Re: What is a social network?

hi all, i disagree with the definition as well, not because bbs is cut away,
but precisely the definition itself doesn't go beyond bbs. the problem of
this definition is that the word "social" is not taken into account. briefly
and conceptually, i understand social networking as 1) social, a attempt to
transform the sociality (in traditional sense) into forms of interaction
which can be solidified through data structure and interface design (from
this aspect, bbs is one of form which is limited to writing) 2)networking, a
process to create and make visible the connections and relations among
users, in order to regenerate forms of sociality.

best,
Yuk

On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 3:58 PM, Tim Anglade <tim.anglade@af83.com> wrote:

> Hi all.
>
> Le 9 juin 09 à 16:09, Alex Korth a écrit :
>
>  Hi Christine, all,
>>
>> this is an issue that I also see as being not clarified here: what
>> services are in and which are out? We should not re-invent the wheel here.
>> There is a definition of Social networking sites (SNS) by Danah Boyd [1]
>> which I like and which we could consider using:
>>
>> "We define social network sites as web-based services that allow
>> individuals to
>> (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system,
>> (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection,
>> and
>> (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others
>> within the system.
>> The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to
>> site."
>>
>
> I strongly disagree with a definition in such terms. It cuts off most BBS
> and anonymous social networks (which are a very interesting, if hardly
> categorizable trend in current models).
>
> The most obvious counter-example to Danah Boyd's definition is 4chan. It
> exhibits none of those features yet it's almost impossible to argue it's not
> “social” or a “social network”, as it has shown (sensible) discussion, group
> emergence and active collaboration.
>
> The removal of profiles and “friending” may be enough to remove “network”
> from “social network” for some but I, for one, would argue that a platform
> without explicit profiles and friending is still an (implicit) social
> network that deserves to be studied and treated as such.
>
>
> Cheers,
> Tim
>
>
>
>> On the other hand is this XG about the emerging Social Web, which is more
>> than just SNSs.
>> To my understanding every site is "in" which has social features. To
>> provide, access and share these features and their content is what I am
>> interested in.
>> I think we need to clarify our visions of the emerging Social Web to
>> improve the fundament of our work in this group.
>> Should we have a wiki page for this? For now, find my 2 cents here [2].
>> What is your visions?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Alex
>>
>> [1] http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
>> [2] http://socialconnect.info/trac/wiki/VisionVault
>>
>> Christine Perey schrieb:
>>
>>> I was asking myself, when populating the list of 30 popular community
>>> services: What defines (for those of us in this W3C XG) a service as being
>>> unequivocally on the list and why?
>>> Do we all have the same definition of social networking? Judging from the
>>> services on the first list on this wiki page [1], probably not.
>>> I suggest that we take a stab at a W3C Social Web XG 'accepted'
>>> definition of scope.
>>> Playing the devils' advocate here:
>>> One of the problems with a public/published W3C definition of "social
>>> web" or "social networking" is that it may need to be examined regularly and
>>> modified/updated. Where will the boundaries every end?  Social networking
>>> ("community") features are beginning to permeate many other (previously non
>>> social) digital services. There are already and will be more social
>>> "features" added to everything.
>>> Some examples:
>>> + a music (or any entertainment content) service where people rate the
>>> tunes, movies, etc   + a weather service in which you can see the weather
>>> near your friends,
>>>  + a local nightclub search service on which you see where your friends
>>> have already congregated,
>>>  + an auction service on which your friends or taste neighbors offer
>>> opinions/advice before you conclude a purchase
>>> Take this out into the distance and what you have is an infinite list of
>>> socially-aware services. Everything is social...
>>> [1]
>>> http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/wiki/TopSocialNetworkingSites
>>> Christine Spime Wrangler
>>> cperey@perey.com <mailto:cperey@perey.com>
>>> mobile (Swiss): +41 79 436 68 69
>>> from US: +1 (617) 848 8159
>>> from anywhere (Skype): Christine_perey
>>>
>>>
>> --
>> Alexander Korth
>> alex@cityfinger.com
>> m +49-1577-1704501
>>
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