Abstract Dynamics: Beyond Friendster: Openness and the Future of Social Networks

May 09, 2003

Beyond Friendster: Openness and the Future of Social Networks

Posted this at marginwalker.org, reprinting it here for your info and my archives.

There has been a lot of talk of Friendster and its kin in the network lately. The sharpest of the observations so far comes from Marginwalker's co-founder Adam Greenfield. As usual Adam's observations are right on the mark. However his conclusion throws me off a bit:

Something tells me these services won't reach their maximum potential until they can incorporate our less salutary feelings about association: the latent but powerful distinctions we make, the dislikes and fears we, however subtly, import into our presentation of self. These are precisely the shadows we may have "gone online" to escape in the first place, but they are a part of what we've always meant by "social," they serve a function evolved over a very long span of time, and I believe we ignore them at some disservice to our ambitions.

Now Adam may very well be right, but I really hope he isn't. We have the ability to use services like Friendster and its descendent's to effect profound changes on the make up of society. Instead of giving into the base discrimination (or "shadows") we incorporate into our daily life I think we should be using technology to eliminate the subtle biases that underlie our culture and selves.

Openness is a potent tool. The public emergence of homosexual culture over the past 35 years provides a telling example. Before Stonewall gays and lesbians stayed hidden from society. And as a result homophobia was able to flourish. You can be certain a lot of homophobic conversations took place in front of closet homosexuals who were too afraid to speak out. Now in 2003 the stigma of homophobia, while still present, is rapidly fading. Major presidential candidates are making gay rights a campaign issue in America, and only the far right gives a damn. Its pretty damn hard to be homophobic when you become aware of the fact that a handful of your friends happen to be gay. And at least in urban America its pretty damn hard not have a handful of gay friends.

The very openness that Adam takes offense too in Friendster, to me is an engine of social change. It forces us to reevaluate some of our hidden prejudices and calls into question some of the forces that segregate society. Now its entirely possible, as Adam seems to imply, that when faces with this sort of info, people will just look upon their friends for the worse. But I personally believe that in the long run the results would be positive. There is a mess of small discriminations that drive many of our social interactions. And when placed into larger contexts they just look silly.

Sousveillance is a term, coined by Steve Mann, which has been gaining some buzz of late. Its roughly the opposite of surveillance. Instead of a power watching over the people, sousveillance is the people watching over a power, and as a corollary watching over themselves. The openness that the architecture of Friendster creates is an integral part of a sousveillance society. And we as a culture are going to have to either learn to embrace the openness or attempt to make it go away.

This is all part of a larger emerging conflict between transparency and privacy, and we are going to dealing with the ramifications for a long time. But for the moment what I'm really interested in is how do we build better social networking technology? Adam is probably right that Friendster, LinkedIn and company are just the beginning and I agree that the ideal solution is an open source one. An open social networking standard which permits people to choose and build their own interfaces. I think some standard will inevitably be emerging in the next few years, and hopefully its not a proprietary one.

The question I have is what do we want this network to do? Is it there to cement our social networks and further our interactions within them, or is the goal to open up our social boundaries and push us towards new cultural understandings? These are delicate lines to walk. And if we build the right structures I think there is a tremendous opportunity to change society for the better. But there is a constant threat of building the opposite, tools which reinforce existing inequalities. How do we ensure we do the right thing?

Posted by William Blaze at May 9, 2003 09:30 PM | TrackBack

Comments

You cannot eat your cake and have it...

Posted by: Enoch on June 14, 2004 05:57 PM

But you can always fart and smell it and enjoy it!

Posted by: Hay Baby on November 1, 2004 02:30 PM

You may find it interesting to visit some helpful info about...

Posted by: on February 6, 2005 07:55 PM

new home loan http://new-home-loan.selected.sytes.net/ http://hard-drive-recovery.selected.sytes.net/ - hard drive recovery http://send-flowers-online.selected.sytes.net/ - send flowers online http://hookahs.selected.sytes.net/ - hookahs http://indoor-air-quality.selected.sytes.net/ - indoor air quality http://balance-transfer-card.selected.sytes.net/ - balance transfer card

Posted by: new home loan on March 17, 2005 09:51 PM

Posted by: new home loan on March 17, 2005 09:52 PM

In your free time, check some information dedicated to online pharmacy online pharmacy http://online-pharmacy.buy-2005.com/ canada pharmacy canada pharmacy http://canada-pharmacy.buy-2005.com/ didrex didrex http://www.buy-2005.com/ online pharmacies online pharmacies http://online-pharmacies.buy-2005.com/ canadian pharmacies canadian pharmacies http://canadian-pharmacies.buy-2005.com/ canadian pharmacy canadian pharmacy http://canadian-pharmacy.buy-2005.com/ propecia propecia http://propecia.buy-2005.com/ cvs pharmacy cvs pharmacy http://cvs-pharmacy.buy-2005.com/ pharmacy pharmacy http://pharmacy.buy-2005.com/ ... Thanks!!!

Posted by: online pharmacy on March 22, 2005 09:58 AM

Please check some information about roulette roulette http://roulette.win-2005.com/ blackjack blackjack http://free-no-download-slots.win-2005.com/ 888 888 http://www.vinhas.net/ online roulette online roulette http://online-roulette.win-2005.com/ keno keno http://www.win-2005.com/ free blackjack free blackjack http://free-blackjack.win-2005.com/ multi-line slots multi-line slots http://multi-line-slots.win-2005.com/ online blackjack online blackjack http://online-blackjack.win-2005.com/ no download slots no download slots http://no-download-slots.win-2005.com/ gaming gaming http://gaming.win-2005.com/ progressive slots progressive slots http://progressive-slots.win-2005.com/ betting betting http://betting.win-2005.com/ baccarat baccarat http://baccarat.win-2005.com/ online slots online slots http://online-slots.vinhas.net/ black jack black jack http://black-jack.vinhas.net/ online gaming online gaming http://online-gaming.vinhas.net/ slots slots http://slots.vinhas.net/ jack black jack black http://jack-black.vinhas.net/ free slots free slots http://free-slots.vinhas.net/ bet bet http://bet.vinhas.net/ free no download slots free no download slots http://free-no-download-slots.vinhas.net/ ...

Posted by: roulette on March 26, 2005 05:12 AM

You may find it interesting to visit the sites about cash advance cash advance http://cash-advance.conjuratia.com/ credit card credit card http://credit-card.conjuratia.com/ loan loan http://loan.conjuratia.com/ debt consolidation loans debt consolidation loans http://debt-consolidation-loans.conjuratia.com/ forex forex http://forex.conjuratia.com/ current mortgage rates current mortgage rates http://current-mortgage-rates.conjuratia.com/ auto loans auto loans http://auto-loans.conjuratia.com/ interest only mortgage interest only mortgage http://interest-only-mortgage.conjuratia.com/ car loans car loans http://car-laons.conjuratia.com/ credit credit http://credit.conjuratia.com/ reverse mortgage reverse mortgage http://reverse-mortgage.conjuratia.com/ cash cash http://cash.conjuratia.com/ eloan eloan http://www.conjuratia.com/ home equity loans home equity loans http://home-equity-loans.conjuratia.com/ auto loan calculator auto loan calculator http://auto-loan-calculator.conjuratia.com/ cash advance cash advance http://cash-advance.conjuratia.com/ forex trading forex trading http://forex-trading.conjuratia.com/ bad credit loans bad credit loans http://bad-credit-loans.conjuratia.com/ mortgage calculators mortgage calculators http://mortgage-calculators.conjuratia.com/ mortgages mortgages http://mortgages.conjuratia.com/ credit repair credit repair http://credit-repair.conjuratia.com/ personal loans personal loans http://personal-loans.conjuratia.com/ free credit reports free credit reports http://free-credit-reports.conjuratia.com/ mortgage payment calculator mortgage payment calculator http://mortgage-payment-calculator.conjuratia.com/ mortgage rates mortgage rates http://mortgage-rates.conjuratia.com/ private mortgages private mortgages http://private-mortgages.conjuratia.com/ mortgage mortgage http://mortgage.conjuratia.com/ loan calculator loan calculator http://loan-calculator.conjuratia.com/ credit cards credit cards http://credit-cards.conjuratia.com/ mortgage loan mortgage loan http://mortgage-loan.conjuratia.com/ pay day loan pay day loan http://pay-day-loan.conjuratia.com/ free credit report free credit report http://free-credit-report.conjuratia.com/ loans loans http://loans.conjuratia.com/ credit report credit report http://credit-report.conjuratia.com/ mortgage calculator mortgage calculator http://mortgage-calculator.conjuratia.com/ - Tons of interesdting stuff!!!

Posted by: cash advance on March 27, 2005 08:55 AM

covesdressedhomeless

Posted by: spine on May 25, 2005 12:29 PM

covesdressedhomeless

Posted by: spine on May 25, 2005 12:29 PM

covesdressedhomeless

Posted by: spine on May 25, 2005 12:30 PM

covesdressedhomeless

Posted by: spine on May 25, 2005 03:15 PM

covesdressedhomeless

Posted by: spine on May 25, 2005 03:15 PM

covesdressedhomeless

Posted by: spine on May 25, 2005 03:16 PM

attendantclintondeveloping

Posted by: neither on June 3, 2005 04:30 AM

attendantclintondeveloping

Posted by: neither on June 3, 2005 04:31 AM

attendantclintondeveloping

Posted by: neither on June 3, 2005 04:31 AM

causedisdainfamous

Posted by: plead on June 7, 2005 11:30 PM

causedisdainfamous

Posted by: plead on June 7, 2005 11:31 PM

pathspuffedwalked

Posted by: sending on June 14, 2005 07:13 AM

pathspuffedwalked

Posted by: sending on June 14, 2005 07:14 AM

pathspuffedwalked

Posted by: sending on June 14, 2005 07:14 AM

basicsunbuttonedwalls

Posted by: professor on June 14, 2005 07:19 PM

basicsunbuttonedwalls

Posted by: professor on June 14, 2005 07:19 PM

basicsunbuttonedwalls

Posted by: professor on June 14, 2005 07:20 PM

grabbedoverpowersrectum

Posted by: doors on June 18, 2005 11:02 AM

grabbedoverpowersrectum

Posted by: doors on June 18, 2005 11:02 AM

astonishedsportteenagers

Posted by: sudden on June 21, 2005 11:08 PM

astonishedsportteenagers

Posted by: sudden on June 21, 2005 11:08 PM

astonishedsportteenagers

Posted by: sudden on June 21, 2005 11:09 PM

sensualsovietstudied

Posted by: orgasmed on June 27, 2005 01:30 AM

sensualsovietstudied

Posted by: orgasmed on June 27, 2005 01:31 AM

blistersdoorsinhibitions

Posted by: muster on July 1, 2005 10:00 PM

blistersdoorsinhibitions

Posted by: muster on July 1, 2005 10:00 PM

blistersdoorsinhibitions

Posted by: muster on July 1, 2005 10:01 PM