Social Web: Web 2.0 Technologies to Enhance Knowledge Communities - Community-Built Databases: Research and Development - page 5

According to McKinsey's Global Survey on Internet technologies in January 2007,
more than 75% of corporate executives indicate a plan to maintain or increase their
investments in technology trends that facilitate collaborations such as peer-to-peer
networking, online social networks, blogs, podcasts, and web services [ 6 ]. Many of
these executives also recognize the strategic importance of Web 2.0 technologies and
the potential value of their investments in these technologies. A survey carried out by
Forrester also shows the increasing corporate spending on Web 2.0 technologies and
tools, which is estimated to reach $4.6 billion globally by 2013 [ 7 ].
1.1.2 The Role of Social Networking
After analyzing seven Web 2.0 technologies including blogs, mashups, podcasting,
RSS, social networking, widgets, and Wikis, Forrester reports that social network-
ing has the potential to attract the greatest levels of investment [ 7 , 8 ]. Social
networks are “circles in which people interact and connect with other people” [ 9 ].
They provide an appropriate environment for collaboration and knowledge sharing.
According to Fraser and Dutta [ 10 ], social networking sites can generally be
classified into five broad categories: egocentric, community based, passion centric,
media sharing, and opportunistic. Egocentric networks represent popular user
profile sites like MySpace and Facebook that serve as virtual platforms for identity
construction, personal creativity, and artistic expression. The community networks
connect members with strong identity linkages based on nation, race, religion, and
other social communities that also exist in the physical world. Passion-centric
networks, also known as “communities of interest”, connect people who share
similar interests and hobbies. Media-sharing sites such as YouTube and Flickr are
popular social networking sites which are defined primarily by their content, rather
than their members.
The main focus of this chapter is on opportunistic networks which represent
socially organized knowledge communities where members look for professional
networking and opportunities in their profession or academic discipline. These
include networking sites for experts, scientists, practitioners, and researchers in
various professions (see Appendix 1 for the list of communities examined).
1.2 Social Web and Organizational Knowledge Communities
Enterprise 2.0 is the term used to refer to the use of Web 2.0 platforms by organiza-
tions on their intranets and extranets in order to make visible the practices and
outputs of their knowledge workers [ 11 , 12 ]. Web 2.0 platforms have fueled the
creation of online communities within business organizations that can encourage