Social Networks
Entries related to social networks, group psychology, anthropology, and really any of the social sciences.
Monday’s Random Stuff
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 01/30/2006 - 11:29Unread emails: 221. Unread blog posts: 5226. If you knock out the 4600 from the Progressive Blog Alliance, it isn’t quite so daunting. Health: Marginal. Fiona has been fighting a cold and I’m run down and a little congested.
Recent webpages that have caught my eye:
http://www.afsc.org/iraq/cray-video.htm Naomi sent an email about this video. Check it out.
http://newshare.typepad.com/greylocknews/2006/01/nandi_plunketts.html Nandi Plunkett is a junior at Mount Greylock, where I went to high school.
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Maintaining Social Ties
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 01/27/2006 - 09:48The other day, Kim pointed out to me a large dent in the hood of the Prius. Based on the location, I believe it is from the branch that bounced off the car about a week ago when I was driving home from dropping Miranda off at school. I had thought that the branch hit the windshield and bounced off. Looking at the dent, it seems that a very big branch hit the hood and then bounced off the windshield as I drove on. I figure if I had of been a few moments earlier, it would have hit, and smashed the windshield.
One of the impatiens that Fiona brought home from school last year has been sitting in a kitchen window ever since. It has now started blooming again.
Pseudonymity and Anonymity online
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 12/19/2005 - 11:43My online persona grew up in the world of MOOs, and I think that world can provide us some helpful insights in how pseudonymity and anonymity can work online.
Why is this important? Recently, there have been lots of discussions about anonymity and pseudonymity online. How can Craig’s List deal better with trolls and scamsters? How can Wikipedia better deal with people deliberately posting false information? How can we have better discussions in the comment sections of active blog sites? Would requiring some sort of consistent online identity help address these problems? What sort of level of verification should be used?
Online Shopping Alone
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 12/05/2005 - 12:36Jon Lebkowsky writes about an article in the latest issue of Business Week talking about “Generation @”. If those who came of age in a world where everyone has an at sign in their email addresses are called Generation @, then I wonder if I should refer to myself as part of “Generation !”. After all, my first networked email address was on Usenet using an exclamation point to separate the userid from the hostnames.
Jon talks about how many conversations he’s been in with other consultants and online entrepreneurs who've predicted the imminent death of social network platforms. I’ve participated in many such conversations as well, and I suspect that my conversations on the subject have significantly overlapped with Jon’s conversations.
Blogging alone
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 11/25/2005 - 12:05In 2001, Robert Putnam published his book, Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community.
Amazon’s review says, “In a nutshell, he argued that civil society was breaking down as Americans became more disconnected from their families, neighbors, communities, and the republic itself. The organizations that gave life to democracy were fraying. Bowling became his driving metaphor. Years ago, he wrote, thousands of people belonged to bowling leagues. Today, however, they're more likely to bowl alone“.
Can blogging and other online communities be tools to help reconnect American’s with their family, friends, and neighbors? I think it can, and often point people to sites like Michele Agnew’s blog.
