When Knowledge was Shared
Saturday: July 28, 2007 11:12 AM
Driving through rural Georgia is always interesting as it brings back emotions of nostalgia with scenes of the past. You can hardly pass through a town without being reminded of life 50 years ago. There is always an old church located just on the out skirts of town. The county court house is located in the center of town with a one way street that loops around the building. Retail stores align the road like dominoes. These small entrepreneur shops defined the work ethic and way of life for the rural south. Saturday night was a time to get dressed up and go to town. Sure you picked up a few supplies but mostly, it was a time of sharing stories of the week. Perhaps there was a new seed to try out or a new store opened up; everyone was there. Sunday was for Church and everyone went to listen to the sermon and afterwards, talk to your neighbors. There was even one store that wasn’t open on Sunday and the owner didn’t attend church but he did open for an hour or so after church just to save time for everyone.
Today, those stores are all but gone. Most are empty and boarded up. Less than 40% of the people attend church on a regular basis. As far as Government being the central point, it takes a Presidential election to attract more than 50% of the voters. The Wal-Marts of the world have strangled most of the retail stores to the breaking point. Harvard Business Review published a story this month on how they can also destroy manufacturers that can’t compete like Vlasic.
My question isn’t really about the retail, religion, nor the government but more about the time of knowledge sharing. Most families spent over an hour a day during dinner sharing knowledge and passing down information. Today, it may take a month to log that much family time. At work, we are consumed with the get it done yesterday mentality and seldom spend much time discussing business models and strategy. Knowledge exchanged through stories has a far greater impact and last longer that just the facts. The problem is that we don’t take the time to share that information anymore. Are Web 2.0 tools a poor substitute for actual interaction? The answer is obvious but maybe it’s the only alternative in this type of environment.
Driving through rural Georgia is always interesting as it brings back emotions of nostalgia with scenes of the past. You can hardly pass through a town without being reminded of life 50 years ago. There is always an old church located just on the out skirts of town. The county court house is located in the center of town with a one way street that loops around the building. Retail stores align the road like dominoes. These small entrepreneur shops defined the work ethic and way of life for the rural south. Saturday night was a time to get dressed up and go to town. Sure you picked up a few supplies but mostly, it was a time of sharing stories of the week. Perhaps there was a new seed to try out or a new store opened up; everyone was there. Sunday was for Church and everyone went to listen to the sermon and afterwards, talk to your neighbors. There was even one store that wasn’t open on Sunday and the owner didn’t attend church but he did open for an hour or so after church just to save time for everyone.
Today, those stores are all but gone. Most are empty and boarded up. Less than 40% of the people attend church on a regular basis. As far as Government being the central point, it takes a Presidential election to attract more than 50% of the voters. The Wal-Marts of the world have strangled most of the retail stores to the breaking point. Harvard Business Review published a story this month on how they can also destroy manufacturers that can’t compete like Vlasic.
My question isn’t really about the retail, religion, nor the government but more about the time of knowledge sharing. Most families spent over an hour a day during dinner sharing knowledge and passing down information. Today, it may take a month to log that much family time. At work, we are consumed with the get it done yesterday mentality and seldom spend much time discussing business models and strategy. Knowledge exchanged through stories has a far greater impact and last longer that just the facts. The problem is that we don’t take the time to share that information anymore. Are Web 2.0 tools a poor substitute for actual interaction? The answer is obvious but maybe it’s the only alternative in this type of environment.
