I've discussed University of Manitoba's Virtual Learning Commons in this forum previously - at it's heart, it is an attempt to engage learners in the manner in which they prefer to be engaged. We've had a few things "fail" (i.e. who knew tag clouds were so confusing?) which has provided great learning experiences as the VLC is refined. We have created a Facebook application (if you can't beat them, join them) allowing learners to pull feeds into their FB profile...and are revising how information is presented to learners - in the spirit of linear "what has happened recently" used by social networking sites.
Building a Virtual Learning Commons: What do YOU want to do? (.pdf) is an exploration of our experience with VLC presented from the perspective of U of M Libraries and international students. Universities, colleges, corporations, need to understand the value of social networks...and need to begin experimenting with how they are to be used organizationally. For example, if a university wants to provide academic or social support for learners, I don't think it's feasible anymore to house those as centralized functions. Offload parts of it to the network. If a business wants to train and develop employees, again, I think exclusive centralization works well. Use communities of practice and networks - get people involved in the things that will impact them. Co-creators of learning and support, not solely consumers, is the substantial shift here.