Filed under: Social Technology
I came across this post recently by Fred Stutzman who I can honestly say I have no idea how I came to have his blog in my reader. One of those 6 degrees things where I read a blog that connected to another blog that quoted someone else’s blog and well, you get the picture. He describes a talk he is giving about how the internet has changed the way we are connecting with each other and how this is driving changes in technology now and will in the future. He uses the term social technology which I realize describes all of the avenues of communication I have become engrossed in over the last few years. Starting with the Compuserve forums in the 80s through the explosion of social networks like MySpace and Flickr and the multitude of others coming on board it’s always been about connecting with each other. Weblogs give anyone an opportunity to express themselves and engage in conversations with complete strangers that may later become friends. It’s a stimulating time in communication and the technology that is helping fuel this social revolution. It’s where I want to learn and contribute technically. It’s where the conversation is best.
Just a bit of rambling on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
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Hey G,
Comment by Larry August 14, 2006 @ 11:18 pmIt seems that, prior to the bubble bursting, we were a bit facinated by all the possibilities that all this connectivity would allow…we got excited about commerce and cash as it related to the “new territory”. Making a buck ran amuck, and we forgot to really listen to each other. What I see emerging is an internet that acually is a more clear, open environment…this “social technology” will have a major influence on we consume and speak to eachother. It will be interesting times.
Hey Larry,
When Tim Berners-Lee invented the web his original idea was based on the concept of hypertext that would facilitate sharing and updating of information among researchers. A truly read-write web. Not what happened in the beginning. Instead, for the most part, making money was the focus. A new channel was emerging that showed potential. When Amazon came on the scene as a true virtual store without any brick-and-mortar locations the stage was set for a new gold rush for business completely ignoring the original two-way concept of the web. The end user was “engaged” but only to purchase or view those “wonderful” online banner ads. Business was trying to recreate on the web the model that had worked for so long and to an extent succeeded.
The birth of weblogs and now the explosion of social networks has started to change how people interact on the web. Humans by nature need to engage with others that share their beliefs and ideas. As well as engaging in conflict with those that don’t agree with us. It’s this conversation that stimulates us to learn whether good or bad. And people love to show off as evident by the likes of YouTube and Flickr. This “social technology” will continue to evolve around the needs and wants of people not money. However money will be made and lots of it. Just not the way we have in the past.
Comment by Gary Thompson August 15, 2006 @ 8:28 am