Sharing Knowledge: One of the Most Human Things we Do

There’s a lot of talk out these days about enterprise social networks, learning management systems, content management and knowledge sharing.  Consequently, there’s a lot of research and study that goes into understanding how people learn and how they learn most effectively.  As we evolve as a society, technology, tools and the ways we use them change, but at the core is a practice that’s as old as time itself.

You can easily stretch your mind back to the earliest days of man and imagine the cavemen who first discovered fire or shaped a rock to create an early tool. He most reasonably then shared his skill and the benefits of his discovery with his fellow cave dwellers. Undoubtedly, systems and best practices fell into place even in the earliest of times.

Formal education is in itself, the ultimate knowledge sharing system. Before the Lyceum and Socrates and Aristotle, Plato threw open the columns to the Academy, and in 387 BC began sharing knowledge that still shapes society and democracy to this day.  Not only is sharing knowledge ancient and inherent to human beings, it is arguably the most important thing we will ever do in our lifetimes.

Today there are countless ways to share and manage knowledge and finding the best practices and tools for you or your company is a process that doesn’t have to be a burden. After all, you’re using the most powerful and relevant knowledge sharing tool of modern times as we speak—the Internet, and I’ll guess that you’re as comfortable on the world wide web as you are on your sofa or driving your car.  We adapt.

The knowledge sharing tools we use today have naturally evolved to make use of the technology we have available today. So while the talk and chatter about learning management and knowledge sharing will spawn new companies, new lingo and new tech, the basis for their need is as old as the hills.

So don’t be intimidated by this new direction of technology. It’s for the greater good and will only help streamline the process of getting knowledge from those who have it to those who need it.

Image Credit Online Career Tips