Two key characteristics of online CoPs set them apart from all other traditional methods of group collaboration. Unlike apprenticeships, brown bag lunches, or other informal methods of collaboration where information can be lost unless individuals take it upon themselves to spread knowledge, online exchanges allow you to capture, tag, and categorize information to easily search for later use. Secondly, this information can be accessed from anywhere around the world at any time.
By Brandon Williams, Consultant, The Educe Group
If you build it, will they really come? Drive the adoption of enterprise-wide social learning technology by creating thriving online communities of practice.