Weblogs' ease of publishing has a disadvantage: Because it's so easy to post information, blogs grow quickly and become unwieldy, making it harder and harder to track down relevant information. That's because most blogs are organized solely in chronological order, with the most recent posts at the top and older content stacked in an archive, like a pile of old newspapers.
One way to manage the problem is through a search engine. As Network World recently reported, Phillip Windley, CIO of the state of Utah, has offered a weblog tool called Radio to any state employee who wants it. The addition of a Google Search Appliance makes the content of these blogs easily accessible to anyone. Employees haven't exactly been jumping on the offer, but over time, Windley says, he hopes these blogs will develop into a "state knowledge base."
For true knowledge management, however, a search engine probably won't be enough. Traction's weblog product for businesses, called TeamPage, tries to address that problem by adding sophisticated categorization and information-retrieval tools. These let users pull out all the information related to a particular project and view it on a single page -- even if that information spans several years' worth of posts from different users. Traction also adds access control, so that only authorized users can view information designated as sensitive -- an essential element for corporate users. On the downside, TeamPage is more complicated to use than plain-vanilla weblogs.
For now, few businesses -- apart from self-promoting independent consultants and weblog software vendors -- operate weblogs as a matter of course; Utah and Verizon are the exception rather than the rule. But as blogging becomes more mainstream, that will change. Like PCs, instant messaging, and handheld computers, your company's first blogs may well sneak in under the radar of IT, set up by enterprising employees who just want to get something done. This revolution may not be televised, but it will be bloggedWeblogs' ease of publishing has a disadvantage: Because it's so easy to post information, blogs grow quickly and become unwieldy, making it harder and harder to track down relevant information. That's because most blogs are organized solely in chronological order, with the most recent posts at the top and older content stacked in an archive, like a pile of old newspapers.
One way to manage the problem is through a search engine. As Network World recently reported, Phillip Windley, CIO of the state of Utah, has offered a weblog tool called Radio to any state employee who wants it. The addition of a Google Search Appliance makes the content of these blogs easily accessible to anyone. Employees haven't exactly been jumping on the offer, but over time, Windley says, he hopes these blogs will develop into a "state knowledge base."
For true knowledge management, however, a search engine probably won't be enough. Traction's weblog product for businesses, called TeamPage, tries to address that problem by adding sophisticated categorization and information-retrieval tools. These let users pull out all the information related to a particular project and view it on a single page -- even if that information spans several years' worth of posts from different users. Traction also adds access control, so that only authorized users can view information designated as sensitive -- an essential element for corporate users. On the downside, TeamPage is more complicated to use than plain-vanilla weblogs.
For now, few businesses -- apart from self-promoting independent consultants and weblog software vendors -- operate weblogs as a matter of course; Utah and Verizon are the exception rather than the rule. But as blogging becomes more mainstream, that will change. Like PCs, instant messaging, and handheld computers, your company's first blogs may well sneak in under the radar of IT, set up by enterprising employees who just want to get something done. This revolution may not be televised, but it will be blogged
