Experiences with tools for knowledge sharing purposes have demonstrated the negative consequences of using a managerial and technology oriented perceptive (Huysman and De Wit 2002). Most tools usually in the form of Intranet applications fail the test of institutionalization. People in general are not very keen on using them to share knowledge with each other. The assumption underlying this paper is that ignoring the informal, non-canonical nature of the social networks, including peoples motivation, ability and opportunity to share knowledge, is one of the key causes of resistance to use knowledge sharing tools. In order to improve ICT based knowledge sharing, electronic networks need to be embedded in the social networks of which it is part. This has implications for our knowledge on the design requirements of such socially embedded network tools. In this paper, conditions are discussed that influence the match between social networks, such as communities, and electronic networks, such as groupware tools. This is done by exploring the potentials of info-culture analysis during the development stage. Ideas on social capital are used as framework to guide the knowledge sharing requirement analysis.