K-logging: supporting KM with web logs

Abstract

Web-logging software has received much attention as a quick and easy way to post content to a Web site. Web logs (blogs) tend to fall into two categories: personal blogs that function almost like diaries, and informational blogs that target a readership with a shared interest. Explains that web logging can also be used to support knowledge management (KM), i.e., efforts within an organization to share knowledge and help the organization achieve its mission. This form of web logging, called knowledge logging (k-logging), is emerging as an inexpensive alternative to large-scale KM solutions. Within any organization, whether a corporation, school, or museum, there are individuals (researchers, faculty, curators, or students) who either already maintain blogs or could be encouraged to do so. Their blogs may support research development, share industry information, capture and disperse project information among a team, or just annotate relevant literature for colleagues. These k-logs represent valuable information capital within the organization. Describes how librarians can support k-loggers, and looks at the kinds of systems that can be created to make these knowledge assets (the content of the web logs) findable and accessible.