In my head, it was metaphorical originally, but it's an interesting point. I work/meet online, have been doing so for years, and am completely comfortable with collaborative online tools. Many 'managers' though are not, and insist on real meetings in a real office (obviously, it's a good way for them to look like they're working :) ).

I think 'real' conversation - including coffee / cigarette breaks, OT chats about family etc. - can engender a sense of teamwork that is difficult to achieve when simply inputting text into a Wiki. As to whether this improves efficiency, I'm not sure, but I should think it'll be 10 years yet before online collaboration is the norm - basically when Monks start wearing suits and managing :)

Cheers
Ben.