffatt) has returned to blogging after a six-month-or-so hiatus.

To me this is much like life - fallow periods are necessary.  I dislike the notion in our Western society that between age 20 or so and 65 (let’s say) we work every day and then retire.  It makes much more sense to me that we do things with heart, passion and awareness, and when circumstances or environment or our own psyche overwhelm or outrun us we stop, rest, reconnoiter and begin the process of watching, thinking and waiting for what’s next.

Obviously blogging is keeping a journal about one’s life, interests, activities, but in public.  Obviously many of us have ups-and-downs-and-arounds that will be reflected in that process.

And the wheel turns.