RE: What is a social network?

Any *service* (please, do not limit to "site") which has social features is
"in". 

Any objections to this statement of scope? 

What is a social feature (I asked in another e-mail)?
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: public-xg-socialweb-request@w3.org 
> [mailto:public-xg-socialweb-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of Alex Korth
> Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 6:25 PM
> To: Tim Anglade
> Cc: public-xg-socialweb@w3.org
> Subject: Re: What is a social network?
> 
> Tim,
> 
> my next sentence in that email was:
> 
>  > 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.
> 
> I quoted Boyd to disambiguate social sites in general from 
> SNS. Are you d'accord with this?
> 
> Greets,
> Alex
> 
> Tim Anglade schrieb:
> > 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/TopSocialNetworkingS
> >>> ites
> >>> 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@ttbc.de
> m +49-1577-1704501
> 
> 
>

Received on Wednesday, 10 June 2009 11:00:38 UTC