I enjoyed an article Jeff Whatcott wrote on his blog yesterday, in which he defines "social publishing." He suggests that social publishing is more than just social networking, and that it's the blend of three types of online content:

1. Web content management
2. Social software, such as wikis, forums, blogs and social networking platforms
3. Web application frameworks

Jeff continues: "A social publishing system combines the above into a cohesive set of technology for assembling a web site that provides structure for people to express ideas and engage each other in proven patterns."

Certainly we're talking about more than brochure-ware here; we want to engage visitors and communicate our message to them. That's why anyone publishes, regardless of the medium: print, broadcast or online. Jeff says that "most modern web sites (from internal team collaboration to public-facing niche social networks) will be a convergence of" the proven patterns, including blogging, wikis, social networking and more.

Jeff's the Vice President of Marketing at Acquia, a Drupal-based software company founded by Drupal's original developer, Dries Buytaert. I'd recommend reading his entire post.