I’d been reading over ‘Wikinomics‘ by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams. I’m not interested in the economics aspect, but am interested in the technology and the ‘social’ Web. There were a few interesting sections that caught my attention, I found that these two in particular, seemed closely related to a discussion taking place on my Facebook page this week:
‘The Web is no longer about idly surfing and passively reading, listening, or watching. It’s about peering: sharing, socializing, collaborating, and, most of all, creating within loosely connected communities.’ (p.45)
‘A generation of young people are entering the workplace with a radically different philosophy of work… they will bring high-technology adoption, creativity, social connectivity, fun and diversity to the companies they work for, and increasingly, to the companies the found themselves.’ (p.240)
I think these extracts link nicely to my previous blog entry about the apparent lack of interest in Twitter by teenagers (in the UK)…
‘Teens’ verdict on Twitter? They don’t give two Tweets – Apparently. Thoughts anyone?
I’ve managed to spend some time reviewing the comments people had posted up to my Facebook page – (with permission to post some edited highlights)
My starting point was this: “The thing about Twitter, it’s less visual – and you can [...] Tweet into the Internet void. Social Networking, such as Facebook, relies on visual stimuli and constant ‘chatter’. As for feedback… I get far quicker and more informative replies to my Tweets than I do on Facebook. I guess, if you don’t like something and don’t have a use for it – move on…”
‘K‘: “my kids love [...] multiple (simultaneous) conversations with one person each. Dozens of separate windows. Whereas twitter is one window in which we all converse together. I ask my sons why they don’t just put all their conversations together in one window and they say they don’t like that – they have different things to say to each person. They must have to repeat themselves a lot!”
‘B‘: “Must admit I started on Twitter and hated it. Felt it wasn’t the best social network to be on…MSN and Facebook seems to suit better…My daughter is 10 and loves MSN… ok the chat is a bit one worded but give her Twitter and she wont know what to do with it!!!!!”
[...] Not every app is for everyone – it’s all about needs and choice. One thing I will add is, why does everyone assume that social networking is just for the under 21s? And if they don’t use a particular app, then it must be crap – not every kid likes tech and to be honest most kids can’t use tech properly (that is a myth).
‘K‘: “I’m so with you, there Col. So sick and tired of the digital natives myth! I’m way more socially networked than my kids!”
‘BB‘: “[The] kids have better things to do than waste time in front of computers.. seems like a hefty bit of research to me.”
I wouldn’t want to just generalize and say they’re ‘wasting their time’. To some people, reading a book is a waste of time, because they like to be out doing things like climbing mountains.
‘K‘: “My kids live much of their lives through their computers. They spend more time ‘with’ their friends than I ever did as a kid. I *wish* I had had things like MSN. I was at boarding school, so knew no-one near my home and the holidays were awful as a consequence. My kids spend time chatting to friends all over the country and, indeed, the world. Between their phones and MSN, they’re never out of contact [...]“
‘B‘: “But what about face 2 face social interaction? The next generation need 2 get out + enjoy playing, climbing or whatever, we need a healthier future [...]“
‘K‘: “They do that, too [...] my kids are 18 and 16. Playing and climbing are not really on the radar for them. Now it’s music and game consoles. For them, f2f and online comms are seamlessly integrated. They will go to town [...] and meet up with friends they have been talking to online. [...] I have developed really close friendships with people I have never seen in the flesh… all thanks to social media [...]
‘James Clay‘: “Functionality is never important when it comes to social networking, it’s all about the social network, the community. SMS has no visual appeal but is well used by Teens. Teens don’t use Twitter, because teens don’t use Twitter. It’s never about what is better or worse, interfaces, functions, visual appeal, etc… it is about the conversation and the community.”
Yes, good points (as always) James – could a big factor be ‘peer-pressure’? Feeling that you need to join the community that all your friends are on.
‘James Clay‘: “Peer pressure is always going to be a big factor.
One thing that people forget is that online social networking often results in increased face to face social networking. People use Facebook and Twitter to organise their social life and events. It never us an either or situation. People who use social networking often have a better face to face social life than those who don’t.
‘B‘: “I think it all depends [...] parents don’t let them out as much as we use to [...] When I was 10, I was out everyday playing out – no computers etc. Today I wouldn’t let my child out like that [...] with under age drinking and drugs on the street and who knows what else, parents tend to wrap children in cotton wool unfortunately.’
‘BB‘: “People who use social networking often have a better face to face social life than those who don’t”. Where’s the evidence for that?
‘J‘: “I agree – in fact would suggest the exact opposite is true. My son is 9 and would happily spend his life on Facebook if I allowed it [...] He can make arrangements to see his friends in person and by phone and this is what we do – call us old-fashioned 
Our business is internet-based so we’re online pretty constantly [...] I’ve recently found it hard – and quite dull – to hold face-to-face conversations of any length and serious content. Is FB eating my attention span?”
‘BB‘: “They should take out the word ‘social’ because it is everything but social. It is networking granted and useful as a business/academic – call it what you will – tool, that is handy for organising events etc, and also, in my experience helping my research. If I want social that takes place in the real world.
‘James Clay‘: “Various studies have been undertaken which show the benefits of social networking.
Of course for some individuals their use of social networking is making them withdrawn (and that can be said for social networking, reading books, football, climbing mountains etc), but overall for most people the benefits are there.”
‘J‘: “I really don’t see how this is proof of social benefit. I suppose it’s rather dependent on your definition of “community”, isn’t it? I seem to recall another thread of Col’s (was it?) regarding the quality of interaction. Yes, I am part of a vast online society with many different communities, but the “real”, personal, relationships are very shallow – nice, but shallow! Being in contact with many people is not the same as being social.”
‘JCO‘: “From a conversation I had with students at work, they didn’t see the point in twitter as it was just the ‘status’ bit of Facebook, & Facebook is so much more than just that one statement of ‘what are you doing?’ – therefore twitter is limited. [...] Many ‘teens’ will have a lot of mates that they know through school, they are also likely to move in different social circles & be members of different groups, therefore conversations with one person or group can be completely different to another – hence twitter not working.”
Teen-Tweets cloud
It was really interesting to see that there is such a range of views on what constitutes ‘social’ networking and how those networks should fit into our lives.
Personally, I still feel that one application will never suit all users (which is a good thing), but there will be apps that become ‘preferred’ networking tools largely due to peer pressure from early adopters. I still think that the look & feel of apps is a big contributing factor to both user take-up and longevity.
On a social level – I’m not sure I understand what the problem is about people spending time on social networks rather than another activity. Who decides what is a meaningful activity anyway?
If someone is using an app for totally social purposes, then it is a ‘social’ network. If it is used to extend their working life, etc. is that still a social network? I have a real mixed-bag of contacts in all of my online communities, there are relatives, friends, work colleagues, academic contacts, etc. I tend not to compartmentalize my life into work-home-social, etc. I just get on with it and that works for me.
Does anyone ONLY have work OR social contacts as their online friends?
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