Society In The Post IT Era

 Social computing refers to the use of “Social software”  Enables people to connect or collaborate through computer-mediated communication and to form online communities.

 Online Identities  Blogs  Social Networking Websites  Social Media Sharing  Social Network Analysis

 Provides basis for online social interaction  “An online identity is a social identity that network users establish in online communities.”  Creation of anonymity using pseudo-names (usernames) e.g. Alieo13 (Wikipedia)

Advantages of Online Identities  More adaptable than real-life identity ◦ Fabricate details e.g.  Age, gender, race  Anonymity reduces discrimination ◦ Lack of details = no basis for discrimination  Creates a safe barrier for insecure users ◦ People with disabilities, low self-esteem, disfigurements

Disadvantages of Online Identities  Anonymity can be abused ◦ Paedophilia ◦ Fraud  Social skills diminish

Uses of Online Identities  Multiplayer games  E-Commerce sites ◦ Amazon, E-Bay  Social networks ◦ Bebo, MySpace  Blogs

 Blog noun An Internet website containing an eclectic and frequently updated assortment of items of interest to its author [Shortening of weblog.] The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang  Blogs are an open, evolving e-mediums “Danah Boyd” LITA Conference Oct2005

 Each society has reacted differently depending on its social and legal structure  Quick look at : ◦ Iran ◦ USA

 Blogging Paradise & Enemy of the net  Reasons of popularity  Social changes  Government & Blogging

 Alternative/Me Media (?)  Cooperate blogging : Sun’s KMT  Section 230 : who is held responsible  Delta Airlines Case : celebrity !

 Building a social network of people for different purposes  Digital public places  Content generation & sharing  Transformation to public e-markets

 Jan 2005, Mr M Brich  25 Million users  Features : profile, picture, blog,quiz, music  Business Model : Google & Web 2.0 Ads  Target population : teenagers (10-20 yrs)  Social effects : Ireland

 Alternative : young population  Features : groups,e-magazine, directories  Business model : subscription with levels of access  Concerns : no legal frame work  Will it last ?

 Owned by News Corporation  Local versions  Features : profile for companies  Target population : yrs  Business model : e-advertising arm of empire  Concerns : commercialisation  Security

 Web-Based Video Sharing  Use of platform independent video streaming technologies e.g. Adobe Flash  popular video sharing website  Acquired by for $1.65bn

 YouTube prohibits publishing of copyright material  Difficult to detect copyright infringement  Implemented restrictions e.g. max video length, anti-piracy screening software  NBC and CBS jump on the ‘band-wagon’

 ‘Black and white’ situation with regards to illegal material e.g. child pornography  ‘Gray’ area for material deemed offensive e.g. nudity, violence etc.  Raises political/moral debate (Ms. Malkin)  Constant censorship, against ideology of ‘free media’

 Sociology in the 21 st Century, collecting data from social network websites  Use of semantic web technologies to determine social behavioural patterns  MIT Media Lab, conducting research on ‘Reality Mining’ project

 Individuals reveal more information on social networking sites  Advertisers/Marketers gain better understanding from customer behavioural patterns  NSA using social network analysis technologies for homeland security

 Personal privacy issues – sensitive personal information revealed on social network sites  NSA using ‘automated intelligence profiling’ based on unreliable information  Analysing masses of social network information – ‘clouds’ overall picture

Future of Social Networking History of Social Networking  Social Networks 1.0 ◦ OneList, ICQ, Evite  Social Networks 2.0 ◦ Friendster, Orkut, LinkedIn  Social Networks 2.5 ◦ Bebo, MySpace, YouTube What does Social Networks 3.0 have in store?

Future of Social Networking Object Centred Sociality ◦ Users connected via a common object e.g. Job, University, Hobby ◦ Simulates real-life social interaction  People meet others through something they have in common, not by randomly approaching each other

Future of Social Networking Network Integration Problem  Users may have identities on different Social Networks  Each identity was created from scratch Solution  Allow user to import existing identity  Use single global identity with different views