1. A method for maintaining user privacy in a knowledge interchange system, the method comprising: receiving from a user at least one privacy preference relating to participation in a knowledge interchange system; monitoring user interaction with at least one program to identify at least one item of interest, said monitoring being limited by the at least one privacy preference specifying a type of data to be collected by the knowledge interchange system and how the data to be collected by the knowledge interchange system is to be utilized, wherein the at least one privacy preference comprises an indication as to a maximum number of requests for assistance the user will accept from a server computer within a specified period of time specified by the user; performing a social analysis on individuals associated with the at least one item of interest, wherein performing the social analysis on individuals associated with the at least one item of interest comprises: identifying a pattern of communication between each of the individuals by analyzing at least one of the following: an electronic mail message, a calendar meeting, and an instant message, and assigning a respective weight to each of the individuals related to the at least one item of interest, the assigned weight being dependant on a respective relationship between each of the individuals and the at least one item of interest, wherein the respective relationship between each of the individuals and the at least one item of interest is determined by contacts listed a header field of at least one of the following: the electronic mail message, the calendar meeting, and the instant message; identifying keywords within the current item of interest; allocating a respective weight to each keyword based on their location in the item of interest and the frequency of the appearance of the keyword in the item of interest; based on the at least one item of interest, creating a knowledge interchange profile that identifies at least one of the following: the interests of the user, the individuals with which the user has communicated, and the topics on which the communication with the individuals was made; establishing a contents of the knowledge interchange profile at the server computer, the contents of the knowledge interchange profile limited by the at least one privacy preference; using the contents of the knowledge interchange profile to identify a contact in response to a query; transmitting the identity of the contact in response to the query, wherein transmitting the contact comprises transmitting the identity of the contact if the identified contact has been not been contacted for assistance more than the specified maximum number of times within a predefined period of time and if the contact was identified based on the contact's public privacy preferences.