Editing Virtual community of practice (section)

== Social networking ==
[[Web 2.0]] applications and social networks have increased the ease by which OCoPs are created and maintained.<ref name="Gunawardena, 2009">Gunawardena, Charlotte N. et al. (2009). A theoretical framework for building online communities of practice with social networking tools. Educational Media International. 46(1), 3-16.</ref>

The structural characteristics of a community of practice include a shared domain of interest, a notion of community, and members who are also practitioners.<ref name="Wenger, 2007"/> While Internet applications may incorporate one of these characteristics, they may not support a full community in practice.<ref name="Wenger, 2001"/>

Social networks allow for the creation of clearly defined domains of interest in which the interactions between people can support communities with common and recorded histories. Social network tools allow members of OCoPs to create and share knowledge and develop cultural historical processes.<ref name="Gunawardena, 2009"/>