Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, Second Edition

Abstract

In this chapter, we review the potential role of Web 2.0 in supporting knowledge creation and acquisition, storage and retrieval, transfer and sharing, and integration and application in the context of communities and networks of practice. We categorize applications based on their relative support to two key Web 2.0 principles. The first is that data is the new ‘Intel Inside,’ leading to the category of content publication platforms, where the content is supported by the social network. This category captures tools such as blogs, multimedia aggregators, and wikis. A second core concept is to leverage network effects, leading to the category of social media platforms, where the social network is supported by content. This category includes social tagging, synthetic worlds, and social networking software. We illustrate each category with cases and identify how different Web 2.0 platforms enable both knowledge management process and practice. Finally, we suggest a future evolutionary path of knowledge management-supporting technology through enterprise mash-ups and Web 3.0.