Comments on: What’s The Point Of Social Networks? http://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/ Living in a state of accord. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:43:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Elisabeth Montgomery http://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-162719 Elisabeth Montgomery Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:35:39 +0000 https://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-162719 Hi AJ: Great discussion. After years of playing with Myspace and Facebook, I really hope we don't end up with the proliferation of social networks, but since at least for the time being it seems like you are right , we will. Then the question for me remains what do we really need? Even with many kudos to LiveMocha for such a wonderful experience and fantastic social language network website (our company, www.interlangua.com has also been working with online educated tutors in their native countries to USA desktops, since 2005)in the end it seems we need to link people in to be more creative. Our apps tend to get ahead of us too fast and box us into narrow, often binary paths because that is the root of our computer mediated lives. Most of my social network sites take a lot of my time, AND they make it too easy to just take pre-conceived ideas (e.g. Tinkerbell wallpapers) and re-use them instead of being really unique, which I find is a huge need across all cultures. Hi AJ:
Great discussion. After years of playing with Myspace and Facebook, I really hope we don’t end up with the proliferation of social networks, but since at least for the time being it seems like you are right , we will. Then the question for me remains what do we really need? Even with many kudos to LiveMocha for such a wonderful experience and fantastic social language network website (our company, http://www.interlangua.com has also been working with online educated tutors in their native countries to USA desktops, since 2005)in the end it seems we need to link people in to be more creative. Our apps tend to get ahead of us too fast and box us into narrow, often binary paths because that is the root of our computer mediated lives.

Most of my social network sites take a lot of my time, AND they make it too easy to just take pre-conceived ideas (e.g. Tinkerbell wallpapers) and re-use them instead of being really unique, which I find is a huge need across all cultures.

]]> By: David http://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-114640 David Wed, 26 Sep 2007 03:17:00 +0000 https://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-114640 Yeah, I've been meaning to play with Ning (http://www.ning.com/) for a while. Yeah, I’ve been meaning to play with Ning (http://www.ning.com/) for a while.

]]> By: Adrian Sutton http://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-114632 Adrian Sutton Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:00:33 +0000 https://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-114632 Hey David, I agree, there is a lot of potential for great FaceBook apps to leverage the social network it's built and give it a point, at the moment though most people are busy building stupid gimmicks instead of useful applications. The other major problem with FaceBook apps at the moment is that to do anything with them you have to add them and let them have all your data - not sure if this is because app developers are stupid and are trying to artificially inflate their user count, or if there's something about the FaceBook platform that requires this. Either way, it's a major barrier to making the network actually be useful. I'll be very interested to see if FaceBook winds up being the platform for useful applications, or if people we valid business ideas want to build their own social network instead of ceding control to FaceBook. My bet is on having a proliferation of social networks. I'm still not sure if we'll be happy with multiple incompatible networks (it's fairly normal to have different networks for different purposes) or if the push for open sharing of social network data between systems will become strong enough to actually make it happen. Hey David,
I agree, there is a lot of potential for great FaceBook apps to leverage the social network it’s built and give it a point, at the moment though most people are busy building stupid gimmicks instead of useful applications. The other major problem with FaceBook apps at the moment is that to do anything with them you have to add them and let them have all your data - not sure if this is because app developers are stupid and are trying to artificially inflate their user count, or if there’s something about the FaceBook platform that requires this. Either way, it’s a major barrier to making the network actually be useful.

I’ll be very interested to see if FaceBook winds up being the platform for useful applications, or if people we valid business ideas want to build their own social network instead of ceding control to FaceBook. My bet is on having a proliferation of social networks. I’m still not sure if we’ll be happy with multiple incompatible networks (it’s fairly normal to have different networks for different purposes) or if the push for open sharing of social network data between systems will become strong enough to actually make it happen.

]]> By: David http://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-114587 David Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:39:44 +0000 https://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-114587 I forgot to mention the network benefit to "Cocktails" - it has an iTunes-like "people who liked this drink also liked these other drinks", and keeps a "most popular drinks" sidebar so you can try something new that's got a higher probability of not being a lemon. I forgot to mention the network benefit to “Cocktails” - it has an iTunes-like “people who liked this drink also liked these other drinks”, and keeps a “most popular drinks” sidebar so you can try something new that’s got a higher probability of not being a lemon.

]]> By: David http://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-114586 David Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:36:21 +0000 https://www.symphonious.net/2007/09/25/whats-the-point-of-social-networks/#comment-114586 G'day AJ. I've been musing on the same thing myself. I don't think Facebook in the work environment is anything but a waste of time. However, for recreational use - I have discovered a few favourite apps that are useful in their own right, and are not a new concept (i.e. just like some other existing non-FB app out there), but benefit from social network integration. My two top ones have an alcohol theme :) 1. "Wine" - keep a list of bottles you've got lying around, and record your tasting notes once done (e.g. that sucked, don't buy it again). The social network aspect kicks in by seeing what other people are buying/drinking etc, and it's done in a non-intrusive/non-super-viral way (thank goodness; if I wasn't unhappy with the colourful language in the group name, I'd join the Facebook group called "f** off, I don't want to be a pirate/ninja/werewolf/zombie/jedi/etc"). 2. "Cocktails" - There's a zillion cocktail DB apps on the web, and some have comment boards and user-generated content. The FB app allows you to tell it what ingredients you already own, and it tells you what it's possible to make, and keep track of what you've already tried. G’day AJ.

I’ve been musing on the same thing myself. I don’t think Facebook in the work environment is anything but a waste of time. However, for recreational use - I have discovered a few favourite apps that are useful in their own right, and are not a new concept (i.e. just like some other existing non-FB app out there), but benefit from social network integration.

My two top ones have an alcohol theme :)
1. “Wine” - keep a list of bottles you’ve got lying around, and record your tasting notes once done (e.g. that sucked, don’t buy it again). The social network aspect kicks in by seeing what other people are buying/drinking etc, and it’s done in a non-intrusive/non-super-viral way (thank goodness; if I wasn’t unhappy with the colourful language in the group name, I’d join the Facebook group called “f** off, I don’t want to be a pirate/ninja/werewolf/zombie/jedi/etc”).
2. “Cocktails” - There’s a zillion cocktail DB apps on the web, and some have comment boards and user-generated content. The FB app allows you to tell it what ingredients you already own, and it tells you what it’s possible to make, and keep track of what you’ve already tried.

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