Patrick Lambe over at Green Chameleon has written an interesting post which is half critique and half reflection. After getting down about a paper he is reading that seems to have a ‘stick information in a database’ theory of knowledge sharing (I’ve written about the problem with this approach here) to how a close friend is dealing with being diagnosed with a serious illness Patrick offers these lessons about knowledge sharing:

• Not all sharing is created equal – people share as part of their jobs, for purely altruistic reasons, or for a blend of the two
• Much of our important sharing has formal, well developed conventions and rituals
• Social prejudice can get in the way of knowledge sharing, even if the relevant information is available and known (Mary Douglas has written about the irrational ways societies deal with disease)
• To understand knowledge sharing, we have to look beyond the event to the context: a knowledge sharing event rarely exists in a vacuum; it’s usually a part of an interlocking network of knowledge sharing events, each of which complements and informs the others
• Knowledge sharing is often highly influenced by urgency, affective and emotional influences, and visible practical needs