'Working out the social politics of who you can trust and why is, quite literally, what a very large part of our brain has evolved to do.' - Douglas Adams in "How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Internet"
According to Listible's Complete List of Web 2.0 Products and Services (Drewly / January 23, 2006), there are now at least 162 such resources; many are tools and services commonly designated as ' social software', and among these, social networking stands out as the most obviously social category, in the way it caters to basic human drives to socialise and form communities. In this issue of WWWTools for Education we focus on this tip of the Web 2.0 iceberg, and look at educational applications both proposed and in practice.
Trends in How We Use the Net.
- The Pew Internet & American Life Project's report on The Strength of Internet Ties (2005) explores the ways in which the Internet facilitates, broadens and reinforces social networks, and its burgeoning role in supporting everyday decisionmaking by providing access to expert advice and the opinions of peers. Most cited decisionmaking areas are: education, health, personal finances, shopping, housing and employment. The full text makes interesting reading, and is available as a PDF .For a brief review , see also Internet Helps Boost Social Contacts: Study (The Sydney Morning Herald: January 27, 2006)
- In What Is the Platform? (September 23, 2004), Adam Bosworth muses on a shift in emphasis from software to timely access to information and the community at large - 'The platform of this decade is going to be around access to community, collaboration, and content... services, not boxes' . See also a large body of opinion and comment at this blog.
- This position is supported by citations in Gina Kim's Internet Keeps Its Users Sharing (Detroit Free Press: December 30, 2005) - the top 7 sites at Google's 2005 Year-End Zeitgeist comprise social networking services MySpace and Orkut , and sites facilitating the sharing of music and information.
Social Networking Update.
- The MySpace Generation (BusinessWeek : December 12, 2005) - the commercial take on Generation @'s quest for social identity. The good news is that Facebook has been making money since January.
- In Teens Hang Out at MySpace (USA TODAY: January 08, 2006), Janet Kornblum ranks social networking sites and compares visitor numbers across 2004/2005; in rank order from the top - MySpace, Facebook, Xanga, Bebo, Friendster, Linkedin and Orkut (a very select group of 83,000 - you have to be invited by an existing member, even if you do have a Gmail account).
- Wade Roush's article, Social Networking 3.0 (Technology Review :: November 18, 2005) is something of a progress report - increasingly, members are using networks for practical purposes: finding jobs, locating services, and coordinating group activities.
- I want t Set up a network of contacts, or join other existing networks is a small selection of resources underscoring this trend.
- Seven Principles of Social Networking (Dave Pollard / How to Save the World : July 14, 2005) suggests guiding principles for ongoing development; in summary:
1. Social Relationships Must Meet Four Preconditions: mutual trust, respect, context, and self-disclosure between the parties.
2. Relationships Require a Conversational Ice-Breaking
3. First Impressions Matter.
4. Information Conveyed by Observation Counts More Than That Conveyed by Language.
5. Collaboration is the Miracle Glue of Relationships.
6. Every Interaction Carries the Burden of Our Entire Networks.
7. Social Networks are Complex Systems.
- See also Stephen Downes' comment .
Mapping the Field.
Because of the way social software is put together, the field doesn't lend itself to neat definition, classification or categorisation - here are a few thoughts on the subject:
[Tom Coates'] Working Definition of Social Software... ( Plasticbag.org: May 08, 2003) - '... a particular sub-class of software-prosthesis that concerns itself with the augmentation of human social and / or collaborative abilities through structured mediation.' This is explored at length in appended Comments.
In A Nomad's Guide to Learning and Social Software (IDEANT: November 01, 2005), Ulises Mejias sets out to 'explore the role that social software can play in new models of learning and participating in society.' Although tensions arise when traditional pedagogical principles and teaching practices seem compromised by the possibilities afforded by new technologies, re-evaluation is essential. He concludes that social software can 'positively impact pedagogy by inculcating a desire to reconnect to the world as a whole, not just the social parts that exist online.'
He recognises the inherent ambiguities, but presents a working list of the kinds of applications associated with social software: they include:
• relationship management systems e.g. Friendster
• distributed classification systems e.g. del.icio.us.
• peer-to-peer file sharing systems e.g. BitTorrent
• content management systems e.g., blogs, wikis.
• syndication systems e.g., RSS aggregators
• multiplayer gaming environments.
- and quite a few more...
His Social Software Affordances course at Teachers College, Columbia University (Fall 2005) makes full use of available social software tools - see the course blog for a fascinating read.
Sidebar links to related readings and individual student sites on the Blogroll constitute a valuable supplementary resource.
Expect to see a case study on Social Software and New Pedagogies sometime soon.
Social Networking Services in Education and Career-Building.
- In the first instance, most educators have probably seen these services as distracting nuisances at best, and possibly even as dangerous to students. Andrew Trotter's Social-Networking Web Sites Pose Growing Challenge for Educators (Education Week: February 15, 2006) puts a substantial case for caution - the most positive comment here is that 'it's getting the kids involved' ', and that like all fads it will run its course.
- There are however many common interest networking sites which serve educational purposes to various degrees, e.g.,
. BookCrossing - a read-and-release scheme for book-lovers and their books.
. CampusNetwork (Columbia University) - journal-based student networking; interesting gallery collection.
. Classmates - contact maintenance, reunion updates, work & careers directory, college directory.
. Collegester - emphasis on student loans.
. Delphi Forums - find and join forums e.g., Education & Alumni Forums.
. gradFinder - reconnect with former classmates.
- Many librarians see potential uses for social software - see for example getting out there (Walking Paper : November 25, 2005): see also Spiffy New Charts of Librarian Blogger's Survey: Web 2.0 Tools at Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology - a Weblog by Michael Stephens.
- Schools, blogs, Xanga, MySpace...What's it all about, Alfie? Part V (Elizabeth Ditz / I Speak of Dreams: December 12, 2005) - the personal and educational value of social networking, blogs and blogging: surely real needs are being filled?
- Social Networking Sites (Jon Stewart / Comedy Central Media Player: Daily Show, Trendspotting) - a lighter look at Myspace, Friendster, Facebook; some satirical comment. Could be a quick classroom resource.
Selected Popular Social Networking Services.
MYSPACE:
- MySpace: A Site with 26 Million 'Friends' (Alex Williams / IHT : September 01, 2005) - an introductory overview.
- Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace (Danah Boyd / American Association for the Advancement of Science : February 19, 2006 - how teenagers use MySpace for identity production and socialisation; profile-writing provides an opportunity for self-expression and self-actualisation through language, imagery and media.
- MySpace Education for Parents (Brenda Rindge / The Post and Courier: November 17, 2005) - one mother's experience. Perhaps we should write a course on MySpace Education for Students?
FACEBOOK:
- A Quick Guide to Facebook.com (Maggie Haskins / SI On Campus: December 02, 2005)
- For indications of popularity and links to similar sites, see Alexa's Traffic Rankings .
- Facing the Facebook (Michael J. Bugeja / The Chronicle of Higher Education : January 23, 2006) - yet another unwelcome distraction, or a tool for diagnosing the causes of inadequate educational outcomes?
- Examining Facebook.com (Michelle Felter / Phi Delta Theta Fraternity ) - the University of Missouri uses Facebook to monitor policy violations; employers use it to screen job candidates.
- Cleaning Up Their Online Acts (David Epstein / Inside Higher Ed: October 03, 2005) - lots of interesting feedback from students and faculty.
XANGA:
- Xanga is a community of online diaries and journals; provides access to an extensive range of Blogrings
- The Value of Xanga (Bud Hunt / Bud the Teacher : April 22, 2005) - 'for those counselors willing to pay attention, and those students willing to share, online journals can be a valuable tool for assessing the well-being of students.'
FRIENDSTER:
- Friendster was designed as a dating/friendship service - now also offers blogging, p2p file sharing, photo albums and profile tracking (a controversial feature).
- danah boyd's many Publications, Installations, Presentations & Workshop Papers explore social software in terms of personal realisation through identity-construction and self-expession - see for example her take on the repurposing of Friendster to reflect individual needs and practices in Autistic Social Software (2004).
- See also an annotated selection of her work at My Friendster Publications ( apophenia: October 24, 2005)
- Posthuman Friendster (Bryan Alexander / Infocult: Information, Culture, Policy, Education: August 18, 2003 )- do nonhuman or spoof identities play a role in defining personal identity?
BEBO:
- Bebo focuses on social networking for School/College Students and Alumni; wide range of features - private messaging, including Skype voice calls; calendaring and clubs; sharing writing/drawing on virtual whiteboards; blogging and sharing photos; creating personal quizzes. Links to guides on Safety and Cyber Bullying. Looks like a responsible contender for the K-12 environment.
TRIBE:
- Tribe features thousands of common interest groups based on the idea that connected people get things done.
- Online Social Networks Are Havens for Job Hunters (Jeanette Borzo / The Wall Street Journal Online: September 23, 2004) - using online social networks to build contact lists and find employment.
LINKEDIN:
- LinkedIn - used mostly for business connections; find the people, jobs and services you need through people you know and trust, while strengthening/ extending existing networks. Groups Currently on LinkedIn are listed in Professional Organizations
- Alternatively, see CollectiveX is Better Than LinkedIn (Michael Arrington / Techcrunch: February 10, 2006) - 'CollectiveX is completely group-focused. You must be associated with at least one group to join and all of the activity focuses on your groups.'
GATHER:
- Gather - a place where people can publish and share points of view; content is created by Gather members. Looks like a good place for creative expression. Registration and profiling required.
Readings
- SocialSoftware (Christopher D. Sessums / January 23, 2006) - a remarkable wiki-based overview presentation.
- Social Machines (Wade Roush / Technology Review: August 2005)
- As We May Interact? (David Wiley / iterating toward openness: February 19, 2006)
In the News.
- Google Introduces Web Page Creator (Chris Sherman / Search Engine Watch : February 23, 2006) - there's a waiting list of hopeful users. The significance here is the suggestion that this may become Google's answer to MySpace.
- Keep current with the I want t collection of resources - now listing over 300 applications, and continually updating.
- imeem! is a new free instant messaging service
Future.
- Social Networking & The World of Learning is an audio file at Elliott Masie's Learning 2005 University site, commenting on future developments in social networking in terms of collaboration, knowledge management, and talent management. The PDF transcript is also available.
- Social Software and the Future of Conferences – Right Now (Vicki Suter, Bryan Alexander, and Pascal Kaplan / EDUCAUSE Review, January/February 2005)
BOOKS.
- Social Capital And Entrepreneurship (Philip H. Kim, Howard E. Aldrich / Now Publishers Inc, 2005)Paperback: $37.50 ISBN: 1933019107
- Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution (Howard Rheingold / Perseus Books Group, 2002)Paperback: $10.88 ISBN: 0738206083
Source: Graeme Daniel 27/02/06, http://m.fasfind.com/wwwtools/m/2788.cfm?x=0&rid=2788
