Bobby Kishore of Microsoft is explaining how to create a KM system without relying on explicit metadata. People don’t like filling out forms and entering metadata explicitly. So, a KM system ought to mine content for metadata.

That’s certainly right. But here’s a related question: Why don’t people enter metadata? It’s not simply because it’s a pain in the butt: individual pain for organizational benefit. It’s also because filling in metadata makes us pull back from the world, an attitude that goes against our biology. In fact, it’s desire itself that draws us into the world and makes us shudder as we draw back from it.

David Reed comments that the way people describe how they share information isn’t how they share information. Huge implications for how you build a KM system.

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