More on the social side of knowledge management via elearnspace: “The state of social networking software for the enterprise”:
Two things come to mind with enterprise use of social tools:
1) Organizations that I’ve worked with are generally too unaware of themselves and their strengths and expertise. Social software can greatly aid the “coming to know oneself” that most larger corporations need…but too often, hierarchy and information secrecy reduce it’s effectiveness.2) Expertise and knowledge are not “database-able”. They reside in people. And tools are required that initiate and sustain dialogue that translates into deeper levels of understanding. Software, like social networking tools, is an enabler, but often clashes against the existing culture of the organization. Software implementation is a change process…
Yes, social software can help raising (knowledge and competency) awareness, where it acts as an enabler, facilitating communication, and possibly also cooperation and collaboration.