Editorial

Citation

Stankosky, M. (2007), "Editorial", VINE, Vol. 37 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/vine.2007.28737caa.001

Editorial

I am always amazed, as an editor, when the time comes for me to hope, and sometimes pray to the literati gods, for sufficient quality articles for the “next” edition. The gods have been good to me since I started this position over a year ago. I am impressed with both the continued responses, and the insightful articles and cases that continue to come in. It truly proves that knowledge is an infinite resource that knows neither boundaries nor limits. Who could predict the richness and diversity of articles from people and places all over the globe? Knowledge is truly a universal asset, and it finds its vitality when it is codified, such as it is in this journal. Nothing much happens until it is written down. Imagine the loss we would suffer if our contributors kept their ideas and experiences to themselves.

I want to quote a colleague of mine, who is one of the wise practitioners in the knowledge business (Steven Wieneke of General Motors): “All businesses are knowledge-based. The issue is whether the knowledge is visible, valued, accurate, relevant, shared, really understood. In my mind, knowledge management (KM) is not about bringing knowledge to people but assisting them in seeing it all around them.”

This is one of the greatest challenges in our knowledge-based economy and society: how to identify and leverage the relevant knowledge assets that surround us. We live in a knowledge-rich era, where practices and technologies abound to assist us in our life and business endeavors. As Steven alluded to, can we see all the relevant knowledge for improving our lives and professions that exists around us? Alex Bennet and Niall Sinclair both take us on a journey into that realm: one with a speculative conversation; and the other exploring the mystery-side of KM. We also have rich contributions that cover topics such as: systems engineering, complex theory, library portals and search engines, open-source software reuse and acquisition, intangible assets' valuation, a model for KM use in government, KM practices in differing cultures, and the ever-present KM framework pursuit.

With convincing certainty, the gods were good to me this time. However, it does not keep me from making offerings to them. Please heed them, and send in your knowledge for the next issue: you have only to write it down to discover it. Perhaps, in doing so, you will be able to add value to yourself and the world.

Before I close, I want to acknowledge one of our contributing writers: Dr William Schulte, a Professor at Shenandoah University. I met Bill over nine years ago, and continue to be impressed with his rich knowledge assets, especially in the behavioral and cultural domain. Bill has a knack for seeing new things that most of us miss, and has been a great help in producing many of our doctoral dissertations at George Washington University that have made major strides in the field of km. Bill is one of the finest gentlemen I know, and I am ever grateful to him.

Best wishes for a relaxing summer.

Michael Stankosky