Congress is shocked that companies like Google (and Yahoo! and Microsoft and AOL… the list goes on) are using cookies to track where us web surfers go in order to serve up better ads.

I think Microsoft gave the best response - silence.

Are you kidding me?

One of the foremost authorities on all things web and tech, is Harvard Professor, Nicholas Carr. Nicholar raises an important question here about what protocols we are to follow when information is separated from the data that encodes it.

With Google, Microsoft, Amazon and others all racing to build data centres to support the cloud computing model, how much weight can we give the physical resting spot of the data when, in a world of accessibility, the more important feature becomes the keyholder… and better yet, the keyholder’s street address?

It is all about the moderation. Who is saying what? Who is prohibited from contributing? Who can access but can’t post? Who is on probation and must submit for approval? Who can post, but so that no one else can see their posts? Who has ultimate rights and can bypass moderation and post anytime on any topic?

Moderating the workplace community is key to success. Just be careful not to moderate too much, otherwise you risk rendering the entire community irrelevant. Today, there are service providers who provide moderation services and automation tools.

Keep an open mind, identify the barriers and keep forging ahead with Learning 2.0!

RB