Conference report 2006 KMWorld Conference Review

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to discuss the annual KMWorld Conference that took place October 31 through November 2, 2006 in San Jose, California.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the conference presentations that indicated that knowledge management may be at the end of one era and at the beginning of its next stage.Findings – Conference presentations pointed to three themes affecting KM. The first theme was that new elements are being associated with KM, specifically innovation. The second theme was that emerging technologies have become great levelers and social network enablers for members of organizations. The third theme was that KM theory and practice were in the process of transformation. This last theme has the sub‐themes: KM would become more socio‐technocratic; it would devolve from large‐scale enterprise‐wide initiatives to specific project‐oriented initiatives; or the view that KM could not fulfill its promise and that the real work at hand was in the areas of sense ...