Mopsos

This log entry of Dave Pollard is really excellent.

Following up on the questions raised by Dave, I like to think that the core incentive to share knowledge is "access to" a group of people you could not approach before. It because you share what you know that you become recognized as an expert in your field by your peers, and increase your reputation. I think it is a big mistake to think about incentives to share knowledge in terms of financial rewards. Social networks are learning environments and as such work a little like universities. You don't think about "return on investment" when applying at Harvard, but you think about your future reputation as a graduate, and about the network you will be part of. As a student, you are ready to pay huge sums of money for this. If successful later in your career as an alumnus, you are also likely to fund the development of your former University and attach your name to it.

I think the economy of the web is not a market economy of buyers and sellers of products and services, but a learning economy of students and teachers with tuition fees. It's not about ROI, but about recognition.

As a consultant for the last 23 years, I think it might be hard to NOT think about financial rewards in exchange for valuable and tailored advice, for example. However, as human beings and members of our global community, contribution and making a difference are intrinsically rewarding. In this connected, Net-enabled world we live in now, it is probably short-sighted to emphasize $ROI except perhaps as an adjunct to one's participation in the important conversations of our time. I agree that recognition is an alternate *currency* and reward. In my case, I want to get much more involved in the KM and now KS (knowledge sharing) conversation. My rewards will be: being heard, meaningful contribution, stimulation, learning, recognition and the opportunity to be a *part of* a committed and vital community.

Posted by: Janet Tokerud at June 22, 2003 07:43 PM

Janet, don't get me wrong: Financial rewards for sharing what you know are indeed important. It's just that I believe they are expressed differently, and not in a basic transactional mode like consultants with their clients. I believe the consulting work and the academic world are becoming closer and closer in their business models. Consultants "teach" corporate managers for a fee, but keep their "best" clients (a.k.a. graduates) inside a community of practice that they actively manage. Access to this community is of course a paying service, but once you are in, it is no longer a market economy, but a professional society.

Posted by: Martin R. Dugage at June 30, 2003 11:44 AM

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