Technology Stewardship for communities

Elmi Bester

KM Practitioners Group – Johannesburg Chapter

26 May 2010

Welcome!

Human spectrogram

Agenda

- Why (and how) did the CSIR became interested in technology stewardship?

- What are the practical value and implications of technology stewardship for knowledge management initiatives?  Is this not something KM practitioners have been doing all along?

- What are the traits of value-adding technology stewardship?

- What’s next in terms of technology stewardship for the CSIR?

Woot Woot! Woo Hoo!

© CSIR 2009 www.csir.co.za

Technology has fundamentally changed how we can be together.

Tech + socialWhether we are in the same place

or scattered across the globe.

We have the business imperatives.

We have the technology.

Yet why does it remain so hard?

 

www.wealthyleader.com/blog/

 crystalking.com/writingblog/  crystalking.com/writingblog/

 crystalking.com/writingblog/

© CSIR 2009 www.csir.co.za

http://www.kf6nvr.net/blog/archives/images/computing_stress.jpg

Technostress

Just more islands

Disillusionment

© CSIR 2009 www.csir.co.za

“Technology stewards are people with enough

experience of the workings of a community to

understand its technology needs, and enough experience with

technology to take leadership in addressing those

needs. Stewardship typically includes selecting and

configuring technology, as well as supporting its use in the

practice of the community .”

Digital Habitats (Wenger, Smith, White)

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/photos/stylus/74095-SocialNets.jpg

http://tparty.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8345159f569e201156fa9aab2970c-400wi

http://thetearoom.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54fccb6d2883401156f5dcdcb970c-800wi

It is not about replicating what is working for me/ us/ others …

The community

This is working for the Ya-Ya sisterhood

You should do

this as well!

Not working? Then this

should work

This is not us!

http://www.gapingvoid.com/sms229.jpg

Technology stewards?

enable people to…

• discover & appropriate useful technology

• be in and use communities & networks (people)

• express their identity

• find and create content

• usefully participate

Nancy White © 2010 http://onlinefacilitation.wikispaces.com/Stewarding+Technology+for+Online+Communities

What are the practical value and implications of technology stewardship for knowledge management initiatives? 

Is this not something KM practitioners have been doing all along?

Is this part of the KM agenda?

Discussion

© CSIR 2009 www.csir.co.za

What are the traits of value-adding technology stewardship? (1)

Support community experimentation & make

‘tool use’ visible

From Digital Habits (Wenger, Smith, White 2009)

Principles

Keep vision of your community’s success above the technical details of technology

implementation

Keep the technology as simple as

possible while meeting needs

Let the configuration of technologies evolve as the

community evolves

Use all of the knowledge around you

Practices – information management,

facilitation, journalism, summarising etc

http://www.lukegilman.com/high-on-the-hog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/social-media-whiteboard.jpg

IMPRESS THEM… or confuse them…

do they need to know all of this?

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What are the traits of value-adding technology stewardship? (2)

© CSIR 2009 www.csir.co.za

There is a method in the madness… with frameworks

… meetings

… relationships

… community cultivation

… access to expertise

… projects

… context

… individual participation

… content publishing

… open-ended conversation

Community activities

oriented to …

Base material from: Digital Habitats: Stewarding technology for

communities© 2009 Wenger, White, and Smith

activities oriented to …

Community Name: KM4Devglobal knowledge sharing network

… open-ended conversation

… meetings

… projects

… access to expertise

… relationships

… context… community cultivation

… individual participation

… content publishing

Base material from: Digital Habitats: Stewarding technology for

communities© 2009 Wenger, White, and Smith

With only one meeting a year, large size and diversity, KM4Dev focuses on enabling individual participation.

Community knowledge wiki, content management system to bring together resources.

Email list is core of community activity

Once a year and only about 10% do/can participate.

When funding allows. E.G. supporting ShareFair

Informally via the email list by asking/answering questions.

Relationships mostly via meetings and core group.

Strongly external – all resources public/shared.

While everyone pays attention to the community, no centralized efforts…

• Right balance between evangelism and scepticism

• To establish the right practices first you must practice

• Listen Listen Listen

• Reflective conversations

• It is about the second wavers

• Geeky friends, information specialist friends, communications friends

• Ambient awareness of community, community boundaries and technology use

• Mindful learning agenda 

What are the traits of value-adding technology stewardship? (3)

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What’s next in terms of technology stewardship for the CSIR?

Focused initiativesSafe-fail 

Overcoming tool barriers?

Embedding technology stewardship in relevant places

Digital literacy?

don’t worry – there will be bumps in the road…TALK about them http://onlinefacilitation.wikispaces.com/Stewarding+Technology+for+Online+Communities

Waves are funny things. Think of ocean waves. They go up and down, they can be gentle or pound us into the sand. Just when we think we have their rhythm, the next wave changes and surprises us. The key is staying alert, knowing how to swim and to expect the unexpected.

• Nancy White, 2010