Peer-to-peer+networking

The revolution of peer-to-peer networking was that it allowed individual nodes to connect directly with each other rather than through a central node that regulated their interactions (perhaps this is an exaggeration, but that was the idea). How can this model—of individuals connecting with each other for learning, rather than connecting through a teacher or school or some other institution—be applied to learning? What if we gave a class and nobody came?

--- I'm brainstorming some aspects of peer to peer networking that seem to be important in applying them to learning: ~nils peterson
 * discovery of communities of practice, including ability for legitimate peripheral participation in those communities
 * ability to give and get quality feedback from peers
 * ability to document the quality of one's work as part of credentialing oneself in a community
 * interaction of peer learning (and other authentic learning such as internships) with existing educational systems and structures, for, among other purposes, credentialing.