--- title: "Pens, Weblogs & Knowledge Management" date: 2004-09-15 author: "Richard MacManus" categories: - name: "ReadWriteWeb" url: "/category/readwriteweb.md" tags: - name: "2004" url: "/tag/2004.md" --- # Pens, Weblogs & Knowledge Management There’s an interesting meme doing the rounds about using pens as a metaphor for weblogs. Of course I can’t resist adding my 2 cents when it comes to *that* topic 🙂 [Lilia began with a post](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://blog.mathemagenic.com/2004/09/14.html#a1351) that explored the ‘weblog as a pen’ metaphor in relation to how weblogs serve many purposes – like pens do. This was as a reaction to the ‘weblog as genre’ discussion going on elsewhere. She ended up concluding that a weblog is not like a pen, “but blogging software is.” That is, a pen is a tool – just like blogging software. [Dina picked up on that theme](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://radio.weblogs.com/0121664/2004/09/14.html#a493) and took the following path: ‘weblog as a pen’ —> pen as a genre —> pen as the creative potential in relationships —> pen as a metaphor —> (metaphors in general) —> the future of the pen with Gen Y. My contribution to this meme, like Dina’s, takes a detour from Lilia’s main point (but then that is what’s fun about the social aspect of blogging – people pick up a post from someone else and use it as a springboard for their own ideas). So here’s my riff on the ‘pen as metaphor’ theme. ## Being John Baldessari I have an image in the top-left of my homepage, borrowed from a photo of a John Baldessari artwork called [Read/Write/Think/Dream](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/baldessari/) – in which he transformed the facade and interior foyer of the Geisel Library at the University of California, San Diego, into a colourful and interactive work of art. (nb: [I wrote about it](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/002068.php) a month and a half ago). The whole artwork resonated deeply with me, but that sliver of an image you see in the top-left of your screen (you have to get out of your RSS Reader to see it!) seemed to ‘fit’ with the themes of my weblog. I hadn’t really analysed why, until today. ## People are central It’s a photo-mural of pens and pencils and it’s just one part of the Read/Write/Think/Dream artwork. The image shows two people looking at the pencils and pens – one has stopped to look, the other is about to walk past it. Those people (and the ones who will follow) are just as much a part of the artwork as the pencils/pens. [Baldessari said](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/events/jbaldessari.htm) about the work: “The whole concept of the piece deals with the obvious: students are central to the university.” To relate this to how I used that one image on my weblog: my readers (people) are just as much a part of my blog as my writing. To extend that even further: **people are central to the blogosphere**. ## Order and Ideas What’s not immediately obvious in the Read/Write/Think/Dream artwork is that the pens and pencils [are ordered](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://www.sicilianculture.com/news/baldessari.htm) according to the color spectrum of the rainbow. Here is [one explanation of this](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/events/jbaldessari.htm): “On one interior side wall is a photo-mural of pens and pencils in a neat row, each a different color, aligned according to their sequence in the color spectrum. These tools, neatly ordered, and the students, gathered in a row like carefully collected types, reflect Baldessari’s deep-seated interest in **sorting and systems of organization**.” (emphasis mine) Once again, I can apply this meaning to my blog. These days I style myself as an [Analyst](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/002166.php), which is my way of saying that in this weblog I strive to examine and organize information – and from that create new ideas. ## People + Tools = Baldessari also said that “the pens and pencils represent the tools of the students’ trade”. This gives me an opportunity to return to Lilia’s original point that pens – and weblog authoring systems – are just tools. We can use them how we like, but it comes back to the sum of: Person + Tool = Self-Expression OR Creativity OR Knowledge OR Blogosphere OR Etc. ## Applying this to Knowledge Management My point here is: we need **both** people and tools in the equation. And thankfully, I think this is where the current Knowledge Management theories are heading. As [Mike Gotta put it](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://mikeg.typepad.com/perceptions/2004/03/knowledge_manag.html) – “Knowledge Management: It Was Always About People”. The [problem with KM](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/001946.php) during the 90’s was that everyone thought of Knowledge Management as being *Technology-driven.* Companies tried to implement Knowledge Management *systems* and *tools*. Well actually that theory wasn’t total [nonsense](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://informationr.net/ir/8-1/paper144.html), because the reality is KM is about both People and Tools. If you look at Dave Pollard’s [principles of KM](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2004/03/10.html#a659) (which I found very inspirational), you’ll see that it’s a mix of tools and people-oriented principles that he advocates. I have a new catchphrase to express this: **People are Central, but Tools are Crucial.** ## Would you like fries with that segue? So that’s my take on the ‘pen as metaphor’ meme. Heh, I took a big [segue](https://web.archive.org/web/20050213044920/http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=segue)! but I think I learned something along the way 😉 However I didn’t get to address Dina’s point about “the future of the pen with Gen Y” – which is a fascinating question. I’ll think about that some more and address it in a later post. *Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/002241.php))*