Knowledge Management Congress Australia 2012 Debate "Can Tacit Knowledge Become Explicit Knowledge using Social Media?"

There was a interesting discussion at this years Knowledge Management Australia Congress  and the debate was regarding  whether  " tacit knowledge can become explicit knowledge using social media?". I wouldn't really call it a debate because all 4 speakers were in general agreeance that they don’t believe that tacit knowledge can be converted into explicit knowledge BUT social media tools are by far the best tools out there to transfer knowledge.

Just a quick background on what is  tacit and explicit knowledge are as defined by Wikipedia

Explicit knowledge is knowledge that has been or can be articulated, codified, and stored in certain media. It can be readily transmitted to others.

Tacit knowledge on the other hand is the kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalising it.

 I though of a simple example this the other day while watching the TV show Master Chef.

Can you read a recipe book written by a master chef, cook the dish following every instruction perfectly, producing a meal  that tastes just as good as that prepared by the master chef?

Probably not, because you don’t have the same level of skills or training acquired by the chef with years of experience.

But that in itself is the interesting part because it is now easier than ever to convey knowledge in a more collaborative and personalised manner using social media. It is now easier than ever the learn.

Let go back to the Master Chef example. If the recipe was recorded via video instead of written, this would now allow amateur chefs to imitate the master chef.  The visual aid is an improved technique for conveying knowledge. It gives you an insight into the emotion and passion the master has while preparing the dish. Lets take this a step further and assume that the video had a online forum allowing  the amateur chefs to communicate with the master or with each other. This engagement is a tremendous advantage for the amateur allowing them to communicate things that may have gone wrong allowing them to improve.

Now you can see that although the master chefs tacit knowledge cannot me converted into explicit knowledge , social media has improved the learning process substantially.

The role Social Media can play in the knowledge transfer means that today more than ever the following are possible:

• Social Media tools give us a greater transparency to a larger number of peoples experiences

• Social Media tools are the best way of dealing with complex problems

• Social Media tools allow large organizations to transfer knowledge more effectively

• The fact that Social Media tools can be personalised means people stay more engaged in conversations.