Urgency and Disposability

September 2, 2007 by sean.

A lot of focus in corporate learning is ensuring that workers are able to focus on the most urgent priorities.  The learning required to handle urgent priorities is by definition disposable meaning that it’s appropriate for only a specific time. Once that time has passed, the information is no longer relevant and is best forgotten.

As the need for urgent information increases, the need for both rapid publishing AND rapid retiring of expired content also increases.

However, content developers are often hesitant to publish information that doesn’t look professional.  The time that it takes to make information look pretty often delays delivery of critical information when it’s most needed. Yet, many content developers argue that unprofessional-looking material threatens the confidence of the user in that information and, perhaps more importantly, the perceived value of their role. 

Perhaps the more realistic threat, is that users, unable to wait for approved information, take it upon themselves to distribute the information that they need to be successful  through informal social networks.

Often, this is one of the greatest fears and annoyances of professional content developers who argue that if anyone can publish information, how will people distinguish the good from the bad.  And, what happens when members of the informal social network gain greater credibility than that of the people who are paid to have this role?

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