Accessing Useful Knowledge: musings from a train carriage

Sitting on a train, slowly trundling through Hertfordshire, my thoughts turned to the challenges of knowledge and information sharing.

I was minding my own business, surrounded by other similar people, also minding their own business and I started to think that if I had a need for knowledge and information, what would be my best course of action? What would be the most efficient and effective way to obtain, share and distribute information and knowledge?

Pondering this question produced some interesting thoughts.

If I needed a particular newspaper, document or magazine article, that I'd forgotten to bring along with me, my best bet was to stand up, forget I was English, and ask my fellow travelers whether anyone had a copy. A long shot I know, but a direct request for specific information was my best chance.

On the other hand, if I had a less structured knowledge and information need what would work best?

If I wanted to exchange information and knowledge regarding how to get people to share their knowledge in a work environment, and how to persuade them, "not to panic" and convince them that knowledge sharing, "is a good thing", my best bet is not to ask a specific question out loud, or to call, tweet, or email the people in the carriage. My best bet is to try to get a conversation going between all the people in the train carriage.

Back in the real world, persuading a bunch of strangers to talk to each other on a train is only going to happen if the train grinds to a halt and all the lights go out - otherwise, forget it.

However, the thought emphasised for me that often the best means of communication is face-to-face. The best way to exchange knowledge and information in order to meet a range of needs is to get a group of people to sit in the same physical space, and with a clear idea of the boundaries and objectives of the meeting, to talk to each other in the real world.

Other forms of more distanced communication, email, phone, etc have their place and are very popular and useful, but in this world of technology let's not lose track, let's not forget, that having a discussion with a real person is often the best way to communicate.

Ian