Combining Twitter with a live discussion on agricultural knowledge sharing

This week, a group of KM4Dev participants in Brussels gathered in an ‘AgHuddle’ to explore knowledge sharing approaches and experiences in agriculture. On the afternoon of the second day, the group was asked to use social media to share out and discuss their findings.

Since the group contained various Twitter users, we decided to set up a time-bound twitter chat where the group of people in the room could quickly share experiences and insights ‘live’ with colleagues elsewhere. We called this process a ‘twiddle’ – that merged the use of TWItter with the face to face huDDLE.

Time from the initial idea to action was short, so the twitter users quickly called on their followers to join a discussion in 60 minutes time, and proceeded to help 4 new twitter users sign up and get ready to twiddle.

For some 45 minutes on 7 October, the twitter users in Brussels shared the face to face AgHuddle findings with colleagues from Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cali, Rome, and Washington DC.

As the flow of messages (retweets removed) shows, it was a lively discussion that added value to the face to face discussions, helped get the main ideas documented, and provided a chance to hear views and reactions from beyond the room. It was also a lot of fun.

A side effect from the face to face element in Brussels was the way the Twitter newcomers and oldtimers shared practical Twitter tips.

More on the AgHuddle: addictomatic or socialmention; a wordle picture

The Twits: @gaurisalokhe; @peterballantyne; @charlesdhewa; @rsamii; @ednahkaramagi; @sna_km; @ekekondo; @asabajf; @stefdeprez; @simonestaiger; @Bajan_Nads; @cdn; @mongkolroek; @pbrolley; @agchat; @jschunter

Twiddle - Use of Twitter with an AgHuddle

On 7 October 2009, a face to face 'AgHuddle' of KM4Dev participants discussed knowledge sharing approaches and experiences in agriculture. The issues raised were discussed through a 'twiddle' session that engaged colleagues beyond the physical meeting in Brussels - via twitter. See the story.

Below are the twitter messages (retweets excluded) exchanged among the participants (latest message first).

CDN As far as I can see, the Twitter chat was a success & not suffering from too much latency. 5:35 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe gr8 1st Twiddle! 4:36 PM October 7th
simonestaiger @gaurisalokhe It was fab. to feel / get actively involved! 4:31 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe rocks!!! Thanks all for your feedback. 4:28 PM October 7th
mongkolroek @gaurisalokhe is the Twiddle over? I was just getting started... 4:27 PM October 7th
mongkolroek @peterballantyne KM/KS for agri has unique issues, but we shouldn't expand them to exclude collab/coop in broader 4:23 PM October 7th
stefdeprez embedding institutional learning as a programme approach to 'capture' local knowledge4:20 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe @jschunter: Orgs need 2 support individuals who work on networks (FSN/e-agriculture R g8 ex). Orgs need 2 facilitate! 4:20 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe @cdn: great point. Farmer field schools R great examples of this.They promote sharing/learning betn farmers & researchers. 4:15 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe @mongkolroek just invented the word twiddle = twitter + huddle :) 4:14 PM October 7th
mongkolroek will someone tell me what a Twiddle is? 4:11 PM October 7th
mongkolroek I agree RT @jschunter: From KM view, it's not fruitful to get orgs engaged in networking, we need to start with individual 4:10 PM October 7th
rsamii @CDN you are absolutely right! Need to create conducive environment 4:10 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe Agree!!!! RT @mongkolroek: networks work when everyone gets something out of it, not cuz project, etc creates it 4:09 PM October 7th
peterballantyne @gaurisalokhe Last thoughts on #aghuddle: was a rich set of discussions, from #brosdi to #ifad; KS incentives, multidirectional flows, ....4:06 PM October 7th
CDN @rsamii Don't capture the farmers' knowledge but create an environment where they can share/exchange and nurture that! 4:05 PM October 7th
jschunter From KM's view, I don't think its fruitful to try get orgs engaged in networking, but we need to start with individuals 4:05 PM October 7th
mongkolroek @peterballantyne @ednahkaramagi networks work when everyone gets something out of it, not cuz project, etc creates it 4:05 PM October 7th
charlesdhewa: Policymakers should also become twitterers in agri knowledge sharing techniques. 4:02 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe just about closing the *twiddle* on at! Any last thoughts?4:01 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe @simonestaiger agree with networking. need to facilitate networking between development/donor agencies as well. 4:00 PM October 7th
rsamii Thank you everyone for contributing to this great twiddle! It was an absolutely a rich and unique experience 4:00 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi the best is to capture the knowledge from the farmers and make it accessible by others @Ekekondo 3:57 PM October 7th
sna_km @peterballantyne and also the farmers have knowledge that other dev agencies - donors, researchers, NGOs want3:56 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi i love the choosing of the right tool ... love that 3:55 PM October 7th
sna_km @rsamii formats is also an issue - how can we use audio +/or visual formats to reach farmers3:55 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe @pbrolley Agree. Examples of impact need to be collated & emphasized. Indicators are @rsamii's *pet project*! 3:55 PM October 7th
rsamii Another challenge is to choose the right tool for different target groups 3:53 PM October 7th
charlesdhewa: uniqueness of Ag KS is: Farmer knowledge is mainly practical and tacit 3:53 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi i think we need to look at the reasons why people arent sharing 3:53 PM October 7th
simonestaiger @peterballantyne Well are there other sectors that are so much depending on multi-stakeholder engagement? 3:52 PM October 7th
rsamii For farmers language is an issue and can hinder knowledge sharing 3:52 PM October 7th
pbrolley @rsamii in order to get donors and gov's to invest in KM/KS for collab across org's, we need to demonstrate impact w/i orgs 3:52 PM October 7th
simonestaiger @rsamii what we really haven't achieved is to scale up all the good experiences that have been working on the ground 3:51 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi donors?? isnt there a faster way?? i think this can easily take forever ... 3:50 PM October 7th
peterballantyne How unique is KM or KS in agriculture? 3:50 PM October 7th
sna_km Just had my first retweet from @agchat hoorah, our KS is working 3:49 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi How can we share more knowledge without creating more information overload? thought bse when u start, its hard to stop 3:48 PM October 7th
rsamii Donors and government need to included KM/KS in their respective policies, strategies and development projects 3:48 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe @ednahkaramagi its donors but also national governments who need to give KS/learning the importance it needs! 3:47 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi on the negative incentive, lets add civil wars which can lead to getting no meaningful information from people @Ekekondo 3:47 PM October 7th
sna_km How can we share more knowledge without creating more information overload?3:46 PM October 7th
charlesdhewa: Agree with Simone. Amazing amount of research has not been asking the right questions 3:46 PM October 7th
Bajan_Nads Need a good mix of people, skills, ideas, programs and funding dedicated to making k flow in ag -- doesn't flow on its own! 3:45 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe one idea was to facilitate the discussion between the donor agencies funding similar projects. Learning should B promoted.3:45 PM October 7th
rsamii @simonestaiger absolutely!!! Networks need to be built with involvement of farmers! 3:44 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi ... on the negative incentives, i add CORRUPTION!!!! 3:44 PM October 7th
simonestaiger @Bajan_Nads:Need to know if we ask the right questions, generating the right knowledge that people want&need. 3:43 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi will donor agencies agree to dedicate resources to knowledge sharing?? i think this is alot and will donors allow this? 3:43 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi hey? let me rephrase it ... how do we improve the flow of knowledge in agriculture in a sustainable manner? 3:42 PM October 7th
charlesdhewa: We could all benefit from stimulating feedback from farmers and rural communities 3:42 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe RT @Bajan_Nads Need 2 know if we are asking the right questions, generating right k that people want & need. 3:41 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi yeah i love the idea of inclusion in national donor agencies in development programs 3:41 PM October 7th
asabajf Need to dedicate resources to knowledge sharing 3:40 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi ah ok i understand the incentive suggestion .... but how can we sustain this in that manner? 3:39 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe @simonestaiger we talked about the problems with the way science is set up (publishing & copyright) 3:39 PM October 7th
Bajan_Nads Need to know if we are asking the right questions, generating the right knowledge that people want and need. 3:39 PM October 7th
Bajan_Nads Need to explore and open the channels of knowledge flow with our stakeholders-at all stages of research to development 3:38 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi the desire and will is important for a sustained more system 3:38 PM October 7th
rsamii @simonestaiger Wow that is such as great story.. . 3:37 PM October 7th
peterballantyne In the #aghuddle. Documenting and capturing main issues and challenges via this 'twiddle'... 8 of us all at once 3:37 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe @simonestaiger incentives is great point! we did a peer assist on that this morning. Outputs to come out in next few days! 3:37 PM October 7th
asabajf We need to include knowledge sharing in national and donor development strategies 3:37 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi in my view, networks work if and only if there is the desire to share otherwise the idea wont be sustainable 3:37 PM October 7th
simonestaiger @rsamii In the GFAR e-cons I loved the idea of detecting successful farmers to become mentors and key k sharers: 3:36 PM October 7th
asabajf Need to provide incentives 4 sharing knowledge and demonstrate benefits 3:36 PM October 7th
simonestaiger @gaurisalokhe We need to push and push open source philosophy and create incentives 3:35 PM October 7th
rsamii A priority is 2 harvest local content + build capacity at grassroot levels 2 systematically capture + share ag knowledge 3:35 PM October 7th
simonestaiger @peterballantyne We need to do a better job in extending networks and involving stakeholders of all kinds 3:35 PM October 7th
gaurisalokhe How do we improve the flow of knowledge in agriculture? Any thoughts? 3:33 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi incentives? i dont understand 3:33 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi we can do this by including the methods that our target groups are using to share information 3:32 PM October 7th
sna_km talking about incentives at the aghuddle 3:32 PM October 7th
sna_km sna_km How do we improve the flow of K in agriculture 3:31 PM October 7th
peterballantyne How do we improve the flow of knowledge in agriculture? - let us know... 3:31 PM October 7th
asabajf How do we improve the flow of knowledge in agriculture? 3:30 PM October 7th
rsamii How do we improve the flow of knowledge in agriculture? 3:30 PM October 7th
ednahkaramagi How do we improve the flow of knowledge in agriculture 3:29 PM October 7th
sna_km stocked up with coffee and biccies ready for the #twiddle 3:29 PM October 7th

Knowledge sharing as enabler of rural change

The KM4Dev workshop in Brussels (6-8 October 2009) includes a thematic 'AgHuddle' for people interested in knowledge sharing (KS) and knowledge management (KM) in the agriculture sector.

The second area of discussion will be on enabling processes of rural change.

Beyond our rather structured organizations and their particular concerns, we can see an explosion of interest in the use of ICTs to facilitate different aspects of knowledge sharing and application in and with rural communities - and among the people who interact with them.

While the attention is often focused on the technologies, we can also see many 'knowledge'and 'information' strands: So-called 'innovation systems approaches' explicitly recognize that innovation needs the involvement of different types of organizations and actors - and effective KS, communication and learning among them; there are some efforts to document local content and farmer/community knowledge, catalyzing its exchange among farmers and with others; providers of mobile devices and services seek ways to tap into existing knowledge systems and so offer added value services; various 'question and answer' services have been set up to connect farming communities with expert knowledge and advice; content creators - in research or academia - are looking for ways to translate their knowledge so it will be taken up by rural communities; and we are seeing the emergence of diverse 'infomediaries' offering a range of knowledge access, connecting and brokerage services across different media - radio, video, web, phones, etc.

Some of the questions we will discuss include:

• How do we effectively work with multiple producers and consumers of knowledge, across cultures and languages and embedded in development processes?
• How, and how well, do we share knowledge in a fast-moving technical environment where some types of mobile connectivity are growing rapidly, even among the poorest?
• How do we effectively work in partnerships with diverse actors that have the potential to translate knowledge to action?

We plan to document and share our discussions across the web - and on this blog: Share your ideas and experiences by commenting on this blog.

See also the first area of discussion: 'KS and KM in changing organizations.'

Knowledge sharing in changing agricultural organizations

The KM4Dev workshop in Brussels (6-8 October 2009) includes a thematic 'AgHuddle' for people interested in knowledge sharing (KS) and knowledge management (KM) in the agriculture sector.

The first area of discussion will be on KS and KM in changing organizations:

All across the agricultural sector, knowledge, learning and innovation are emerging as key points where organizations need to invest and make a difference. Capturing, mobilizing, and sharing different types of knowledge and information - and putting them to good use - has moved up organizational agendas.

This attracts attention from different domains - managers, researchers, IT, web, communication, intranet people, publishing, libraries, learning, and KS/KM.

We can see increased attention to strategies in this area; many experiments with different social media and toolkits; continuing efforts to build and sustain different types of learning networks and sharing communities; more attention to knowledge 'systems' and 'products' and their presentation/visualization across different platforms; diverse ways to organize and deliver and report on face to face meetings; an interest in 'open' knowledge and its accessibility; and increasing conversations among the KS/KM champions across organizations.

Some of the questions we will discuss are:

• How do we best work with multiple knowledge producers, uses, users, communities and types of knowledge?
• How do we work with multiple approaches and tools, and with content that is increasingly mobile and accessible across many increasingly mobile platforms and devices?
• How do we with partners who can extend the reach of the knowledge?
• How do we track and demonstrate progress and impact of KS/KM activities, making the case that these approaches and tools are not 'add ons' - that they can make any activity more efficient and effective. Are there ways we can demonstrate this?

We plan to document and share our discussions across the web - and on this blog: Share your ideas and experiences by commenting on this blog.

See also the second area of discussion: 'KS and KM enabling processes of rural change.'