Social Networks and Managing Knowledge
This essay by Netsoft’s President Harjeet S. Gulati appears in the recent Yahoo/O’Reilly Book “Designing Social Interfaces” by Christian Crumlish and Erin Malone. The essay traces the evolution of social networks from their traditional avatars of profiling applications and skills databases of yesteryears to their current form, and discusses the role social networks are playing in corporate knowledge management initiatives.
Social Networks and Managing Knowledge
Concepts like Knowledge Management and Learning Organizations have gained importance in the last decade and a half. Regardless of the size and nature of their business, organizations realize the importance of tapping into the collective skills and knowledge of their people to build competitive advantage. As people work their way through an increasingly complex decision-making process, navigating a tough regulatory framework, the knowledge they acquire forms the basis of what an organization can achieve. And since knowledge is notoriously ‘sticky’, it tends to stay with them, even when they choose to leave the organization. Most organizations have been clueless on developing effective strategies and tools to capture, discover and use this knowledge.
Traditional profiling applications and skills databases enabled organizations to build repositories of workforce skills and capabilities. While these captured key structured details about the workforce, they left a void in terms of capturing unstructured knowledge. In this traditional environment, ‘who you know’ was as important, if not more, as ‘what you know’ for getting a task done. Avenues of sharing this knowledge were few and so were the incentives. Rewards and recognition programs were tailored to favour people who ‘had’ the knowledge. As an organization grew, it created islands of experience, and knowledge that led to duplicate and wasted effort and lost opportunities.
The very nature of knowledge makes it difficult to manage like other organizational assets. Knowledge assets can be Explicit, easy to articulate and precise; or Tacit, understood in context of an experience or a situation, and difficult to codify or articulate. An organization has to leverage both explicit and tacit knowledge inherent in its social networks, both within and outside organizational boundaries, to get jobs done. Organizations use this everyday knowledge to empower decision-making, improve performance, reduce risk, and encourage innovation.
The popularity of social networks and user-generated content in organizations is gradually changing the way knowledge is created, shared and utilized. With tools like employee blogs, corporate wikis and social bookmarking, people within the organization have a way to capture and share their knowledge without letting technology get in the way. Blogs (and micro-blogs like Twitter) enable people to express themselves without being burdened by corporate content policies and multiple levels of reviews in a more traditional environment. Wikis enable employees to create and edit content in a collaborative environment. Social bookmarking and social ranking of content (as exemplified by Delicious and Digg) enable an entire community to organize what it knows in a single repository, enabling users to define and manage what is relevant and useful.
Access to knowledge assets is provided with information push (as in Alerts), pull (for instance, Search), or a combination of these models (as with RSS Feeds). Coupled with effective metrics, organizations can then monitor the creation and use of knowledge assets and identify most valuable links in the entire organization that go beyond organizational hierarchy charts.
This free flow of communications not only promotes knowledge creation and sharing, but has also completely altered traditional group dynamics. Where traditional models incentivized having knowledge, the new social models actively promote sharing what you know. Social standing in this environment is determined by the extent to which an employee contributes to the community. This further encourages creation of knowledge assets and enables the community to gain value by virtue of the knowledge assets it contains within its repositories. An HR Manager today can tap into the power of social networks to find new recruits; a sales manager can find a way into a customer account tapping into the connections of his network; and management can implement decisions faster by focusing on key executives and influencers throughout the organization.
Where consumer social networks are largely community-managed, organizations can choose to exercise varying degrees of control on the communities of knowledge they create. From content administration to the classification of knowledge assets, organizations can decide what degree of control works best for them, and enable people within the organization to achieve more with technology as an enabler.
As more businesses see the value of social networks in capturing a lifetime of experiences inherent in their workforce, a continually changing landscape will demand new ways to manage knowledge. Social networks are gaining in popularity because they don’t get in the way as with traditional knowledge management systems. Rather, by forming communities of interest, social networks enable the entire community to define, moderate and evolve knowledge management frameworks to meet new needs as they arise. This is what social networks are all about anyway!
EULA - Yeah - the License Agreement You Never Saw!
How many times have you installed something, and just clicked “I Accept” button when something called the EULA shows up? I reckon 99.999% of the times? Correct? Don’t Worry - you’re not alone! Lets’ take a look at this EULA business, shall we?
The EULA (End User License Agreement) is an agreement between the software developer and a prospective user. By means of this agreement the developer of a software is established as the original owner of that software, and a copy of the respective software bought/downloaded from a vendor/the Internet, only licenses it to a user, and does not transmit any intellectual rights whatsoever on the software.
The end user is only permitted to use it as long as certain terms are respected, and is also prohibited from any alterations or uses of the software without the specific consent of its rightful owner, the software company/developer.
End User License Agreements can be presented in two forms.
1. Shrink-wrap license: Usually utilized in the case of packaged products, when a label clearly states that tearing-open the package or breaking the seal automatically means that the buyer/user accepts the EULA found inside the package, even before reading it.
2. Click-wrap/ click-through license: Available to the user while installing the software. In order to continue the installation of the respective software, the user must check an “I Agree” box.
Characteristics:
As mentioned before, most software license agreements are similar. They share similar terminology, as well as similar structures. Following are the most important four parts of a EULA:
Licensing – Here in, you establish the rights that you wish to grant to the users over your product. It is of highest significance to make it clear that the users do not have any intellectual rights over the software about to be installed/ used, but that you are only licensing it for use according to your terms, to which the user may or may not agree, at their own discretion.
You should specify that any attempt to re-engineer, redistribute, copy, clone, modify or alter in any way the licensed software without your specific approval is strictly prohibited or permitted under certain, and well-defined conditions. You should also make specifications as to how many terminals/computers can benefit from this license (one or more).
Warranties — Tag in a ‘Disclaimer of Warranty’, which says that even if the software is most likely to work on the user’s machine, it may as well not, and it may not even be your fault. After all, should the product be exposed to, for example, atmospheric conditions that might alter the CD’s / DVD’s performances, you should not be held responsible for that.
Liability — It is important to state the extent to which you can be held financially responsible for any mishaps that might incur as a result to the use of your software. Create a ‘Limitation of Liability’ section, in which you will state clearly to what amount (if any) a user is entitled should your software damage the computer or cause legal problems by interfering with other third-party applications.
Laws – Do not forget to mention specifically what laws control or apply to the license agreement that the user is supposed to agree to. A jurisdiction must be defined and any complaints or lawsuits can only be made or filed within the respective jurisdiction. If your software is supposed to have global distribution, make sure you find out which international laws apply to the EULA. Keep in mind that, even if the EULA pattern is nearly the same in most cases, yours should reflect your needs and your idea, your approach to the market and to the prospective users.
Some of the benefits of end user license agreements
When it comes to software and your rights on a product in which you have invested time, financial resources and significant human effort, license agreements are not to be taken flippantly. Whether shrink-wrap licenses or click-through licenses, their importance is indisputable.
They clearly establish your property rights on the software
- They protect your company’s intellectual rights over the software
- They protect you from lawsuits filed against you on the basis of terms that have not been read
- They exempt you from any responsibility on malfunctioning software if your terms have not been respected
When writing your EULA, you should keep some points in mind
- Design the software installation in such a way that the user must agree to the EULA before the software is installed on his/her system.
- Plan your document. Make yourself a list of all points that need to be addressed.
- Use a readable typeface, like Times New Roman.
- Divide your document into sections, and the sections into smaller segments if necessary.
- Do not use any slang, and omit needless words.
- Use the active voice, avoid the passive voice.
- Simplify wordy phrases.
- Organize your content in order of importance.
- Use numerals instead of written words for numbers.
- Check for grammar and spelling errors! Check for punctuation! There is no substitute for correct English grammar and spelling, and mistakes could cause confusion or even nullify your EULA.
Ten Simple Steps to Create an RSS Feed
How do you get yourself to create an RSS feed in a most unchallenging way? Here’s your ten-point guide to create a method of syndicating content, namely — RSS (Rich Site Summary). Also called as a document, web feed or channel, an RSS feed is an XML file that contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. It helps in the concept of aggregating content in one central location or repository and makes it feasible for people to keep up with web sites in an automated manner that can be channeled into special programs or filtered displays.
Step One: Getting Ready with your Bits and Pieces
To start with, you would require
- A plain text editor, and
- A server
A basic RSS feed can be created with any ordinary text editor that saves your file as plain text. Formatting (of any kind), as a matter of fact, breaks the RSS file and therefore, using a plain text editor, such as Windows Notepad or NoteTab is highly recommended. You can safely use MS-Word, or WordPad as well, given that you save your file in plain text only. Linux users can do it well with Bluefish. (http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/)
The server is where your website is located and you load your files to. So, if you are able to upload your website homepage on your server, you should be able to do the same for your RSS file.
Step Two: Finding a Template
So what do you think might be the most undemanding way to create an RSS file? Copy someone else’s!! Yeah, that’s exactly what I would vote for. Since you are going to replace all the copied content sensibly enough with your own and the format of the file is licensed for free use, you can forget your fears about copying.
To help you, here is a short, simple template file that you can copy: Start now!
<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”ISO-8859-1″ ?>
<rss version=”0.91″>
<channel>
<title>E-deuce </title>
<link> http://www.e-deuce.com/2008/06/.html </link>
<description> E-deuce - By Smriti Kaushik</description>
<language>en-us</language>
<image>
<title> E-deuce </title>
<url>http://www.e-deuce.com /images/rss.gif</url>
<link>http://www.e-deuce.com </link>
<width>80</width>
<height>86</height>
</image>
<item>
<title>Safin Returns </title>
<link>http://www.e-deuce.com </link>
<description>
The battle at Wimbledon has already begun and the first major upset has been scored as well. The end of world no. 3, Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic’s run to win the tournament yesterday brought back former world no.1, and my favorite Marat Safin (Russia) back into business.
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Safin-returns.ca</title>
<link>http://www.e-deuce.com </link>
<description>
Though it was sad to see Noel leave for home as he happens to be another favorite, I admit I was rooting for Safin to win ever since I saw the draw. My wish, however, isn’t just seeing him demolishing Novak’s chances but to go on and win the tournament.
</description>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>
(Stop now! You don’t have to copy at this line as well.)
Now paste this copied text into your plain text editor and save it as a new file in plain text format that indicates your website name. Use .rss as an extension so that people can tell what your file does by a look at the title.
Step Three: Defining Your Channel
By now, your wandering eyes might have observed a line near the top of your recently copied format that says <channel>. Subsequent to this tag, and above this tag, you need to brief in the information that describes your entire website. Replace the information that is currently loaded with that of your site among these four tags:
title: punch in the title of your site here
link: mention the URL to your website’s homepage
description: give a short description of your site here
language: your effort is saved here perchance, your site is in English. In that case, leave it the way it is. Fundamentally, it is here that you mention the language in which your site has been written.
Once you have created this part, you won’t have to worry about it ever again! It’s not that you cannot ever change it but why would you want to do so? Okay, do it if you require. Now that you have got the technique to create it, there’s no one stopping you…huh!
Step Four: Adding your Image
Your image provides your RSS feed a visual identity. However, adding image to your RSS file is not mandatory. You don’t really have to do so if you don’t want to. But, if you want to do so, this is how you should proceed:
Create a small image using any image editor of your choice. You can create a new image for being a part of your site or capture one using image editor and then reduce it to get the desired size. Any of these, PaintShop pro, Adobe Photoshop, Corel PhotoPaint, or Macromedia Firework, can do the job efficiently for you. Remember to reduce it to a very small image and uploading it to the same directory as your RSS file.
You will now need to type in the information about your image as you did about your channel. Replace the present information with that of yours between these tags:
title: the title of your image, usually the title of your website.( often used as an image ‘alt’ tag)
url: mention the url that indicates the location of your image on the web.
link: mention the url to which users goes to when they click on your image. Usually it is the same url as your channel link url
width: mention, in pixels, the width of your image
height: the height of your image, in pixels
Just as it was with defining your channel in the third step, you do not have to do this step again. Once completed, it is forever. What fun! Isn’t it? On to the fifth step now.
Step Five: Defining Your Links
It’s a long way you have treaded so far and I am sure the exercise must have made you think of something delicious to pamper your taste buds with. Well, I share the sentiments with you but we still are only halfway through so you will have to wait until we’re done.
You might want your visitors to read more than one article that is available on your site. For this reason, you can mention as many <item> tags as you need, to describe your articles. Since articles are bound to change with time giving way to newer information, you will have to change this part of your feed for further updating.
Each description for each article (two in the above example) starts and ends with the </item> tag and in between these tags there are three tags where you would need to put the information about the article.
title: the title of the article
link: the URL of the article
description: here, mention in brief what does your article talk about. A small summary of the article, it is advisable to use information about the author and the date in it.
Create an item for each article you have on your site and do remember to save your file.
Step Six: Evading Tricky Characters
As already mentioned in the beginning of the article, an RSS file is an XML file. In XML files, there are certain characters that are illegal and therefore it is important to avoid there usage which is to be done by insert a text string in their place. To help you, here is a list that would ensure enough safety.
& - replace all ‘&’ with: &
- Many URLs have ampersands in them.
- If a link element is http://www.mysite.com/index.cgi?n=4&p=5 then you must change it to http://www.mysite.com/index.cgi?n=4&p=5
” - change every full quote to "
- For example: Van yelled, “look!” becomes, Van yelled, "Fire!"
‘ - change every apostraphe to '
- For example: there’s the lake. becomes there's the lake.
> - change every ‘greater than’ character to > - but DO NOT change them in the tags.
- For example, <description>I have > ten schillings </description> becomes <description>I have > ten schillings</description>
< - change every ‘less than’ character tag to < - but DO NOT change them in the tags
- For example: “<description>I have< two racquets</description> becomes <description>I have < two racquets</description>
Step Seven: Upload Your File
Under this step, you are required to upload your file to your web server in order to present yourself a working RSS feed. Though it can be placed anywhere you wish, it is better to put it in the same directory as your home page.
Step Eight: Validating Your RSS File
Go to an RSS validator on the web and enter the complete URL of your RSS file into the form. Click the button and see if there is any error, the validator informs you of. If there is any, please correct it and try again. If there is not, the validator will validate your file.
Some validators you can use:
http://aggregator.userland.com/validator
http://feeds.archive.org/Fvalidator/
Step Nine: Advertising Your Feed
Advertising is the best way to inform the world about your RSS feed. Start by adding an XML button to your home page. Upload the image of an XML button to your website. Then place the image, along with a link, on your home page. For example, place the following code on your home page:
<a href=”http://www.wellsaid.com/wellsaid.rss“><=img src=”xml.gif” width=36 height=14 alt=”RSS feed for this site” border=0></a>
Second, submit your site’s RSS feed URL to various aggregators. This way they will start checking your RSS feed for updates.
Some aggregators you can use:
Daypop: http://www.daypop.com/info/submit.htm
Syndic8: http://www.syndic8.com/suggest.php?Mode=data
Step Ten: Reward of your Hard Work
This is the last and most important step of your ten-point guide. Now that you have achieved your goal with your hard work, you well deserve all the good stuff you sorely wanted to gorge on all this while. So, pat yourself on the back and treat yourself lavishly for now you have a working RSS feed.
Enjoy, it’s time to Eat, Drink and be Merry!
Good to Great: Application Design Tips You Can Use
Over the past few years, the use of Web as an application platform has become pervasive. From Sales Force Automation to neat little Consumer Applications and Utilities, there’s a lot you can do on the Web today.
Sadly though, not many of these applications really bother about how the users go about accomplishing their tasks and whether they find the experience enjoyable. And the result is a whole lot of applications that simply sit there, frustrate their users and fail to achieve their objective.
If you happen to be in conceiving (or right there in the middle) a web application, a little emphasis on Usability, or User Experience Design as it is now called, can work wonders for you and your application. And the good thing is it isn’t really rocket science, regardless of what armies of consultants tell you.
If you pay attention to these tips, your web applications will work great and your users will thank you for it.
- Don’t bother about Buzzwords
Web 2.0, Ajax, HCI (Human Computer Interaction), Usability, Accessibility, Compliance - buzzwords abound in the tech world. As useful as these are if used in the right manner, you have to focus on your users and what you are trying to accomplish, not about what technology you are going to use to get there. Technologies and techniques are subservient to your business goals. - User Experience isn’t just Graphics
User experience is more than just pretty pictures and icons. How your users perceive the application depends more on aspects like Information Architecture (the model you are using to convey information), content and the degree to which the navigation meets the user’s needs. Focus on the plumbing if you want the water to flow through the taps - the design of the faucets and the sink won’t do much if the water isn’t coming through. - Less Is More
Don’t cram your user interface with so much data that the facts you are trying to present get lost in plain sight. Your users are there to accomplish some tasks - make sure you enable them to do it without seeking support and without having to search for information. Less Really Is More. Segregate your user interface into modules and sections that are logical and relate to the tasks you want your users to accomplish. - Focus on your Business First
Web applications are not about technology or the Web - they are about business. Focus on your business objectives and ensure that you don’t let your business objectives take a second berth to technology and what your consultants tell you. Today’s technology makes just about anything possible (within the limits of rational logic though!) - ensure that your consultants/designers/software engineers pay attention to the business process analysis and task analysis before jumping on to design a web interface. - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Use charts and smart graphics to enhance the appeal of your content and the web applications - just don’t overdo it. If there’s a lot of data you are presenting in lists in your web applications, explore the option of using charts and graphs to enable users to make sense of what you’re presenting faster and easier. - Be Consistent and Reinforce Your Brand Identity
Web applications are designed by programmers 9 times out of 10 and programmers, really, with all due apologies, are not too fond of colors and presentation. The result is that web applications seldom look like the brand identity you’ve spent so much on (Remember your mobile billing apps?). For the consumer, this creates confusion and dilutes your brand. When designing web applications, ensure that your brand and corporate identity is reflected in the design of your web applications.
- Plan for Growth
So your user interface looks great with all those neat icons and tables and charts, just as the designer told you it would. But will it look the same, and more importantly, work the same when you actually have your users ‘using’ all the features, creating tons of data. What about performance of the lists?…the time it takes to generate those same charts and graphs? Will your user interface hold on when the amount of data your system is processing increases manifold. - Test Your Battle Plans Before Building your Web Application
So you’ve built the web application and your users don’t like the way it works. What are you going to do? Scrap the application? Develop another one? Spend more on modifying the user interface and/or the functionality? Not quite. It is a good idea to test your user interface through prototypes and wireframes with actual users before you start the programming build out of the website. This will enable you to validate the design and architecture of the web application, as well as give you time to correct any mistakes early on in the lifecycle, reducing costly rebuilds.
Usability and User Experience Design is the ultimate tribute you can pay your consumers because it shows you respect their time and are committed to help them accomplish tasks faster. And it is good business because it wastes less money, ensures your projects are successful and that you can actually realize value from your web application initiatives.
All the best!
Hello world!
Welcome to NetsoftCreative Blogoholic - the expression of our collective creative energies as a group!
At NetsoftCreative, ‘creative’ is what sums up how we approach every little thing we do. From designing and developing interactive content for the new web - branding, collateral, websites, to rich interactive applications. And there are times when we feel the need to share all the knowledge we have gained over the years…it’s our way of giving back what we’ve taken from the world around us.
Blogoholic isn’t just a marketing tool for us…it’s a way to express ourselves, to channelize our creative energies, and most importantly, a way to leave our footprints on the web.
This blog is as much about creative community at large as it is about us, and if you’ve got ideas you want to share, we’d love to have you as a part of our authoring team. If not, well, just keep reading and keep sending those comments over whenever you get a chance. We’re open, and we’re listening!
Have a good day, have a great life!
