BookWatch: Digital Habitats

Digital Habitats: stewarding technology for communities1is the latest book by Etienne Wenger and colleagues, who popularised the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) for knowledge management. CoPs are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems or a passion for a topic and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting in an ongoing way2. They are characterised by their focus on situated learning, by having a defined field of interest, a bounded community and a practice, that is, something they are doing with their knowledge. CoPs can be conducted face to face or in an on-line environment. This book deals with the latter and provides a primer to guide facilitators (Technology Stewards) in the practice and art of paying attention to the evolution of the community and finding ways to support it.

Stewarding includes selecting and configuring technology as well as supporting its use, but is differentiated from IT support in that the steward has membership of and experience of the inner workings of the community. The book provides a guide for stewards in developing and supporting their communities. It provides advice, case studies and work plans to assess aspects of your community’s communication needs at all stages of a community’s life cycle. When are blogs and wikis useful? What features to look for in software? When to use open source software and how to configure it. It is not a buyers guide to software, neither is it a guide to software selection, but it does provide a wealth of ideas about the many activities that can support different types of communication.

The book makes a complex subject easy to understand. It is written for those people who may not have advanced IT skills but who take on the role of facilitating an on-line community. These people will find it invaluable.

References

1. Wenger E, White N, Smith JD. (2009). Digital Habitats: stewarding technology for communities. CP Square, Portland Oregon. Available on-line <http://technologyforcommunities.com/>
2. Wenger, E. McDermott, R. & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A guide to Managing Knowledge. Harvard Business School Press.