KM World 2009

Dear Blog-Friends,

I was thrilled to receive a free invite - apparently as a consequence of being a long-time KM babbler...er, I mean, blogger - to KM World 2009 at San Jose. Well, as luck and all other (un)concerned entities would have it, it doesn't look like I can make it. I find it hard to digest that I can't go to such a popular and well-known conference, especially after having received a free invite. I will have it known - to no one in particular - that I am quite fond of attending conferences and think it is a perfect environment for me to get inspired and develop my ideas in! Read "If you happen to conduct a conference on KM or any other topic of interest to me, please do invite me. I promise to share whatever I know and spread whatever I learn at the conference" Anyway, if I want to avoid slipping into despair and further craziness such as exhibited above, I need to ignore this cruel twist of fate and hope I get to go next time around and move on with whatever is left of life.

So, here we are, what? Can't you see I am quite happy and ready to get my knowledge and learning from elsewhere? Thank God for Twitter, Blogs etc. Hmmph. OK. Ranting apart, here's the real good news

a) If you're going to the conference, you can avail a $200 discount for being a reader of this blog :-) [Finally, being a patient and optimistic reader of this blog has paid off, eh? All's well that ends well] - Here's the message I received:

Here is a discount URL for your readers:

http://tinyurl.com/mfmn2h

It automatically calculates a $200 discount for your readers. It also includes a free expo pass option!

They can also sign up just for a free expo pass at this link:

https://secure.infotoday.com/forms/default.aspx?form=kmw2009&priority=BLG10

b) The other good news - If you're going to the conference, you now know I am not going to be there to skew any sort of metrics related to participants' sanity. Enjoy!

Just in case you do use this opportunity to save $200 please do leave a comment here and ask for David White at the conference if you want to thank the person who decided to give this blog's readers a discount. :-) And it goes without saying that I'd love to know what knowledge you acquired or shared at the conference.

PS: Caveat: I am somewhat tired of people saying the KM is not about technology and that KM must satisfy a business need and that KM is all about the culture and that KM is not content management, among other things. Without wanting to sound blunt, I think we've beaten these things to death and they are obvious to most of us unless we indicate otherwise. I suspect that, more often than not, it is not that we don't believe these ideas but that we find it hard to get the rest of the organization to tow our line. Also, most of the time, people just stop at these high level statements. They don't elaborate and explain the why or how. Let's start talking about the "how". Let's start looking at fresh and unconventional ideas to realize the benefits of KM. Let's start getting into the details. Let's have case studies of how business needs were met. Or let's simply listen to those who are ready to talk about these things. :-)