I was reading a post on eLearningTech recently and this quote caught my attention:

The Institute didn't include any courses from suppliers such as Learning Tree, but was rich with resources from Books24x7, TechChek (a web-based technical skills assessment tool), internal company communities and knowledge sharing wikis. A ning site, podcasts, video learning resources, RSS feeds from the large technology providers such as Cisco, Sun and Microsoft, and a number of other facilities including a range short formal modules deep-linked from the corporate LMS that could be pulled on-demand.

What's funny is that what is described here is essentially a form of knowledge management, something that I was introduced to at least five years ago (if not more!) in one of my MIS classes. The concept is not new, it's been around for at least ten years, however with the "new and shiny" web 2.0 distracting us, it seems to have been somewhat forgotten among both management circles and education circles (judging from the blogs that I read anyway) despite the fact that we are essentially describing the same animal when we talk about Informal Learning and Knowledge Management (think of blind men describing an elephant).

What's old is new again I guess.