Social networks: from the Web to the enterprise

Social networks are just one layer of functionality for next-generation enterprise portals. They are implemented in the context of other knowledge discovery and management functions. At Verity, we place them at the top of a three-layer knowledge infrastructure. At the bottom is a discovery layer that addresses the general area of search, including parametric and role-based search, security, and ranking mechanisms. In between these basics and the implicit structures of social networks is the content organization layer, which addresses issues of classification, taxonomies, and profiling. The key to next-generation enterprise portals is to integrate all three layers into a knowledge management experience that demonstrably improves user productivity.