Intranets are not information dumps

Gerry McGovern has highlighted that intranets should not be information dumps. To quote:

Maybe we distribute information so that people can become better informed. But what are these things we want people to become better informed about? And why aren't these things we want people to become better informed about connected with productivity or collaboration?

Posted by jamesr at 09:11 AM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets

Only a few days to win an Intranet Innovation Award

It's now only a few days until entries close this year for the Intranet Innovation Awards. It should only take about an afternoon to put together an entry, and we had some strong winners last year. Looking forward to seeing what this year brings!

Posted by jamesr at 08:32 AM | Permalink
Categories:

Sage advice on wiki adoption: keys to success

Stewart Mader has written about keys to wiki adoption. To quote:

Meetings are an especially good place to start. Plan agendas using a wiki, then record minutes & notes, and action items. Between meetings, you can update the status of items, and this sets the stage for deeper wiki uses, like project management.

[Thanks to Michael Angeles]

Posted by jamesr at 02:29 PM | Permalink
Categories: Collaboration, Enterprise 2.0

A first taxonomy for "search log junk"

Avi Rappoport has written about "search tools junk". To quote:

Search logs contain a lot of weird things, and some of them can have a significant effect on search log analysis. Having looked at tens of thousand lines of search log entries, I offer this first attempt at defining some of the weirdest and least useful kinds of log entry, which I call "Search Log Junk". Here are the types of junk that I've seen most frequently.

Posted by jamesr at 06:33 AM | Permalink
Categories: Search tools

Don't try to boil the content ocean

The phrase 'trying to boil the ocean' refers to tasks that are clearly and heroically impossible. This is exactly what most teams take on when they try to get every intranet page up to the same high standard.

In the earlier article titled Intranet authoring: a hobby?, the role of intranet authors was explored, highlighting that many are required to maintain their content 'on the side', with little training or support.

Most intranets struggle to deliver consistent, accurate, readable and valuable content. Despite this, the goal of many intranet teams remains to deliver universally 'good' content.

This briefing will discuss common approaches to improving content, focusing on those that have failed. Suggestions will then be made on ways to target efforts for best effect.

Failed: content cleanups

Many teams attempt a content cleanup on a regular basis, perhaps every year or two. These involve reviewing most sections of the site, and the content contained within.

These reviews are looking for ROT (redundant, outdated or trivial), generating 'hit lists' of content that can be removed.

While these very easily remove hundreds or thousands of pages, the long term impact is negligible. As fast as content is reviewed by the central team, more is published by decentralised authors.

The process drains the energy of the intranet team, and often frustrates content owners. Even after a major cleanup, the intranet rapidly accumulates more content problems, and reverts to its previous state.

[CM Briefing 2008-06, read the full article]

Posted by jamesr at 08:45 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management, Intranets, James' articles