Knowledge dating and knowledge sharing in ad-hoc transient communities

This chapter will focus on the question of what rules and policies are conducive to the emergence of an adequate support infrastructure in the non-formal settings of a Learning Network. Once such an infrastructure is in place, a variety of ways again embedded in rules and policies may be used to guarantee its continued exis-tence. This was the subject of the previous chapter. Here the focus is on the phase of the emergence of social interaction and the formation of an incipient social in-frastructure. It is in this stage that the lone learner makes acquaintance with his or her online peers. More specifically, since learning through the exchange of knowl-edge is the ultimate objective of any Learning Network, we will present guidelines for effective and efficient knowledge dating in Learning Networks; ultimately, this should lead to knowledge sharing. During our discussion, we will introduce the notion of ad-hoc transient communities, temporal online gatherings of people fo-cused on a particular issue, which precisely because of their focus and transience help build a social infrastructure in a Learning Network. Ad-hoc transient com-munities may be seen as a knowledge dating and sharing service, offered in the context of a Learning Network