Colliding Ideas around Personal Knowledge Management 2025-2065

A cluster of ideas collided this week:

Defining KM Terms

I was in a meeting where we discussed definitions of knowledge management (KM) terms—potentially as a foundation for an ontology or knowledge graph, or simply to promote more consistent use of terminology among KM professionals. I’m not a fan of protracted debates about definitions, but a sub-group involved in this project is focused on Personal Knowledge Management (PKM). I felt I might be able to contribute meaningfully in that space.

Designing a PKM Course and Mapping

I’m slowly developing a course titled Organizing What You Know: A Practical Guide to Personal Knowledge Management. In this context, I’m hesitant to use the term Personal Knowledge Management too casually. The target audience—while highly educated and experienced—is unlikely to be familiar with KM terminology. If I use such terms, I’ll need to explain them clearly, perhaps even include a brief glossary.

I’ve also been working on a few customized mind maps and concept maps for the course, which put me back in a concept mapping mindset.

Speculating about PKM

For my novel-in-progress, I’ve been researching various aspects of technological evolution—especially those that impact individuals’ daily lives. Since the central theme of the novel is Knowledge Legacy, the leap from PKM in 2025 to PKM in 2065 is a fascinating one to explore.

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All of that led to:

• A New Map: Personal Knowledge Management 2025–2065
  It captures key terms related to the fundamentals of PKM in 2025, alongside three sets of terms that reflect possible PKM futures in 2065. The 2065 terms are directly tied to the novel’s worldbuilding, so they’re not intended as a comprehensive forecast of PKM in 2065.

• Definitions
  Given the imagined technological leaps between 2025 and 2065, many terms on the map need explanation. I have definitions for most terms though some -- the terms and the definitions -- are very speculative.

• Connections: To avoid visual overload—it’s already quite a busy map—I’ve only added a handful of cross-topic connections, marked in red.
  
  
  

  

  PKM 2025-2065
  

  
  

Developing a Course on Personal Knowledge Management

For years, maybe even decades, I have considered developing a course on Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) but never found the right demand or audience.

I think I have now found both.

Encore Learning, a local nonprofit, relies primarily on volunteers to develop and deliver courses for a highly engaged audience: retired professionals who love to learn. Many have extensive experience and enjoy rich discussions with fellow adult students. The organization partners with George Mason University (GMU), and many of its instructors, like myself, are former faculty members. Next fall (2025), I will be teaching my first course in the Encore Learning catalog, likely in the same building and perhaps even the same classrooms where I taught Knowledge Management (KM) for seven years.  No exams, no grading, shorter teaching sessions, therefore less stress and more enjoyment.

While my previous KM course within the ODKM Program at GMU focused on organizational settings, this new course shifts the lens to personal knowledge—how we manage what we know as individuals, how we continue learning, and how we navigate knowledge in our later years. 

My initial course proposal was accepted, and just yesterday, I submitted a more detailed course description. Over the next few months, I will be designing the full curriculum with six sessions, each 90 minutes long. I already have some ideas and look forward to shaping the content.

This course is just the beginning. I envision it as the first in a three-part series exploring the intersection of knowledge, technology, and aging, with a focus on how Generative AI fits into this evolving landscape.

More to come as I refine the details.

Exploring the Relationship Between Knowledge and Fiction (Part 6: World Building and Personal Knowledge Management)

 This is the sixth and second to last post in the "Knowledge and Fiction" series.

The Knowledge Challenge of Fiction Writing

Writing fiction—especially speculative or historical fiction—demands an extraordinary level of research. That research needs to be organized.

World-building is not just about crafting an engaging setting; it requires managing vast amounts of knowledge. History, geography, societal structures, technological advancements, magic systems—every aspect must be carefully tracked to ensure consistency, immersion, and logic. It’s not just about invention; it’s about maintaining coherence across every layer of the story. Without a structured approach, even the most imaginative worlds can become riddled with inconsistencies.

This is where Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) becomes invaluable. Writers use a variety of systems, from handwritten notes and spreadsheets to wikis and specialized writing software, all in an effort to bring order to the complexity of their fictional worlds. But how can a writer develop a PKM approach that enhances creativity rather than stifles it? That’s the question at the heart of this post.

World-Building as a Knowledge Management Challenge

Whether constructing a sprawling fantasy realm, an intricate futuristic society, or an alternate-history version of our own world, writers must manage deeply interconnected knowledge structures. Geography and environment shape the physical space where the story unfolds, while cultural and societal elements—laws, traditions, religions, economies, and languages—breathe life into that world. A coherent history, filled with past wars, legendary figures, and societal shifts, provides depth and realism.

Technology, whether futuristic, fantastical, or rooted in real-world mechanics, must follow its own rules to maintain credibility. Even magic systems operate within constraints, as seen in stories like Harry Potter, where magic follows established principles. Meanwhile, characters and their relationships introduce another layer of complexity—who knows what, how knowledge spreads, and what information remains hidden. Managing these details effectively leads to greater reader immersion, more creative freedom in plotting, and improved story consistency.

Personal Knowledge Management for Fiction Writers

A writer’s PKM system doesn’t have to be complex, but it should serve three primary functions: capturing and organizing research, managing world-building details, and structuring knowledge in a way that supports the writing process.

Capturing and organizing research is often the first challenge. Some rely on digital tools like Obsidian, Notion, or TiddlyWiki, while others prefer physical notebooks and index cards. Methods such as outlining, mind mapping, and knowledge graphs help structure information, but the real challenge is avoiding research rabbit holes—capturing key insights without getting lost in endless details.

Once research is gathered, managing world-building details becomes crucial. Many writers develop a "story bible," a centralized repository for characters, locations, and themes. Tracking changes over multiple drafts ensures internal consistency, with tagging and linking systems providing quick access to critical information.

Finally, structuring knowledge for writing flow involves chronological tracking, selective disclosure of information, and layering knowledge within the narrative. A well-organized timeline keeps fictional events aligned, while a thoughtful approach to revealing information keeps readers engaged without overwhelming them.

Tools and Techniques for Managing Fictional Knowledge

Different writers approach PKM in unique ways, drawing from both analog and digital methods.

Some, like J.K. Rowling, have famously relied on handwritten spreadsheets to track subplots, while Neil Gaiman fills notebooks with dialogue snippets and sketches. Ursula K. Le Guin created extensive maps and linguistic notes to bring her worlds to life. Even in the digital age, many writers still prefer tactile approaches that allow for a deeper connection to their ideas.

Others turn to digital note-taking and wikis. Brandon Sanderson maintains a wiki-style database to track continuity in his Cosmere universe, a method so effective that even his fans have created wikis to keep up with his expanding world. Digital tools allow for cross-referencing and rapid retrieval of details, ensuring consistency in long-running series.

Visual knowledge management is another powerful approach. Writers like Jeff VanderMeer use visual notebooks with sketches and mind maps to explore relationships between ideas. J.R.R. Tolkien, often believed to have meticulously planned every detail of The Lord of the Rings, may have worked in a more organic way than commonly assumed, but his extensive linguistic and genealogical work illustrates the value of structured world-building.

Some writers go even further, developing expansive story bibles. George R.R. Martin has compiled massive reference materials to maintain consistency in A Song of Ice and Fire, while Margaret Atwood blends real-world research with fictional extrapolation to create immersive dystopian settings. A strong knowledge repository allows for a richer, more believable world.

My Personal Knowledge Management Approach

In my own writing process, I’m experimenting with a hybrid approach. TiddlyWiki serves as my primary tool for tracking interconnected ideas—themes, research notes, and plotlines. I’ve even written an entire novel in TiddlyWiki format before, a testament to its flexibility. TiddlyMap helps me visualize relationships between characters, settings, and knowledge nodes, while concept mapping allows me to structure my world’s evolution, tracking past events and their impact on present conflicts.

Despite this structured approach, I’m still working through challenges. One of the biggest is balancing planning with organic discovery. My notes contain a lot of early research that no longer aligns with the current draft, making systematic updates necessary. Another challenge is avoiding over-researching at the expense of writing. There’s a fine line between preparation and procrastination. Lastly, refining my knowledge scaffolding—deciding when and how to reveal information in the narrative—remains an ongoing process.

Like any knowledge system, my approach isn’t static. I revisit and refine it as the story grows.

Why PKM Matters for Fiction Writers

At its core, Personal Knowledge Management helps writers keep track of ideas, avoid inconsistencies, and free up creative energy by reducing cognitive load. Whether you’re a meticulous planner or an intuitive storyteller, a structured system for capturing, organizing, and retrieving knowledge can transform the creative process.

Key takeaway

• A world-building PKM system doesn’t need to be complex—it just needs to work for you.
• Whether you prefer analog methods, digital tools, or a hybrid approach, the most important aspect is retrievability. Can you find what you need when you need it? 
• Think of your knowledge repository as a living system, something that evolves alongside your novel.

What’s Next?

In the last post of this series, I’ll explore books about writing that I have accumulated over the years on my bookshelf.

Tacit Knowledge Mapping?

A question came up on a messaging channel of the KMGN network:  How would you map tacit knowledge?  The post also referenced CVs as a way to document experience, but I would agree with the person posting that initial question that a CV doesn't scratch the surface of tacit knowledge. 

At best, a CV reflects a series of experiences and since the purpose of a CV is typically to send to potential employers ahead of an interview, the main purpose of a CV Is not to convey tacit knowledge.  A CV reflects experiences but doesn't say much about what the person learned from those experiences, either explicitly or in the form of tacit knowledge.  

I once went to a job interview with a simple concept map instead of a CV.  The map didn't reflect specific jobs or positions but areas I had experience with through these jobs.  More importantly, because it was a form of concept map and not a linear document, I was able to show how the combination of experiences had resulting in a mental map, a framework to connect these different experiences.  I think that in order to map tacit knowledge, we must reflect on our experiences and as a result, make that knowledge explicit.  You end up with something that is no longer tacit since you've "explicited" it through reflection.  That is still probably scratching the surface or barely digging into the underwater part of the tacit/explicit iceberg, but very much worth doing in my opinion. 

This is essentially a form of Personal Knowledge Management and the mapping doesn't necessarily have to be in the form of a concept map.  I just find it very useful because it helps connect things previously not connected in my mind.  

Let's start at the top.  By definition, tacit knowledge is not conscious, so mapping tacit knowledge sounds like an oxymoron.  However, I believe we can strive to make some of our tacit knowledge more explicit in order to map it out and the process of mapping can help make tacit knowledge more explicit.  

Why map it out you might say?  Isn't it enough to make it explicit?  Well, are you making it explicit in a blog or a personal journal that just accumulates content in a sequential way?  Mapping out that "explicited"  knowledge is a way to enable further articulation, further exploration of the connections between insights generated through reflection and analysis.  

I know "explicit" isn't a verb. I should refer to the SECI model and say "externalize" instead.  Before we can externalize or articulate that tacit knowledge, we need to have an idea of what we are looking for. Externalize feels like "extracting" knowledge and I don't like these harsh-sounding words.  

Here is an example of an attempt at externalization:  I have a lot of tacit knowledge around the construction of concept maps.  I have a lot of experience constructing concept maps and when asked how I do it or what constitutes a good concept maps, I find it difficult to answer.  I know a good concept map when I see it. This is also related to the curse of knowledge. I tried, years ago, to articulate (or externalize) that tacit knowledge by creating a couple of courses about concept mapping.  Essentially, I was trying to create the conditions for others to experience the process of constructing concept maps as the way for them to acquire that tacit knowledge themselves.  In trying to articulate that process, I felt the need to specify a number of steps or method, but that was a shortcut and not truly how I personally experience constructing concept maps and I can't go back in time and remember how I initially learned how to construct concept maps. All I was able to do was set up an environment where someone could go on a similar path to learn for themselves and acquire their own tacit knowledge. 

Because tacit knowledge is based on first-hand experience, it is unique to the individual.  Granted, every person who knows how to ride a bike acquires tacit knowledge of bicycling, but even that is somewhat unique to the individual experience.  I was passed by a large flock of real cyclists this morning on my morning bike ride.  They were going three times my speed and moving in ways I have never experienced because I don't ride in groups. Their accumulated tacit knowledge around cycling is very different from mine.  As a side note, if they regularly cycle as a team, they will acquire a form of collective intelligence based on their collective tacit knowledge.   There is a lot more to explore around collective intelligence and the ability of people to combine their explicit and explore their respective tacit knowledge through effective collaboration.  In fact, there is probably a lot around effective collaboration that is based on tacit knowledge rather than explicit best practices because it's in the realm of communication and human behavior that we engage in daily without giving it much thought -- unless you're a huge fan of personal knowledge management and you are a strong reflective practitioner.  

Going back to the original question:  How could anyone map their tacit knowledge? Again, you wouldn't map your tacit knowledge but rather externalize knowledge acquired through experience and map it. 

Is it only knowledge acquired through experience?  If I'm combining ideas from other people in new ways, it's not based on my first hand experience, but it's my accumulated experience that allows me to come up with this new way of combining ideas and come up with new insights.  And the more I have reflected upon my experience over time, the more raw and refined materials I have to draw from to articulate / externalize insights based on other people's experiences because I can relate them better to my experiences and create the connections.

So, here are some of the techniques useful to articulate/externalize and then map tacit knowledge:

• Reflection and journaling, closely linked to learning logs or learning diaries; blogging is also great but has a public dimension that may hinder more personal reflections.
• Concept mapping, closely related to mind mapping. 
• Interviews and dialogue, storytelling, very useful to get people to more organically access their tacit knowledge via skilled prompting.
• Observation and feedback (essentially qualitative methods used in apprenticeships for example).

The first two methods are the ones I use most regularly because they build on each other.  The reflection can be documented with a map and the process of generating a map inevitably leads to new avenues for reflection, (potentially) deepening access to tacit knowledge.  The benefit of a concept map over a more linear narrative is the ability to explicitly and visually show connection across ideas and concepts.  In a real concept map, the connecting words that link distinct concepts are perhaps the most important elements. That's also why relationships are the most important element in knowledge graphs... but that's another fascinating topic. 

Let's get back again to mapping newly externalized knowledge.  I am currently working on a project that seems to address a lot of that.  It's a combination of personal narrative via concept mapping and knowledge graphs.  I don't know where this project is going yet so perhaps I should keep it at that.   I gave myself the title of Knowledge Explorer, so I'm exploring, without a specific destination in mind because I haven't discovered any new territory yet. The new territory seems to be Knowledge Graphs, but I need to revisit old territory (concept maps) to become more insightful about Knowledge Graphs. This conversation is helping in some way to externalize that old territory raw material of experience. 

I can say that a key to reflection and journaling is "know thyself".  That's a starting point for personal knowledge management aimed at accessing tacit knowledge.  There is nothing wrong with personal knowledge management focused on optimal curation of one's readings and resources, but that's scratching the surface in the same way that a repository of documents in an organization is not equivalent to managing knowledge.  

So, my modern version of "know thyself" includes working on self-awareness, some mindful practices (to slow down the brain), values clarification (which helps me to focus on what's most important to me), deepening my reflective practice, exploring personal narratives, acknowledging cognitive biases, known unknowns and unknown unknowns, and setting personal learning goals while exploring my interests.  Given that this is all too cerebral, I'm integrating elements to "know your body" and engaging in a lot of movement because brain and body work together and a moving brain is much more capable than a sitting brain. 

Years of intermittent note-taking -- I can't really call that journaling -- have led to habits and lots of notebooks (physical and virtual) that remind me of who I was and what I was thinking.  This is also an aspect of "knowing oneself" and the evolution of one's mental frameworks but also being reminded of the stable core of who we truly are.  I can safely assume that I've acquired some bad habits along the way.  It would be interesting to try to identify those.  That would fall into the category of acknowledging biases.

Again, how should anyone proceed if they want to try to map their tacit knowledge or more accurately, externalize their tacit knowledge so it can be mapped?

1. Start with simple reflections around a specific project or event.  It can be overwhelming to try to reflect on the entirety of our daily experiences.  Focus is essential.  Think in terms of critical knowledge.   If you're not sure about what to focus on, keep a random journal for a few days or weeks and then review your entries to try to identify a recurring theme.  In fact, you could use a concept map to expose key themes that would then allow you to focus your reflections.   I've posted maps that were based on events or just individual readings. It's nothing fancy.

2. Define a learning agenda to further focus your reflective practice.  At first, it's probably best to identify a relatively narrow set of topics to focus on.  As discussed in another post, I undertook a pretty ambitious learning agenda this year with a broad set of topics.  That was intentional and it's something I can do in my current personal/work life.  It might not be sustainable if I were still working full time and managing a family. So, define a learning agenda that is reasonable and high value for you.  

3. Find ways to share.  Once you're comfortable with your own progress becoming a reflective practitioner, or just comfortable enough sharing, ''find ways to share'' what you are thinking, your insights, your learning process.  This should result in interesting interactions and further learning.  That is not my strength and I know it, which is probably why I just barely push a few posts on my blog and I consider myself "done" with the sharing.   

I also teach so perhaps that's where I end up sharing a lot of tacit knowledge without thinking too much about it, in a more organic way, based on conversations with students and the questions that come up. I may not be mapping that but hopefully some of it is still transferred and some of it is mapped in the student's own notes and mental models. 

Resources to Explore:  This is not an exhaustive list. 

Tacit Knowledge & Personal Knowledge Management

• The Tacit Dimension, by Michael Polanyi (of course)
• The Knowledge Creating Company, by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi (for the SECI model). 
• The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, by Donald A. Schon. 
• Personal Knowledge Management: How to do it, with 25 resources and 10 books on PKM, by Stan Garfield
• The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization, by Peter M. Senge.  There is a nice focus on personal mastery and mental models which are crucial for understanding tacit knowledge. 
• Harold Jarche - Seek, Sense, Share Framework.
• There are 173 entries tagged as PKM on my old Diigo account.  I have not updated anything recently.   First entry dates from 2009 and a lot of the links are most likely dead.  That's also partly why collecting, storing and tagging links (curating) cannot be the full picture.  
• There are also a number of posts on this blog that I've tagged as PKM although I clearly have not posted on this topic in a long time or didn't tag. 

Some focused on becoming a better "learner", some more focused on managing information overload.

• Mindshift:  Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential, by Barbara Oakley.  All the books by Barbara Oakley are focused on learning based on neuroscience insights and while targeted at "students" most insights are valuable more broadly to learning at any age, including learning from experience.
• Building A Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative potential, by Tiago Forte.
• Thriving on Overload: The Five Powers for Success in a World of Exponential Information, by Ross Dawson. 
• Riding the Current:  How to Deal with the Daily Deluge of Data, by Madelyn Blair. 

Concept Mapping Resources:

• Learning, Creating and Using Knowledge:  Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations, by Joseph D. Novak
• The Mind Map Book, Tony and Barry Buzan
• Visual Tools for Transforming Information Into Knowledge, by David Hyerle

Some concept mapping resources are more focused on business applications and collaborative mapping:  

• Applied Concept Mapping: Capturing, Analyzing, and Organizing Knowledge. by Brian M. Moon, Robert R. Hoffman, Joseph D. Novak and Alberto J. Cañas.
• Visible Thinking: Unlocking Causal Mapping for Practical Business Results, by John M. Bryson, Fran Ackermann, Colin Eden, and Charles B. Finn. 

From Individual Learning to Team Learning - The Role of Mentoring within the Learning Organization

I've regularly tried to emphasize the role of the individual in the learning organization and the concept of Personal Knowledge Management.  In my consulting practice, I want to provide support for individuals, teams and entire organizations, and I take the individual component very seriously.  Individual learning is the foundation for team learning and beyond.

Individual learning, however, isn't just a matter of self-reflection or independent learning.  Individual learning can be enhanced through existing, long-standing approaches such as mentoring.  While a minority of individuals may be highly self-motivated and embrace completely self-directed learning, I suspect that a majority of individuals could use some support to pursue self-directed learning and that support could come in the form of mentoring.

Ideally, mentoring in a learning organization would not be simply a matter of individual professional development within the purview of Human Capital Management, but also an organization-wide strategy to support team and organizational learning.

Mentoring can support individual learning, which in turn can enhance team learning. How?  The individual who has spent some time reflecting upon what they have learned from an experience is like to contribute more value to a team conversation around that same experience.  That individual is much more likely to come in and say things like "I could have done x instead of y and that might have alleviate this problem we encountered," or "I learned that I should really do x when faced with this kind of situation.  Next time I'll know what to do."  When individuals come into team learning conversations ready to discuss what they have personally learned, the conversation is likely to be richer, more honest and will contribute to more group learning.  The group conversation isn't just an accumulation of individual lessons, but the discussion of individual lessons is likely to yield a larger conversation around team dynamics and team lessons.

In this context, I see the role of the mentor as someone who supports individual learning and helps to strengthen those critical "learning to learn" skills.   On top of that, group mentoring and mentoring circles can be used to further support group or team learning objectives.

Learn or Die (Book 1 of 30)

Title: Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization
Author: Edward D. Hess

I'm starting the month-long challenge with this book because it resonates so well with my own work and my own thinking.  No need to provide my own synthesis.  I'll copy the inside cover blurb instead:

To compete with today's increasing globalization and rapidly evolving technologies, individuals and organizations must take their ability to learn -- the foundation of continuous improvement, operational excellence, and innovation -- to a much higher level.  In Learn or Die, Edward D. Hess combines recent advances in neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics, and education with key research on high-performance businesses to create an actionable blueprint for becoming a leading-edge learning organization.  

Learn or Die examines the process of learning from an individual and an organizational standpoint.  From an individual perspective, the book discusses the cognitive, emotional, motivational, attitudinal, and behavioral factors that promote better learning.  Organizationally, Learn or Die focuses on the kinds of structures, culture, leadership, employee learning behaviors, and human resources policies that are necessary to create an environment that enables critical and innovative thinking, learning conversations, and collaboration.  ... (Learn or Die --- inside cover blurb)

I have a bias towards organizational learning and I prefer to talk about learning, team learning, project learning,  and the learning organization, rather than knowledge management.  Learning has a more dynamic spin to it.  Even when I talk about knowledge management, I end up emphasizing knowledge flows, which is nothing more than learning.

Two things I liked about this book: 

First, I liked the reflection questions at the end of each chapter.  They're quite telling:

• What did you read in this chapter that surprised you?
• What are your top three takeaways that you want to reflect and/or act on?
• What behaviors do you want to change?

To me, the first question is meant to force you to think about what was new in what you read.  Reinforcing prior learning by reading things you already know is fine, but learning something new is even better.

The second question is an invitation to extract something of value to YOU as the reader and to think about it further.  You don't have to agree with everything you read.  Very often I'll read something that's new to me and I'll come up with new questions, which might drive further readings.

The third question doesn't seem to always apply, but that could be just the root cause of a lot of lessons observed and not learned.  I've learned something new but I don't take any step to either verify it through my own experience or implement it in any way.  I've caught myself writing "to do" notes based on readings but I don't have a rigorous approach to actually doing any of it. Some of it gets done and some of it is forgotten a day later. I've found that the best way (for me) to implement the "to do" list that emerges out of readings is to create a mini-project or mini-experiment.

Second, I liked the early attention to individual learning in the book and the connection to organizational learning.  "Organizations cannot learn unless the individuals within them learn." (p. 3).  It sounds obvious but most of knowledge management ignores the individual aspects and goes directly to organizational level issues and strategies. I feel like a broken record about this.  How much have I actually done in my own professional practice to strengthen learning at all levels, including at the individual level?

TO DO
1. Apply the three reflection questions to any new book (or article, paper, etc....) I read from now on and document answers;

2. Identify instances where my individual learning has been effectively shared in a group setting to contribute to team or organizational knowledge;  (that can be done in a blog post)

3. Compile a list of  "To Do" items throughout this Book Challenge and post it with a record of actions taken in response.

Related Resources

• See the Chapter Videos provided by the author if you don't have access to the full book or no time to read the full book.

KM and Integration

Yesterday's meeting of the Knowledge Management Association's DC Chapter was about integration (the joys and frustrations).  Integration can mean many different things.  To me, from a Knowledge Management big picture perspective, it has to do with making sure that KM activities and the overall strategy are a good fit for the organization, are as embedded in the workflow as possible, and well "integrated" with related functions such as HR, training/mentoring/coaching, but also IT, business strategy development/planning, etc... In other words, KM should not be an add-on; it's part of how the organization works.

Integration could also mean that as an employee looking for knowledge and information within the organization, I don't have to go to 20 different databases and disconnected networks that overlap and/or are incomplete.  Most people would welcome a personal dashboard with key job-related resources at their fingertips. We often attempt to create something that resembles such a dashboard.  For example, I use an image of my key performance goals on my desktop to serve as a framework for organizing key resources.  It's my personal dashboard. The more common alternative is an overloaded bookmark manager in the web browser.

I have struggled over the years with integrating my own set of personal knowledge and information management tools.  I take my personal knowledge management very seriously (perhaps obsessively) but I have often felt quite disorganized about it.  I always interpreted my perceived lack of organization as the result of my inability to stick to one tool for note-taking.  I'm sure I've written at least one blog post -- if not multiple posts -- about deciding between paper and electronic notebooks, mapping tools vs. wikis, etc...when in fact the solution was perhaps just to re-frame the question and think about it from an integration standpoint.  Consolidating everything into one or two tools does not necessarily make sense.  The key is to be consistent in the use of each tool and find ways to connect and integrate when necessary.  Below is a little map I came up with.

I have now resolved to maintain three separate TiddlyWikis.  I suppose everything could be combined in one but I prefer to separate them.  Specific pieces can easily be imported and synchronized from one to the other and therefore full integration is not critical.  Here are the distinctions between the three:

•  Barbara's Notebook:  The headers in this wiki are things like Toastmasters, Gardening, Food, Bike & Hike, etc... The first entry dates from 2008. It has 240+ entries with the tab "garden" and 122 with the tab "fiction".  I also found journal entries from my first days working at NASA in 2008.  Obviously at the time I wasn't following my current scheme of separating personal from work-related items.  It would be quite interesting, since the data is there, to do a visual representation of the tags I used over time.  I know I was very heavily into soundtrack music for a couple of years for example.
  
• Fillip Consulting, LLC is a TiddlyWiki I started in the fall of 2015 when I made the decision to go back to consulting.  It's fun to read my journal entries from less than a year ago and realize how far I've already gone.  This is where I will keep consulting related items from an operational standpoint.  I've added some functionalities to handle task management and a simple taxonomy with the tag function.  This will be for the business side of things.  It has major content tabs like "Business Plan", "tasks", "projects", and "customers".
  
• Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning is a TiddlyWiki apparently started in 2009 (the timeline tells me so) entirely focused on readings and research related to my area of profesisonal specialization or domain of expertise.   Here the key tabs are "readings", "experts", "KM practices", and a glossary.

It feels reasonably organized at the moment.  Time will tell how long it lasts. :)

I also have a closed/inactive TiddlyWiki that was called "Learning Log", which was a fascinating experiment in writing a didactic novel using a wiki format. 

A big shout-out to the inventor of the TiddlyWiki, Jeremy Ruston, and all the people who have worked on its improvements and variations over the years. 

Don't get me wrong, when I'm sitting in my hammock in the backyard to read a book or to brainstorm, I go for the old-fashioned pen and paper to take notes (and now, reading glasses). 

Harold Jarche's "Seek Sense Share"

Just finished reading Harold Jarche's "Seek Sense Share" paper on Personal Knowledge Management. 99% of the content resonates with me, so I'll focus on the 1% that has awakened by sense-making / critical thinking, based on personal experience.  This 1% covers two related issues, the scope of one's PKM system and the extent of public sharing and boundaries of public sharing.

I consider my PKM system to encompass all aspects of my life, not just my professional life and related semi-professional interests. However, being a reasonably private person, I have no intention of sharing all of it. Deciding which "public" tools to use to share specific types of information is an important part of learning how to make the most out of a PKM system.

Harold Jarche doesn't suggest we should share everything.   Determining the scope of one's blog, the types of resources to tag on social bookmarking sites are all important aspects of PKM.

In addition, blogging about one's work on a public site isn't always possible or advisable.  Most organizations are smart enough not to try to stop you completely from doing it but they will warn you to use common sense, which could mean that "internal issues" should not be discussed on external platforms.  If you blog internally -- on a personal blog within your organization's firewall -- you may be connecting to key organizational networks, but you miss out on connections with the rest of the world.

In the end, setting up a meaningful PKM system involves much more than identifying the right combination of tools to support seeking, sensing and sharing.  There are multiple strategic aspects that were not discussed in Harold Jarche's piece.  Still, please remember that I started by saying that I completely agree with 99% of it. I just think it needs a little more in terms of guidance to help potential Personal Knowledge Managers navigate key elements of their "system."

Also, I would have liked a mention of the fact that PKM systems need to be very flexible and dynamic, to be able to address new interests, to allow for new tools and constant experimentation.  I go through bursts of seeking/sensing (less sharing) and the tools I use vary over time.  I'm neither consistent nor systematic about any of it.  In the past, I've asked myself whether I shouldn't be more systematic and efficient about it.  I've now decided that messy and flexible is perfectly fine, especially since my PKM system is mostly private.

PLE, PLN, PKM --- I get it, it's about the P, it's personal.

I don't really think in terms of personal learning environments and personal learning networks but more in terms of personal knowledge management plan, which I see as more action oriented and focused. To implement my personal knowledge management plan, I use a number of tools and techniques (my Personal Learning Environment) and I draw upon the people within my network (Personal Learning Network).

I'm still trying to figure this out but I don't want to spend too much time on terminology. It's personal in the sense that it is uniquely my creation and my responsibility.  It's what works for me and what works for me is continually changing so I'd rather go with the flow rather than spent too much time defining what it is right now or what it has been in the past.  The problem is with this approach is that it's difficult to have a conversation with other people - especially a conversation with 1000+ people- if we're all using similar terms to mean completely different things.

I'm repeating myself.  I've blogged about this in the past (in February 2009).  I probably said something different at the time. 

KM & PKM - Missing Link

I'm a fan of PKM (Personal Knowledge Management) and I'm puzzled by the lack of interest within the community of Knowledge Management practitioners in integrating PKM in broader KM strategies. There's a feeling that PKM is too much about the individual and not enough about the team or the organization. That's plain wrong. PKM is about continuously improving one's performance by systematically and purposefully applying KM practices at the individual level in order to be a more effective team member and a more effective member of the broader organization.

It's about being a lifelong learner -- How do I keep learning new things, both by doing and by purposefully seeking out new knowledge? How do I know what I should be focusing on? How can I know what knowledge I'll need five years from today? Do I have a long-term learning plan or should I just pick up new knowledge here and there? This may get closer to existing career management activities. What's my individual learning Plan? Teams can have learning plans too. Organizations certainly have strategies and plans around core competencies and training.

It's about managing information flows -- How do I access and filter information that reaches me? Some of this may be about personal productivity but it's not just about personal productivity. It's also about ensuring that I have access to all the information I need. I seek out the information I need. I'm not just waiting for it to come to me. What's your communication plan? Are you a passive recipient of information or an active producer / author? How do you see your role as an individual within your team or project in terms of information flows? Do you ever find yoursef wondering what information to push forward to others in the team, not wanting to flood emails with less than germane information?

It's also about communication skills -- How do I communicate what I know? how do I share what I know? With whom do I share what I know? I have often felt that I knew much more than what I was able to convey to others. Is there something I could do to bridge that gap?

I'd venture that without PKM, there isn't any KM. If we agree that organization do some KM, have always done some kind of KM -- even if not systematically or effectively why can't we also agree that people have always done PKM, just not systematically or effectively. Without PKM, enlisting employees to be actively engaged in KM activities is like pulling teeths.

KM needs to happen at the individual level (PKM), at the team level, and at higher levels. The types of knowledge that are most relevant at each knowledge is going to be different and the types of processes needed at each level are going to be different. Most KM strategies focus on higher level needs of the organization, most of which are not immediately relevant to the individual or the team.

Start with PKM and you'll be much better able to handle the "what's-in-it-for-me?" questions when you try to talk about team / project KM and broader organizational KM. Connecting PKM to KM initiatives is the missing link in terms of motivation.

I'm wondering if the key to a successful PKM approach isn't to be embedded in existing Human Resources programs. I'd also work it through any ongoing social media intervention.

PKM Resources on Diigo.

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