The progress of the Internet in recent years has led to the emergence of so-called social software. This technology concedes users a more active role in creating Web content. This has important effects both on individual learning and collaborative knowledge building. In this paper we will present an integrative framework model to describe and explain learning and knowledge building with social software on the basis of systems theoretical and equilibration theoretical considerations. This model assumes that knowledge progress emerges from cognitive conflicts that result from incongruities between an individual’s prior knowledge and the information which is contained in a shared digital artifact. This paper will provide empirical support for the model by applying it to Wikipedia articles and by examining knowledge-building processes using network analyses. Finally, this paper will present a review of a series of experimental studies.