In the late 1999 and into early 2000 I was the CTO for a startup.

The product was ahead of its time (“can you put it in an email?” it the comment from a VC that still haunts me to this day — as if) and it was a platform play.  Inconsequential to this post.

The reason I bring this up is because when we set out to settle the name of the company one of my co-founders (a truly amazing person by the name of Mike Harris – with whom I lost contact unfortunately) suggested we use the word Tiedosta.

Turns out he had spent some time in Finland and he learned that the word Tiedosta in Finnish means “about knowledge”.

It is not knowledge, or to know – it is about knowledge (which, was a very important part of our product).

It is about the knowledge that surrounds the actual knowledge, about the processes and methods by which we obtain that knowledge, and grow it, and how the knowledge we use is merely a piece of a larger puzzle.

Tiedosta – about knowledge.

If you follow my writings and my research you know that knowledge is one of the things that intrigues me the most.  I have spent hours and hours reading and researching it, putting together new thinking and models about it, documenting what others are doing, and writing about it when I have time.

Which, coincidentally, is usually in the second half of the year… namely, now.

I am launching the first of a few research projects I am conducting this year on knowledge.  You know my sponsored research model where I do the research I would normally conduct with clients sponsoring parts of it.  I get to remain impartial, and they get much needed data and analysis – and I pay the bills.  Win, win, win.

In this case, I am working with IntelliResponse to find out as much as we can about knowledge management and web self-service for customer service.

We just published a survey on those topics and we would love your help.  I have embedded the survey down here

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

 

or you can click this link and take the survey in a full tab if you prefer.

Rather lengthy (32 questions total, divided in two topics, and need to qualify to respond to each topic) but clocks in at 20-25 minutes for most people who tested it.

Help us, please, find out more about knowledge management and web self-service for customer service.  As usual, for your participation you will get an exclusive report to be published at the end of September with all the answers and the analysis of the survey.

We are closing this survey at the end of the month – we want to accommodate vacationers, or we may extend it if the summer plays with our response rate… but we prefer to get more answers early.

You can stop and come back anytime, you can answer one or two questions a day, or all at once – your choice.  Either way, we will be very grateful and you get to find out what others are doing with knowledge management and web self- service for customer service.

Take the survey, please.

Questions? email me.

Comments? enter them below.

THANK YOU, truly.