Blog fog

Not sure about other bloggers but occasionally there is so much I want to talk about – I end up a tad paralysed and in a blog fog!  That’s happening to me now, so today, I thought I’d answer some of the personal questions a few of you have asked me via email.

(1) From Sherry B, the question to me is: are you intending to live off-the-grid and how will you be going about this?

Sherry: I really don’t like what I’m seeing in the world these days. Global warming, destruction of forests and animal habitats, the selfishness of people and so on. I do believe that the future will be one of water shortages, food scarcity, urban distress as people increasingly move into cities looking for water and food, increasing conflict between different ethnic groups. And I think ultimately this will lead to human extinction. There is no reason to believe that humans are exempt from extinction, especially if the world population numbers continue to explode.

So I am fully intending to withdraw from mainstream society. We are currently looking for land in Europe. Anywhere on this stressed out planet is likely to suffer from global warming but the indications are grim for Australia. Prof Ross Garnaut just released a new paper on carbon pricing and emissions as part of his Climate Change Review. You can read it here.  Indications are that parts of Europe won’t be so badly hit by climate change, so we’re looking for land that has its own water source, where we can grow vegetables, generate our own power and live a quieter life.

(2) From PaisleyDays comes the question: Are you paranoid about everything or just biometrics?

PaisleyDays: Love your name! I’m sure some people might answer, yep she’s paranoid about everything. But actually I’m reasonably laid back. I don’t fret about being attacked by strangers. I never really worried about the Communists invading during the Cold War. I don’t believe that the CIA, FBI or ASIO is tracking me or listening in to my phone calls (and dudes, if you are – you would have found out by now that I’m a pretty boring person who leads a relatively quite life!). So no, I’m not totally paranoid.

I do subscribe to the odd conspiracy theory now and then. I reckon that Lee Harvey Oswald was set up and that dark forces probably knocked off Prez Kennedy (dark forces being US Government types). I’m 50/50 on whether an alien was ever autopsied.

Biometrics and the erosion of our civil liberties though is a conspiracy for sure. The State/Government is attempting to control us and we are submissive sheep going along for the ride bleating the mantra “if you have nothing to hide, then why worry about having your fingerprints, irises and face scanned”. That mantra is a cop out if you ask me. The essence of the State/Government is that it is to serve you. But particularly since 9/11, we have seen an expansion of executive power in Western democracies, a detachment from the rule of law and a full-frontal attack on civil safeguards. Our relationship with the very Governments that are supposed to serve us has altered – and not in our favour.

(3) From ConstantCravings comes the question: why don’t you talk about KM more?

ConstantCravings: true to say my “day job” involves me in Knowledge Management. I’ve been in this field/discipline/profession (depends on your view as to which it is!) for about 12 years now. Do I ever get tired of it? Absolutely!  It’s a tough field to be in because organisations still don’t “get it”. Some places I’ve worked in have equated KM with IT. Others are very hierarchical and bureaucratic, so it’s still about “who you are and what you know”. Some organisations I’ve been in say they are innovative/adaptive/flexible but when it comes to trying to implement something fresh like a particular KM strategy, suddenly they’ve lost that  desire to be innovative.

So I guess like most KM practitioners, I go through phases. Some days, I think it’s a great job to be in and I’m making some headway or contributing to change; other days, I wonder why I’m bothering!

I could blog a lot more about KM sure but there are some sharp minds out there doing this already – Dave Snowden and Patrick Lambe to name two. And frankly, what keeps me energised and engaged is ranting and talking about all the stuff that ThinkingShift is about – from aliens, to LOLCats, to privacy, to the environment and climate change. When you’ve got the planet to fret about and bizarre things happening in this world of ours, why worry about KM!

Thx for your questions!