I used to be sceptical about something called ‘knowledge management’, but like lots of terms, it’s dependent on how it’s defined. As a vague concept repeated by expensively paid consultants who think it’s the latest buzzword - beware. But as a set of processes and tools which include communities of practice; how people learn; the use of the tacit knowledge in people’s heads; what is knowledge? then I do think it is a discipline distinct from ‘information management’.

I like Elizabeth Orna’s formulation in ‘Making Knowledge Visible’ in which she talks about knowledge being in people’s heads and it only becomes visible when it is spoken, expressed in actions (the work of a surgeon or mechanic), or is captured in emails, reports and documents - in which case it is stored in information products.

On the basis that this is a distinct discipline, good luck then to Dave Gurteen and the google groups adventure he’s set up.