A UK report from iSociety in 2003.

Social Capital refers to the value of social networks. To describe something as 'capital' is simply to highlight that it is a resource we can invest time and money in, and which pays returns.

We now have the ability to communicate with over 600 million internet users worldwide. Meanwhile, research suggests that trust levels in Europe and the U.S. have been falling over the last ten years. As we welcome the internet into our everyday lives, are we replacing quality of connection with quantity?

Society goes technical; software goes social.

As much as anything, social software is an intent, a cultural, perhaps even a political expression of how the internet can improve our lives.

One of the more confident predictions made during the 90s was that the dawn of the internet would see the rise of decentralized, networked organizations. Hierarchical corporations would be superseded by ultra-nimble networks of independent teams or small businesses trading with one another, achieving the sort of adaptability that traditional organizations could only dream of. But today, 'networked organizations' are few and far between....