Social Networks
Entries related to social networks, group psychology, anthropology, and really any of the social sciences.
Wordless Wednesday - Quilting Retro
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 03/24/2010 - 08:42
Okay. I'm going to cheat again and not be completely wordless. Last weekend we went to the Hebron Maple Festival. They always have a great quilt show there and both Fiona and I took a lot of pictures of the quilts. You can see them here.
It was hard to pick one for Wordless Wednesday, but in the end, I chose this one, in part because it made me think of one of the blogs I really like to visit:
Tapping the Real Power of Google Fiber
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 03/23/2010 - 08:44The webpage, Google Fiber for Communities starts off by saying, “Google is planning to launch an experiment that we hope will make Internet access better and faster for everyone.” Almost everyone seems to be focusing on faster and fiber and not on better and communities, and I think they are making a big mistake.
Yes, having fast fiber to the home is a great goal, and while there isn’t a lot of fast fiber to the home in the United States, the idea isn’t really all that new or ground breaking. In 2008, PCWorld ran a story about KDDI offering home gigabit broadband for around $50/month. The United States has significantly lagged in broadband.
Some of this is because there is no very little real competition or innovation in the United States telecommunications industry. Instead, the large telecommunications firms are pretty happy keeping things the way they are, and the barriers to entry are so high that it takes either a really large company or a really innovative idea to break through.
Google is a really large company that, while gigabit broadband is not innovative, their approach for marketing it is. They have announced their intention to launch a product and have asked people to compete to become their customers, and the competition has been fierce.
Potential customers have used social media and earned media to advertise for Google. They have lobbied local governments to encourage Google to offer the product in their locale. I live on the outskirts of New Haven, CT, where community activists are working together with the city government on the New Haven Google Fiber Project. Activists are involved to help spread the word. Small businesses, especially those savvy at marketing online have joined forces to help the project, and the Mayor’s office has taken the lead. There is great energy and community around this project and if New Haven becomes a test bed for Google Fiber, it will do great things for the city.
Looking around the country, there are plenty of other similar efforts. Many cities have Fiber Fan pages on Facebook. Grand Rapids, MI has over thirty four thousand fans. Hunstsville, AL has over ten thousand fans. Fresno, CA has over eight thousand fans. Sarasota, FL has nearly seven thousand fans. Columbia, MO has nearly six thousand fans. Anderson, IN has a very impressive effort going on in their community with over forty-four hundred fans. Memphis has forty three hundred fans, edging out the forty-two hundred fans in Madison, WI. Durham, NC has over twenty six hundred members. Austin, TX has about eight hundred, as does Burlington, VT. At last check, there were over 150 fan pages for Google Fiber on Facebook.
Some community is going to be very happy. Others will be disappointed. I’ve worked on many campaigns that I believed would make our communities and our country greater. Too often, my candidate has lost and the energy and community around the campaign dissipated. While I hope that New Haven gets Google Fiber early on, and Google rapidly expands its fiber offering to many other communities, my greater hope is that the communities remain engaged and active, working together to provide better services and better work environments for the twenty first century.
The first round of applications is due on March 26th. I hope everyone gets good applications in and at the same time find ways of keeping their communities engaged and active.
Leading by Example, First Selectwoman of Durham, CT, Laura Foley Francis
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 03/22/2010 - 11:36Some of my most fervent Democratic friends may be disappointed in me for doing this, but I want to highlight the work of the Republican First Selectwoman of Durham, CT, Laura Foley Francis as an example of someone who is doing a great job of leading by example.
I first met First Selectwoman Francis at a ‘CT Tweetcrawl’. These gatherings are opportunities for people to gather and talk many things, including how they can use social media, like Twitter, Facebook and other sites, to promote things they value.
I’ve not been able to find Ms. Francis on Twitter, but we are friends on Facebook, and she has set up the Residents of the Town of Durham, CT page on Facebook. On it you will find messages like: “Welcome Home from Iraq, Captain, US Army, Melissa Golschneider, Durham, CT. We are proud of you” and “If you are unemployed or under-employed , please consider this workshop in Durham”. Sometimes, there are links to the town website, such as this one that encouraged people to attend Frog Friday.
Her personal Facebook page looks a lot like that of any other regular person. She plays Farmville and asks friends for recommendations for people to do business with. While I am not a big fan of Farmville, especially since Durham is much better farmland than anything you’ll find on Facebook, I believe that Ms. Francis’ approach to Facebook is one that people should emulate. It shows a real person concerned and connected with her community.
One of her recent posts especially caught my attention. “Thinking about hanging some clothes on the line today..” Several people commented on this. I quipped about the energy efficiency of my solar powered external clothes drier. Another person commented about good old fresh Durham air, part of the reason he loves living in Durham. One person noted that the Clean Energy Task Force gives her their official stamp of approval.
Yet one person asked, “Don't they pay you enough as first selectman to buy a dryer?” I don’t know how well Durham pays its First Selectwoman, but I suspect they are getting more than their money’s worth.
I’m sure that Ms. Francis could afford to use a clothes drier, but she has made an important choice. She has chosen to be frugal in her use of energy in a way that is enjoyable. We need more leaders willing to exhibit personal frugality in ways that improve everyone’s quality of life, not only in local government, but also at the state and national level.
Ms. Francis is to be commended for leading by example, and I wish her many more great days hanging laundry outside.
#PCCT - PodCamp Connecticut, Planning Stages
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 11:51Last night a dozen or so social media enthusiasts gathered in Rocky Hill to share ideas about organizing an unconference about social media in Connecticut. Many of the participants had been to various Podcamps and some had been to other forms of unconferences. Just about everyone already knew each other from CT Tweet Crawls and other social media gatherings. We discussed several issues; should this be a ‘PodCamp’, which is a well known brand trademarked by the PodCamp Foundation? Should it be a Social Media Camp, or some other form of BarCamp? How strictly should it follow the ‘unconference’ format? What, in the end, are we trying to get out of this?
One of the issues is that many of the people already heavily involved in social media have been to PodCamps, BarCamps or related events. There are PodCamps in Boston, Western Mass., New York City and beyond. What would make PodCamp Connecticut special?
Suzi Craig came up with a great suggestion, focusing on, “Work, Live, Play, Connecticut”. How does social media affect our lives here in Connecticut?
For the news industry, the affect is profound. People are now getting their news online. They are sharing information, both that they have gathered, and pointers to interesting stories they have found via social media. The news industry is still struggling with how best to respond to the affects of social media.
Yet other companies need to think about this as well. Word of mouth has always been the best advertising, and now word of mouth is taking place online. How do businesses effectively join in on the conversation in a way that it helps their business?
This leads us nicely to the ‘Play’ aspect of Suzi’s suggestion. People use social media to decide what bar, restaurant, or events to go to. They organize Tweetcrawls to gather with friends at preselected venues. Wise businesses will try to get on the Tweetcrawler’s radar and become a desired destination. People planning other events are wise to try and use social media in a similar manner to draw people to their events.
Another profession, very closely tied to where we live that has always relied on personal networks is realtors. More and more realtors are recognizing the power of social media as a tool to grow their personal networks.
The goal of PodCamp Connecticut is to draw together around three hundred people from all walks of life to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences of social media and how it affects where we work, play and live.
This then comes to the format. I often comment about being an unconference purist. Every session should be a discussion with a facilitator and note taker, but no presentations. A good unconference starts off with a brief discussion setting the framework for the day and doing very quick introductions. I like the style of each person saying their name, where they’re from and three words about themselves, very quickly and moving on. This can work with very large crowds and be very revealing.
Then, people write ideas for sessions they would like to attend on sheets of paper. The sheets get sorted, duplicates combined and the most popular put on a board to list when and where the topic will be discussed. People go to a session and talk about what they are interested in. If they aren’t interested, they exercise the rule of two feet, walk out, and find a session that fits them better.
This is one of the reasons why presentations generally don’t work well at unconferences. The items to be discussed need to be what everyone in the room is looking for, and not some preconceived idea that a presenter has. Too often, I’ve seen people set on doing presentations be disappointed because people don’t want to listen to their presentations. They either interrupt and pull the session back to a discussion that doesn’t follow the presentation, or they simply walk out.
Yet this approach of unconferences is new to many people, and some people find the idea challenging to start with. However, when they think about so many conferences where they’ve sat and listened to a panel talk for forty-five minutes, with the only real value coming with the statements from the audience, converted Jeopardy-style, to questions for the Q&A during the last ten minutes, they often quickly realize the value of the unconference.
Will this group of social media enthusiasts be able to pull off a successful unconference about social media in Connecticut? If there is any group of people that can pull it off, this group seems well positioned. In addition, experienced campers from other PodCamps and BarCamps in the surrounding area are offering to help out. Given the interest in Tweet Crawls and other social media gatherings here in Connecticut, it seems like a great crowd can be gathered. I sure hope so. I’m looking forward to it.
