Does it matter where you live?

Here’s an interesting thought; in today’s virtual world, location really does matter.

In his book, “Who’s your city?”, Richard Florida make a compelling case for the importance of location to you career.

Who’s Your City?

Richard Florida. Basic Books 2008, Hardcover, 384 pages, $14.89

The author’s point is something that was a discussion point of early work in the KM space: serendipity.  Personal and organizational knowledge was gained and shared serendipitously through encounters with friends, colleagues, and business contacts.  If you aren’t in close proximity to people there is often not a transfer of knowledge.  Even today there is a large amount of knowledge tranfer amongst smokers forced to congregate outside office building entrances.

This location principle can be seen in the creativity coming out of places like the Silicon Valley, the Media Gulch, etc.

The personal knowledge creation cycle described here shows how the location principle applies to KM.