Special issue on knowledge management of web social media [Guest editorial]

Web social media includes computer-mediated tools that allow people to create, share or exchange information, ideas, pictures, and videos in virtual communities and networks. Web social media is defined as 'a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content'. Furthermore, web social media depends on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user generated contents. They introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between businesses, organizations, communities, and individuals