Sometimes, when reading about Social Software and Enterprise 2.0 one can receive the impression that this is a relatively new development. Everybody refers to the Web 2.0 that dates back less then five years as a prerequisite for Social Software. So, Social Software and therefore Enterprise 2.0 can also date back a few years only? This is both true and wrong. While the term âSocial Softwareâ has only become relatively popular within the last two or more years, the core ideas of Social Software and especially of Enterprise 2.0 (supporting collaboration in organizations) enjoy a much longer history, running back to Vannevar Bushâs ideas about the Memex in 1945, and traveling through terms such as Groupware and Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) in the 1970s to 1990s. A very good documentation of this history can be found in a blog post by Christopher Allen (2004). Taking a closer look at this history and at the different fields that are or have been addressing support of collaborative work in organizations seems quite relevant for Enterprise 2.0 since we are faced with similar issues there. Especially a closer look into CSCW can provide us with some lessons from the past â but also with a better insight into the differences between classical Groupware and Social Software in the enterprise. This is what I am trying to do in this chapter.    «

Sometimes, when reading about Social Software and Enterprise 2.0 one can receive the impression that this is a relatively new development. Everybody refers to the Web 2.0 that dates back less then five years as a prerequisite for Social Software. So, Social Software and therefore Enterprise 2.0 can also date back a few years only? This is both true and wrong. While the term âSocial Softwareâ has only become relatively popular within the last two or more years, the core ideas of Social Software a...    »