Monthly Archives: December 2003

social networking overload

I read this article about social networking entering the enterprise and i couldn’t help but hold my head in dismay.

I love social networks. They are a part of all of our daily lives and i’m in awe of the sociologists who have dedicated themselves for so many years to figure out how people negotiate them. But as more and more technologists take on the social networks meme, they continue to mutate the concept and thus destroy much of the underlying theory that relies on certain fundamental ideas about interaction.

For me, this creates a linguistic-conceptual nightmare. With every meme that emerges in the tech world, i’m amazed at how much gets attached simultaneously to one concept or phrase. Identity, blogging, social networks… My auto-reaction is to constantly and continuously unpack what people _mean_ when they use these terms. This has become quite challenging lately because the reason people collide them in their heads is to make metaphors work. I never realized how important these metaphors are to people’s ability to construct technology.

The first two of my examples are easier than social networks. As a term, identity is often used to mean authentication. Sometimes, it is meant to mean social stature; sometimes, reputation; sometimes, the more classic psychological notions of one’s id/entity. Blogging has come to represent people who blog, people who journal, people are embedded in the blogging culture (and lately, i’ve watched it get further extended to discuss anyone who updates a site regularly). [One thing that continues to amaze me as i meet self-described ‘bloggers’ is how often they don’t realize that most people’s goals in blogging are vastly different than their own…]

Social networks are harder to tease apart because it’s the framework that’s different, yet there is an expectation that the classic theories apply. Until new theories are developed to address the digital social network tools, it’s quite a bit harder to unpack this concept, to discuss why it’s different online than off. Of course, that’s my job….

airplane chaos

It’s been a while since i flew on an almost empty airplane. The kind flight attendants told me that there were only 35 passengers in coach (and it was one of those planes with 7 seats per row). The business class folks were crammed compared to us in sardine class.

So, Joi wins… plane travel is much better with the proper equipment. The little Shure earphones (while still not entirely fitting my small ears) made the baby non-existent (as well as the flight attendants who were awefully confused by my inability to hear them as they hovered above). IMing on the toy up until takeoff felt much less offensive than my normal chatter-box approach to the airport. And love to the Mac with an extra battery. So, i lounged, read 1.5 books, listened to music and felt yummy getting off the plane, where i rented a car and drove for 4 hours revelling in the wonderfulness of I-95 (with new pavement). Of course, i got out at my usual Exit 40 CT stop (24 hour Wendy’s) only to discover that ice still exists on the east coast and i still always find it and slip. Hrmpft.

It’s funny… i’m having complete deja-vu. I’m back on the east coast, touring between family and friends in the middle of winter, driving up and down the coast and even my dear friend who through my goodbye party last year is hosting a potluck this year. Ah, nostalgia.

more F.I.S.T. statistics

Ryan (F.I.S.T.) did some more data crunching for me based on his network.

I will analyze them with greater detail later, but in short, 8% of Ryan’s Friendster network identifies as queer (mind you, not everyone identifies because of it having to do with being in a relationship). 13.3% of Ryan’s Friendster network is from Philippines. Anyhow, check out the numbers. Fun fun.

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