Participation in Social Networks as Feral Information Systems

Social networking systems blur the distinction between the private and working spheres, and users are known to use such systems both at home and on the work place, both professionally and with recreative goals. In fact, several traditional information systems have been modified in order to include social aspects. However, in the vast majority of cases, social networking platforms are used without corporate blessing, maintaining their status as feral systems. This chapter provides some background notions about theories of participation in social networks. In particular, it reviews the notion of social capital, which may be important both for the individuals that are able to accumulate large amounts, and for organizations. Subsequently, it shows the role of social capital in the participation in online social networking activities, in the various cases of Virtual Organizations, Virtual Teams, and online Networks of Practice. Finally, it describes the present situation and some possible prospects, where social elements are being increasingly introduced into more traditional business systems, such as CRMs and ERPs, with great promises and mixed initial results.