You don’t necessarily need new technology to start sharing your knowledge.  You can begin knowledge sharing using meetings, conversations, paper and pen, filing cabinets etc.  But if you want to exchange knowledge at a distance, and with other offices and other organisations, then technology will be very useful.

 

Email: Email is the simplest and one of the most effective technologies for sharing knowledge at a distance. Threaded discussions on in-house email systems or on the Internet are a great way for a community of practice to raise questions and exchange solutions.
 

 Intranet: An Intranet can act as a universally accessible corporate filing system for the knowledge of the organisation. However it needs to be seen as a filing and sharing tool, not as a set of glossy pages designed to impress. Structure the Intranet around the key activities of the organisation, and make sure that publishing material is easy and quick.
 

Communication tools: There are many electronic communication tools, which can help build networks within your organisation. For example the chat room software "msn messenger" (free from Microsoft) can be very powerful in allowing people in remote sites to have online conversations.
 

Collaboration tools: Video-conferencing systems are a very powerful way of bringing remote sites together, but are expensive. Microsoft Net meeting - another free software application - is a simpler alternative.
 

Video: One of the best ways to transfer knowledge is through the use of stories. This is even more powerful if the people with the knowledge are allowed to tell the stories in their own words. A picture tells a thousand words, and a moving picture tells them movingly, so consider the use of video to capture and transfer knowledge.
 

Simple technology: Sometimes the simplest technologies are the best. Conference telephone calls are a great way for a community to stay in touch. Newsletters can be a good way to disseminate learnings, knowledge can be exchanged face-to-face in meetings and conferences.