Comments on: Teaching “Social Media”: Open for Suggestions! http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/ Social Media is Made of People! Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:51:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Robert http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-807 Robert Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:06:55 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-807 I think I may have said this before on the FB page, but I think that the double edged sword of reputation in online/virtual communities is amazing complex and powerful: (1) I don’t remember the source, but one of the top three motivations for people to post content online was the sense of fame associated with it; (2) Reputation is such a critical proxy for trust in our overly networked, information overloaded world; (3) Reputation ratings seem to provide one of the primary normative mechanisms for many volunteer / informal communities; (4) Conversely, people have been shown to be less creative and to share less knowledge when they know/worry they will be evaluated. p.s. on the cross cultural question, although this is a single example, I had an heated discussion with some chinese friends who were angry since I had not asked their permission to post pictures that included them on FB. I had to tell them that it was typical for people in modern western culture to post pictures on FB of everyone at a party, night out, or event that this was core to the emergent nature of these technologies. They have since come around... I think I may have said this before on the FB page, but I think that the double edged sword of reputation in online/virtual communities is amazing complex and powerful: (1) I don’t remember the source, but one of the top three motivations for people to post content online was the sense of fame associated with it; (2) Reputation is such a critical proxy for trust in our overly networked, information overloaded world; (3) Reputation ratings seem to provide one of the primary normative mechanisms for many volunteer / informal communities; (4) Conversely, people have been shown to be less creative and to share less knowledge when they know/worry they will be evaluated.

p.s. on the cross cultural question, although this is a single example, I had an heated discussion with some chinese friends who were angry since I had not asked their permission to post pictures that included them on FB. I had to tell them that it was typical for people in modern western culture to post pictures on FB of everyone at a party, night out, or event that this was core to the emergent nature of these technologies. They have since come around…

]]> By: Eric Cook http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-792 Eric Cook Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:04:42 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-792 Though it might not be entirely in line with your plan for the course, I'd add a week or so on historical perspective -- lots of media could be considered "social" (in the sense of supporting, underwriting and acting as a trigger for sociality) before capital-S, capital-M Social Media was created. A sense of lineage and persistent behaviors across technologies always helps keeps things in perspective. Though it might not be entirely in line with your plan for the course, I’d add a week or so on historical perspective — lots of media could be considered “social” (in the sense of supporting, underwriting and acting as a trigger for sociality) before capital-S, capital-M Social Media was created. A sense of lineage and persistent behaviors across technologies always helps keeps things in perspective.

]]> By: Frank Bridges http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-790 Frank Bridges Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:18:07 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-790 Totally thinking out loud on this one - I watched "RiP: A remix manifesto" last night and it was amazing. Though it's mainly about copyright law, it flirts with social media throughout, and then at end the viewer is invited to go to the website, and take the footage and remix it however they see fit, and upload it back to the RiP community. So that got me thinking about discussing using social media for project-oriented results. THEN I really got thinking and thought, why don't we, as a class, hold a screening of "RiP," either during the class period or right after? Maybe it could be done later in the semester when we have more knowledge under our belts, and could facilitate some excellent conversation with folks outside of the class? Totally thinking out loud on this one – I watched “RiP: A remix manifesto” last night and it was amazing. Though it’s mainly about copyright law, it flirts with social media throughout, and then at end the viewer is invited to go to the website, and take the footage and remix it however they see fit, and upload it back to the RiP community. So that got me thinking about discussing using social media for project-oriented results.

THEN I really got thinking and thought, why don’t we, as a class, hold a screening of “RiP,” either during the class period or right after? Maybe it could be done later in the semester when we have more knowledge under our belts, and could facilitate some excellent conversation with folks outside of the class?

]]> By: Sarah Legins http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-775 Sarah Legins Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:51:44 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-775 Marketing. Maybe this is included in "economics of social media" -- but I'd like to discuss the growing efforts of companies to make use of social media in their marketing efforts. Marketing. Maybe this is included in “economics of social media” — but I’d like to discuss the growing efforts of companies to make use of social media in their marketing efforts.

]]> By: Jeffrey Boase http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-771 Jeffrey Boase Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:57:23 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-771 Hey, this is Jeff -- the Boase part of the Naaman and Boase team teaching this course. Just wanted to comment on Ian's idea that Europeans may be more open with their personal information than Americans on social media sites. I've actually been thinking more about this topic in terms of differences between Japan and the US. I just finished a postdoc in Tokyo last year and have been researching offline differences between these two countries. I need to more research, but it looks like lower amounts of trust in weak ties fostered by strong relationships in Japan accounts for the greater amount of privacy found on Mixi as compared to FB. But the idea that (at least some) countries in Europe might be more concerned about privacy is fascinating and not something that I know much about. If you, or anyone, knows of any literature comparing privacy norms between European countries and the US, please let us know! Hey, this is Jeff — the Boase part of the Naaman and Boase team teaching this course. Just wanted to comment on Ian’s idea that Europeans may be more open with their personal information than Americans on social media sites. I’ve actually been thinking more about this topic in terms of differences between Japan and the US. I just finished a postdoc in Tokyo last year and have been researching offline differences between these two countries. I need to more research, but it looks like lower amounts of trust in weak ties fostered by strong relationships in Japan accounts for the greater amount of privacy found on Mixi as compared to FB. But the idea that (at least some) countries in Europe might be more concerned about privacy is fascinating and not something that I know much about. If you, or anyone, knows of any literature comparing privacy norms between European countries and the US, please let us know!

]]> By: Raphaël Troncy http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-770 Raphaël Troncy Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:19:11 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-770 Would love to attend the class ... though New York might not be a convenient location for a European :-) First, a suggestion: I think it is important you say a little about standardisation effort in this domain, and in particular about the Social Web Incubator Group @W3C, http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/ What this group has already achieved: - a long list of interesting user stories: http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/wiki/UserStories - an attempt to produce a matrix comparing various Social Networks in terms of functionalities / privacy settings / openness / etc. (http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/wiki/SN_Platform_Functionality and http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/wiki/PolicyCommons) - a pretty accurate glossary The final technical report of this group will be delivered in 4-6 months, so perhaps on time for your class! Second, regarding your observation whether Europeans are more open with their personal information on SS than US-based folks or not, I think it really depends and all Europeans cannot be put in the same bag :-) Dutch people clearly are (very open) and I would suspect you will find this trend in some North European countries. French are much more conservative: among my friends, most of them have a very restricted privacy policy on their facebook accounts for example. Would be _very_ interesting to have some raw data confirming or infirming this intuition! Cheers. Raphaël Would love to attend the class … though New York might not be a convenient location for a European :-)

First, a suggestion: I think it is important you say a little about standardisation effort in this domain, and in particular about the Social Web Incubator Group @W3C, http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/
What this group has already achieved:
– a long list of interesting user stories: http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/wiki/UserStories
– an attempt to produce a matrix comparing various Social Networks in terms of functionalities / privacy settings / openness / etc. (http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/wiki/SN_Platform_Functionality and http://www.w3.org/2005/Incubator/socialweb/wiki/PolicyCommons)
– a pretty accurate glossary
The final technical report of this group will be delivered in 4-6 months, so perhaps on time for your class!

Second, regarding your observation whether Europeans are more open with their personal information on SS than US-based folks or not, I think it really depends and all Europeans cannot be put in the same bag :-) Dutch people clearly are (very open) and I would suspect you will find this trend in some North European countries. French are much more conservative: among my friends, most of them have a very restricted privacy policy on their facebook accounts for example. Would be _very_ interesting to have some raw data confirming or infirming this intuition!

Cheers.
Raphaël

]]> By: Cathy Salomon http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-769 Cathy Salomon Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:37:19 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-769 Related to motivation and adoption, and also to social media in organizations: how do individuals and organizations manage their social media involvement - there are so many choices. Do people or organizations communicate in just one media, or a few or many? What is best or does it matter? Related to motivation and adoption, and also to social media in organizations: how do individuals and organizations manage their social media involvement – there are so many choices. Do people or organizations communicate in just one media, or a few or many? What is best or does it matter?

]]> By: naaman http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-768 naaman Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:57:00 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-768 Christine - While a lot of these topics will be relevant to your interest to some degree, I cannot believe I actually forgot to list the "social media in organizations" topic we are planning! We may even have an exciting guest speaker for that lecture. Christine –

While a lot of these topics will be relevant to your interest to some degree, I cannot believe I actually forgot to list the “social media in organizations” topic we are planning! We may even have an exciting guest speaker for that lecture.

]]> By: Christine Goldthwaite http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-767 Christine Goldthwaite Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:59:56 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-767 I'm really looking forward to the class. I am an MCIS student and interested in looking at social media from an organizational communication perspective, specifically learning more about how social media can be used to influence organizational culture and improve knowledge management. I’m really looking forward to the class. I am an MCIS student and interested in looking at social media from an organizational communication perspective, specifically learning more about how social media can be used to influence organizational culture and improve knowledge management.

]]> By: naaman http://www.ayman-naaman.net/2009/08/15/teaching-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-766 naaman Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:34:15 +0000 http://www.ayman-naaman.net/?p=333#comment-766 Ian (hey!): that is both a great research question, and a good practical point to deliver in the class. My initial hypothesis would be the exact opposite of yours, actually (though not based on much experience - not quite enough European friends, I guess). I would guess that Europeans are more guarded and reserved because of the 1) heightened awareness of these issues and 2) a more proactive approach. I will check whether the readings we have touch on that topic, but calling up someone from the old continent might not be a bad idea (I'll see if I can bug some of my friends, but if you have a perfect candidate don't hesitate to let me know). Brynn (hey!): social search can definitely be included, as well as how Information Encountering happens in social media. Would be great to have you talk, but we should also chat sometime soon regardless. Ayman (no hey, I "see" you all the time): Come on, post it, and you better link to some exciting reading material (or make the post complete enough so that we can assign it to the class). Ian (hey!): that is both a great research question, and a good practical point to deliver in the class. My initial hypothesis would be the exact opposite of yours, actually (though not based on much experience – not quite enough European friends, I guess). I would guess that Europeans are more guarded and reserved because of the 1) heightened awareness of these issues and 2) a more proactive approach. I will check whether the readings we have touch on that topic, but calling up someone from the old continent might not be a bad idea (I’ll see if I can bug some of my friends, but if you have a perfect candidate don’t hesitate to let me know).

Brynn (hey!): social search can definitely be included, as well as how Information Encountering happens in social media. Would be great to have you talk, but we should also chat sometime soon regardless.

Ayman (no hey, I “see” you all the time): Come on, post it, and you better link to some exciting reading material (or make the post complete enough so that we can assign it to the class).

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