Information as cues to knowledge

Magdelena discusses some interesting ideas in PKM and "cues to knowledge."  The idea of "cues" suggests that all the information we put together is merely a mental cue to help people understand what it is we are trying to communicate.  As many people have said, one cannot write knowledge, at least in the sense of knowledge-in-action.  In this light, the more cues I can provide the eventual "user" of my bit of information, the more likely someone new will be able to make sense of the  The more context I can add to a document or email or voice mail, the more likely the recipients will be able to decipher and translate into something of import for them. 

If I am writing notes for myself, I can use my own language and abbreviations.  (She mentions the catch that if I am writing for my "future self," I need to be careful to use language or notes that will still make sense in a couple years.)  As my audience gets larger and the time factor gets longer, I need to be more careful about the words and language I use, so that I can best connect to those expected readers.  In an organization, where I know very few of the potential recipients of my cues, I have to put a lot of effort into writing well and providing enough context.  I wonder if this is some explanation as to why people don't participate in corporate KM projects? 

Magdelena draws this idea in a nice graphic that attempts to draw a continuum from personal KM to organizational KM.  And be sure to have a look at the comments, where there are some additional interesting thoughts.