[Air-l] Re: friendster observations

[Eszter Hargittai]

I've posted some observations about Friendster on my blog.  Here's 
 the first section of the entry.  I don't want to clutter the list
 with the whole extended entry, you can check it out here:
 http://www.esztersblog.com/archives/00000386.html

Six degrees of separation or unification?

Every Internet user knows that the network helps us easily connect
 with numerous people across wide distances. Over the years, various
 services have sprung up to facilitate such connections. But is it
 always a good idea to join such networks? Is bigger always better?

There has been an increasing amount of discussion recently about
 Friendster, a relatively new online service based on connecting
 people to others through their existing social networks. The service
 has been enthusiastically covered by the likes of The Village Voice,
 Wired and Slate describing how Friendster is the newest great
 social - and procrastinatory - tool given all the information one
 can glean about people in one's social circles through the service. 

[..]

Many express much excitement about Friendster and even claim that it 
 is the next Google in online popularity and importance. I do not
 share this enthusiasm and here is why.

See here for the rest (and for links):
http://www.esztersblog.com/archives/00000386.html

Eszter
Post-doctoral Fellow
Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Princeton University
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http://www.eszter.com
http://www.esztersblog.com

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