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Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

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  • Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

    Do you have Friendsters? Are you part of a Tribe? Is business on the Ryze? Hang out at a Global Pau Hana? Got a pass to Google's Orkut? Have you built your own "MySpace"?

    One of the new obsessions of the tech and web addicted is social software. Sites that link you to friends, friends of friends, and - in theory, anyway - opportunities that range from business contacts to hiking partners to hot dates. It's a crowded space, and there are easily two dozen hopeful, energetic companies out there trying to make a business out of it. Of course, one has yet to see a profit... and real business deals and in-real-life marriages aren't exactly flowing after the big launch press releases.

    That said, I'm hooked. The simple concept is intriguing. We all know how personal networks work in real life. But what if the usual limits of geography and scheduling were eliminated? Can we make friends that way? Have conversations with people we'll likely get along with (as we have friends in common), even if we've never met? Wouldn't I be more likely to accept a freelance job from a stranger, if they were "introduced" through a common contact?

    As things stand, it's mostly a big goofy ego-surfing party, and "collecting friends" is the primary activity. Seeing who your friends know is a close second, and that's actually been cool -- I've rediscovered old friends (who lost touch with me, but not with someone we know in common), and learned time and time again just how small the world is (the "six degrees" theory is closer to "three degrees" when it comes to Hawaii).

    A lot of these sites are trying to make their sites "sticky" by adding on additional features, from Tribe.net's classified listings ("You and I know Bob, sell me your boat!") to Ryze's topical discussion groups to MySpace's built in blogging tool. But none of those have been really compelling to me, beyond the original, and basic, premise - building and exploring your personal network in cyberspace.

    Do you network online? Any services you like the best? Ever got anything out of 'em? And... would you be my friend, too?

  • #2
    Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

    I haven't gotten involved in these things at all. I guess I get my "social" kicks on the Internet from the MUDs I play, from interaction with people who read and write to me about my "Tales", and from sites like this.

    I did do irq for a brief time, haven't participated in chat rooms at all. Too much like telephones, which I loathe.

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    • #3
      Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

      My question is this. If one joins so many of these online networks how can one keep up with them all? I spend way too much time here and at Hawaii People to even consider joining one of the more high profile social networks. I was on one for a while last year called "Ringo" until it was sold to "Tickle". I did not like "Tickle" so I dropped out. I tried Global Pau Hana, but it does not work with Safari. No biggie, I'm already here, and still somewhat semi-active in Hawaii Stories.

      Anyone active on the more technical forums. I'm registered to use the discussion forums at MacObserver and DP Review. I haven't posted anything to dpreview, though I check in regularly with the forum on the Canon Digital Rebel camera. The Mac place, I occasionally post. Both forums are quite busy and are impossible to keep up with everything.

      Forgot to mention that I like the BuzzNet photoblog site where people from all over the world share various pictures. Not much social networking there, but it seems that a secondary activity to posting pictures is collecting links to other people's buzznet sites.
      Last edited by mel; August 8, 2004, 03:56 AM. Reason: added one more item...
      I'm still here. Are you?

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      • #4
        Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

        To clarify, "Social Software" generally refers to a specific space or model where the networking is at the core. So, HawaiiThreads.com isn't a "social networking" site per se, though yes, it isa site where people... er, network socially. More accurately, though, it's a message board, or a community site, where the interaction, rather than the assorted connections between people, is the focus.

        Yes, you can save "buddies" in HawaiiThreads.com and add friends' photoblogs/moblogs to your account at Buzznet, but there those features are secondary to why you're there.

        Global Pau Hana, Ryze, Friendster, Tribe.net, LinkedIn, Orkut, Ecademy, MySpace... they're more of what I'm asking about. While essentially you're talking about collecting mutual connections to friends, the basic idea is making contacts through FOAFs (Friend of a Friends), whether for business leads, romance, activity partners, or buying and selling goods and services.

        If I trust {x} and {x} trusts {y}, I'm more likely to trust {y} than I am a random person off the street.

        It can get muddled at the higher level, as all sorts of other things - from forums to classified listings to whatever - are often thrown in to make these places more "sticky." With Okrut running forums, and MySpace letting people publish blogs, it's understandable when people ask, "So what's the difference between these sites and other sites?" I think by virtue of them adding these bells and whistles, they're conceding that networking alone does not a compelling experience make.

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        • #5
          Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

          networking alone does not a compelling experience make
          To which I'd add, you probably get out of them what you put in. As Ryan knows, I'm in Ryze and Global Pau Hana, but I have to say they haven't done me a lick of good as far as business connections/leads go. I haven't tried very hard to alter that, though, so it's as much my fault as the group's.
          http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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          • #6
            Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

            Another one: Multiply.com. Not surprisingly, it seems to take elements from those that have come before, but the interface isn't bad. Very MSN-esque.

            There's the whole FOAF (friend-of-a-friend) thing, but there's also photo sharing, a "marketplace" (like Tribe.net's goods and services listings), journal writing (bonus points for not calling them blogs), recipe trading, calendaring, even review publishing.

            I created a profile, but ended up just filling it with links to other social networking sites. I'm starting to get dizzy...

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            • #7
              `Ohana and Social Networking

              I am interested in how `ohana in Hawai`i has influenced our relationship building online. In Hawai`i it is much less than 6 degrees of separation. It is more like three. This connection extends beyond the immediate family. It embraces school, business, sports, clubs, church, etc. Does this sociability translate to the online world. Is social networking applications just another way of building an `ohana of sorts? There are so many Hawaiian references in web culture, surfing, wiki, akamai, why not `ohana.
              Check out Bytemarks the blog and Bytemarks the Yahoogroup

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              • #8
                Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

                This social networking stuff is evolving. I think to a certain extent the field is overcrowded with players but this will thin out over time. Whether it's Orkut, Ryze, Friendster, Flickr, LinkedIn, etc, etc, etc, it boils down to which one brings value. In my opinion it is still early judge the usefulness of SNS. I've never gotten any jobs from my involvement and I have gotten several inquiries from people looking for jobs in Hawaii. What I have done is strengthen connections and maintained something of a database of connections which may come in handy down the road. Is that valuable? I think so.

                With that in mind I was asked to put a panel together for the annual HTCA conference is coming up on Sept. 30, 2004. I will be moderating a discussion on social networking and digital communities. Here is what the line up looks like:

                Ryan Ozawa: www.hawaiistories.com, www.hawaiithreads.com, www.hawaiianswers.com
                Ian Lind: www.ilind.net
                Kevin Hughes: www.kevcom.com/kevsnews/
                Kevin Takamori: UH Alumni Network (launching on Sept. 15)

                This panel speaks for themselves. Each has a unique perspective on social networking and building digital communities. The session is only an hour long so we will need to cram a lot of information into a very short amount of time. There's an entrance fee to the conference but I hope you will try to check it out anyway. If you have a question for the panelists, let me know and perhaps we can get an online dialog going.
                Check out Bytemarks the blog and Bytemarks the Yahoogroup

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

                  In Hawai`i it is much less than 6 degrees of separation. It is more like three.
                  You got that right. Seeing "Hawaii" groups pop up on the various networks has been interesting. I'd wager to say that any two directly linked members have more average connections in common than other regional and professional groups. "Ho, you know dat buggah too? And dat guy? And him? Shee, small world, yeah?"

                  This panel speaks for themselves. Each has a unique perspective on social networking and building digital communities.
                  Gee, Quark, like there's not enough pressure already! Of all things, my boss got the HTCA conference invite. "Is this you?" he asked. He's threatening to bring coworkers to heckle me...

                  I've never gotten any jobs from my involvement and I have gotten several inquiries from people looking for jobs in Hawaii. What I have done is strengthen connections and maintained something of a database of connections which may come in handy down the road. Is that valuable? I think so.
                  The very least that social networking systems have done for me is put me back in touch with people I hadn't heard from, let alone thought of, for years. I would've never remembered Random Person on my own, but since it turns out he runs in circles that overlap some of mine, ping! There he is. Lots and lots of catching up follows. This alone has made setting up a million different SNS profiles worth it. Well, almost.

                  I know SNS engineers want this to be a way for their users to make money, and thereby make them money, but the "stupid fun" draw is the strongest part so far, I think.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

                    I know SNS engineers want this to be a way for their users to make money, and thereby make them money, but the "stupid fun" draw is the strongest part so far, I think.
                    Yes, I will admit there is the compelling "stupid fun" part that keeps me coming back. In one of those rare connections something lasting might occur. Imagine how many people you've met, perhaps in passing, whom you might never interact with again had it not been for an SNS. In a way it is a social organizer.

                    In the case of Global Pau Hana, the State of Hawai`i, especially Dept. of Business & Economic Development & Tourism found immediate value in the database of local people who recently moved to the Mainland. Back when Gov. Cayetano wanted to show how the tech sector in Hawaii was attracting ex-pats in returning home, DBEDT would go to Silicon Valley, meet with ex-pats and present Hawai`i's high-tech dream/opportunity. GPH was a way to market directly to the audience most desired by DBEDT. The Lingle administration has seen the value and is also using the GPH database to communicate with ex-pats. GPH the web application has quieted down quite a bit, but my guess is the database of people on the GPH system is actively being worked.
                    Check out Bytemarks the blog and Bytemarks the Yahoogroup

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                    • #11
                      Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

                      Not surprisingly, John Dvorak has concluded that social networking sites are non-starters.
                      What makes matters worse is that because the networks are growing for no good reason except ego, most of the people on them never check in. They are just listed and become ghosts. They never pull the mail out of the network in-box. They never read the memos. They are bogus names in every way.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

                        Never one to pass up a good idea that hasn't quite been ground entirely into a pulp by everyone else, Yahoo! is developing its own social networking system, Yahoo! 360.

                        Thing is, since Yahoo's various existing services already cover a lot of territory (photo galleries, discussion groups, instant messaging, profiles, ad nauseum) - Yahoo! 360 is really just a different way of connecting them all in a more coherent way. Think... a hyperextended cross between your neglected Yahoo! Profile page and your own My Yahoo! start page, on steroids.

                        Still, trying to take on Blogger, Friendster, and Flickr all at once? (Oh, wait, they own Flickr anyway.)

                        I know a lot of folks dislike Yahoo!, but they're the 300-lb. gorilla in many respects, and a lot of communities and mailing lists I use are based there, meaning I have to interact with their services anyway. It's all about the people and not the technology, right?

                        And, well, as useless as these things are, I like playing with them. I'm on all of 'em, too. Even the ones like Friendster that I really can't stand.

                        Anyway, Yahoo! 360 is in beta testing now, and they have opened it up to people in batches. They're not trying to be ubercool and elite (a la Gmail last year), insofar as everyone gets 100 invites that seem to be replenished immediately. I'm kind of lonely in my little corner there, so if you'd like to play with it, drop me an e-mail or PM with a working e-mail address - preferably the one linked to your Yahoo! account, if you've got one.

                        Here's my public Y!360 page, and some general Y!360 information.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

                          Now the tech pundits are abuzz about Tagworld.com. Take some parts of Flickr, some parts of del.icio.us, and some parts of MySpace, and I guess that's what you get. Some have said it's the "next" MySpace. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'll say this for MySpace -- they've got their market good. Most folks I know don't give these sites a moment's thought, but it seems like everyone between the ages of 14 and 22 is over there.

                          Tagworld is definitely less cluttered and annoying than MySpace, but they sure don't make it easy to find folks you might know who are already members. I'm not a fan of using their system to spam everyone in my address book!

                          (If you're into these sites or are on Tagworld.com, and want to connect, my profile is here.)

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                          • #14
                            Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

                            I'll just stick to blogs and personal forums thank you very much.
                            How'd I get so white and nerdy?

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                            • #15
                              Re: Social Software: Good Fun or Fruitless Fad?

                              I joined Global Pau Hana, but it's gone mighty quiet for me.

                              I'm much more active here on HT, as well as TaroPatch.net, and we have a Yahoo group here in the PacNW that is focused primarily on Hawaiian community activities and events.

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