[Air-l] social networking migration

['Gail Taylor]

Connor Shaefer wrote: "I know my point is primarily semantic here, but I find it very important in terms of system theory. The network, especially in this context, is a very abstract concept, but nonetheless I do not think its aspect of 
being limited in applicability and diffusion can be altered; even if it could, I do not think the population or userbase of these SNSs would placidly accept the "homogenization," as Gail so strongly put it."

I think this would depend on the user being able to recognize this was happening as well as the value that was placed on the previous user experience. Nancy Baym shared information in another posting that highlights these concerns. 

Nancy wrote: "There are also differences in what is even perceived as a social networking site in the first place. To my surprise, a number of people have commented in the last.fm forums in response to my survey that they never thought of Last.fm as a social networking site because of its central focus on music."

I hang out online with a large international group of workplace educators. These individuals use a variety of advanced communication and information technologies as business platforms to enable various processes. Groupware software products are recognized as being those that enable the creation of virtual spaces where people can interact with others. Use of these products is dependent on organizational practices at the individual, group, organizational, and trans-organizational levels of operation. Members of this group have a digital language that is representative of their cultural practices. I've found this language rarely includes definitions that are promoted among members of the AoIR listserve. For instance, Nancy suggested that user profiles are hallmark defintions of online spaces. Profiles are treated differently in work settings, including online spaces. These profiles are often times created by employers, as opposed to employees. These profiles are used for a vari!
 et!
y of reasons directly related to the practice of work, as opposed to something that might enable interactions in online environments. 

/Gail
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Gail D. Taylor, M.Ed.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Human Resource Education Ph.D. Student
Educational Psychology Teaching Assistant
Library & Information Science Research Assistant

"Technology enables man to gain control
over everything except technology." -- 
Unknown