We propose a trade group of social software developers and other interested parties who work together to create and promote open standards for the social software community. Examples of social software are weblogs, wikis, and related tools for integration and analysis, as well as forums, chat environments, systems for immediate messaging, etc. Social software is also about blending tools and modes for richer online social environments and experiences.
In other words, social software is about bringing people together. On their wiki page you can see how to subscribe to their mailing list. And they're quite necessary, too, because I think the Internet as it is today is not ready for rich social networking.