This semester, I've adopted a new textbook for my Management Information Systems course. Several chapters in the new textbook provide detailed case studies of technology firms (e.g., Facebook, Google, Amazon.com) as well as firms that are aggressively using technology in a strategic manner (e.g., Zara, Netflix). In my previous blog post, I shared some things I had learned while preparing to teach my students about social media and collaboration technologies. The following chapter in the text provides an introduction to Facebook.
In the textbook. +John Gallaugher does a wonderful job providing an overview of the history of Facebook as well as identifying reasons why managers and students of management should learn about Facebook. In reviewing that material, I've had some additional thoughts that I would like to review in this and future posts.
Facebook was founded in 2004 and has achieved the dominant position in the global social networking technology industry. In wandering university hallways, I've noticed that Facebook has become a verb in the same way Google has. Whereas Google is synonymous with search, Facebook is becoming synonymous with message. "I'll Facebook you" is becoming a common expression. This contrast between the actions associated with Google and Facebook remind me of some concepts in the area of knowledge management. (Knowledge management involves the examination and use of the knowledge assets of an organization.)
In a 1999 Harvard Business Review article, "What's Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge", Morten Hansen and his coauthors identify two strategies commonly applied for managing knowledge: a codification-based strategy and a personalization-based strategy. In a codification-based strategy, knowledge is encoded into a format in which is can be stored in a computer for later retrieval. For example, IT help desk personnel spend a lot of time servicing the same types of user problems. In these situations, it can be helpful to have documented the solution to a users' problem so that it can be reused in the future.
An example of this practice can be found at the University Information Technology Services Knowledge Base created and maintained by my alma mater, Indiana University.The UITS knowledge base has a searchable index of detailed technical questions and answers. Some questions are university specific like "What should I do if I can't connect to IU secure wireless?" Others are applicable to a general audience like "What is Ubuntu Linux and how can I get it?" Each of the 17,000+ articles in the knowledge base has been created based on commonly submitted questions. Active articles are updated based on user and technician feedback. The organization's knowledge is captured and stored in a system that is searchable and accessed by hundreds of thousands of people around the world each year.
In contrast, a personalization-based strategy for knowledge management focuses on supporting direct person-to-person contact. In this case, technology can be used to help put individuals who need specialized knowledge in contact with someone who developed or has access to that knowledge. Technology supports for this strategy includes a variety of communication support technologies including text chat, blog platforms, group discussion forums, and social networks.
Now, back to the Google --> Search and Facebook --> message comparison; started out as a firm largely focused on addressing the challenges of global knowledge management using a codification-based perspective. And they've done that very well. Facebook on the other hand started out as a firm based on making the world more connected, and they've done that very well. Because of this historical company culture, I think each firm has had and will have challenges in competing directly with each other. Google has made a number of efforts to "get social." Most of the effective social thrusts by Google have been the result of acquisitions (e.g., YouTube, Blogger, Google Docs).
With Facebook, their search function has left a lot to be desired. The recently released Graph Search is a huge improvement, but is still very focused on connecting people and not necessarily on finding codified knowledge. Personally, I still can't efficiently find previous posts by myself or my friends on Facebook. I find that very frustrating.
The last few years has seen some convergence in the competitive space of these two firms: Google has entered the social networking space with Google+, which--in my opinion--demonstrates they're finally figuring social out. The search feature in Google+ is very robust. And the integration with other Google services will be a key competitive asset. I believe Google realized that we're seeing a cultural shift in the way people use the web. Personal information consumption is increasingly driven social shares from sites like Facebook than by RSS feed based subscriptions. Users are increasingly turning to social connections to find answers to their questions and for product information.
Much has been written about the threat of the unindexible dark web of user-generated content within walled gardens like Facebook to the reach and utility of Google's public search engine. But I feel the greater threat to Google lies in the change in user behavior. Not only can't Google find what people posted to Facebook, the day may come when a critical number of people turn to personal contacts through services like Facebook to request information rather than think about using a search engine to find that information. This is why I believe Google is throwing so much emphasis and resources into Google+.
On Facebook's end, I fully expect them to eventually begin leveraging the site metadata they have through the vast network of Like buttons that now spans much of the web. By combining the like graph with the social graph may give Facebook an opportunity to finally figure out how to apply their toolset to a codification based strategy.
So, what do you think? Are you seeing these trends as well? Do you have experience or data that suggests otherwise? Has the general shift from blogging to social networking really marked a substantive change to the way we use the Web? Is Facebook gunning for Google's lunch, or are these simply two large tech firms people use and will continue to use for different purposes. What do you see as the future of knowledge management as it relates to individuals accessing information on the World Wide Web?
