social_software - Howard Rheingold on Diigo

16 Nov 09

Network Capital: An Expression of Social Capital in the Network Society

This article deals with an emerging type of social capital which is labeled as ‘network capital’. It is formed from collaborative practices emerging from e-enabled human networks. It is proposed that network capital is a specific type of social capital in

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social_software social_capital social_networks networks

This
article deals with an emerging type of social capital which is
labeled as ‘network capital’. It is formed from
collaborative practices emerging from e-enabled human networks. It is
proposed that network capital is a specific type of social capital in
the Network Society, and that it holds significant value for the
advancement of human development around the world.
According
to Amartya Sen, ‘human development’ refers to the
expansion of choices (i.e. freedoms) for people to live better lives.
This concept has universal application, so it is not only valid for
under-developed nations (
16 more annotations...
- Social
  capital is a measure of social cohesion, and one of the indicators of
  the overall ‘wealth’ of a country/society (together with
  financial, human, natural and physical capitals). The World Bank
  defines it as “the institutions, relationships, and norms
  that shape the quality and quantity of a society's social
  interactions. (…) . Social capital is not just the sum of the
  institutions which underpin a society – it is the glue that
  holds them together.”
- Another
  definition for social capital, this time in relation to networks, is
  as “the networks of social interaction and the norms of
  reciprocity that allow the individual and the community to assume a
  habit of civic collaboration aimed at common goals” [UNV
  2000]. This definition has the double advantage of treating social
  capital as a network concept and it introduces the fundamental
  element of ‘commonality’ which puts it in the sphere of
  public goods.
- It
  is relevant to discuss social capital in the new context given by the
  emergence of a new phase of history, the Information Age, and its
  functional structure, the Network Society. Wellman writes that “the
  transformation of national and global societies into ‘network
  societies’ suggests the usefulness of thinking of social
  capital as a product of personal community networks as well as of
  formally institutionalized groups.” It is well beyond the
  scope of this article to try to explore social capital in this new
  social context. Rather, our focus here is merely one aspect of it,
  which can be named ‘network capital’.
  
  Communities
  are no longer defined only by place, but also by interest, becoming
  organized into social networks. When the interaction takes place
  among members of an electronic network, which are likely loosely-knit
  in geographic terms, the resulting social capital is network based.
  Network capital could then be understood as a measure of the
  differentiated value in the Information Age that communities
  structured as social networks generate on the basis of electronic
  (digital) networks for themselves, for others and for society as a
  whole.
- Wellman describes network capital as the form of social
  capital that makes resources available through interpersonal ties. He
  writes that it consists of “knowing how to maintain a
  networked computer, search for information on the Internet and use
  the knowledge gained, create and sustain online relationships, and
  use these relationships to obtain needed resources, including
  indirect links to friends of friends.” [Wellman 2001] and
  that it can be measured by “the frequency of social contact
  with friends, relatives, and workmates.” While these are
  indeed elements of network capital, they clearly do not sufficiently
  explain it.
- Network
  capital can be characterized through a combination of attributes,
- It
  is a result of cooperation via electronic networks,
- It
  is largely produced by volunteer action and contributions
- It
  is created by communities of interest, where membership is based on
  personal interest, skills, background/experience and sharing of a
  common purpose.
- t
  is generated by people organized as a virtual community who share a
  communal cyberplace
- t
  is largely produced from asynchronous communications which provide
  greater flexibility for the human nodes of the networks
- It
  has been particularly concerned with knowledge
  generation,
- It
  favors the expanded participation of people in matters of common
  interest, by facilitating the logistics and dynamics of such
  involvement. It thus opens up a wider array of possibilities for
  individuals to behave as ‘global citizens’, and to
  become involved in actions and issues not bounded by their physical
  location.
  
  An
  early and still paradigmatic example of network capital comes from
  the creation of Free/Open Source software (FOSS). People from
  different locations, who may not ever see each other, use Internet
  and net-based tools to exchange information, generate knowledge, work
  collaboratively and develop well-defined products, ‘all for the
  love of it’. These people consider themselves as software
  artists (even activists), and participate on a voluntary basis. They
  meet at specific cyberplaces, eg. distribution lists, extranets or
  project management applications, and sometimes in person as well, at
  conferences or other public events.
  
  FOSS
  communities have crafted a culture of sharing and solidarity which
  not only makes their processes sustainable, but is a stimulus and
  reference for others to also pursue electronic-based
  collaboration. The ‘Open-Source’ approach is becoming
  known for its methods and philosophy in fields outside of software
  production, as a collaborative methodology.
- This human network within the larger
  project (and largely virtual) community would only coalesce for the
  purposes of the project, because it would be created and tailor-made
  for that purpose. The collaborative working methods are sure to
  resonate with some of the people involved, who would apply them later
  in other spheres. Some of the relationships initiated by the projects
  would become lasting human bonds, either for professional or personal
  purposes. The results and outcomes of the project would arguably
  prove to be, to a significant extent, a consequence of the network
  capital formed during its implementation.
- Network capital is ‘ICT-enabled’
  and will be a measure of how people collaborate through electronic
  networks for personal, communal and even global benefits. In other
  words, it is the social capital of the ‘space of flows’
  described by Castells.
- Network
  capital holds important potential for human development and
  specifically for development cooperation, where global and local
  issues mix fluidly in the processes leading to greater options for
  people and improved living conditions. The global citizen will have
  more possibilities to become involved in social causes, with lesser
  constraints of place or time.
- Ultimately, network capital is a social asset
  which can appear spontaneously. But as a public good, it will grow
  better if adequately fostered and stimulated, in turn increasing and
  spreading its benefits.

25 Oct 09

How the Obama campaign uses Wikis | Future Changes

"That the Obama campaign is so tech savvy and so open to using social software is unsurprising. They have run one of the most comprehensive online campaigns in recent memory — perhaps ever — generally outperforming opponents on nearly every social network or social media site, and according to a recent post from Ning’s Marc Andreesen, Obama has long been very interested in social networking and how it can affect politics.

The specific appeal of Central Desktop’s wiki-based approach is that allows volunteers to shape the messaging and quickly collaborate with each other without the need to go through a webmaster. The Texas effort, some of which was cloned over from the previous California site, was literally launched a couple of weeks ago in mid-February."

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wiki social_software

16 Oct 09

apophenia: Twitter: "pointless babble" or peripheral awareness + social grooming?

"I vote that we stop dismissing Twitter just because the majority of people who are joining its ranks are there to be social. We like the fact that humans are social. It's good for society. And what they're doing online is fundamentally a mix of social grooming and maintaining peripheral social awareness. They want to know what the people around them are thinking and doing and feeling, even when co-presence isn't viable. They want to share their state of mind and status so that others who care about them feel connected. It's a back-and-forth that makes sense if only we didn't look down at it from outter space. Of course it looks alien. Walk into any typical social encounter between people you don't know and it's bound to look a wee bit alien, especially if those people are demographically different than you.

"

www.zephoria.org/...twitter_pointle.html - Preview

twitter social_software social_networks

10 Aug 09

IT's Not about the Technology - Tom Austin - Web 2.0 | Fast Company

A new species of Information Technologist is emerging from the primordial ooze of Web 2.0 -- social scientists and humanists who focus on human behavior more than software code. So says Tom Austin, a researcher with Gartner, Inc., an information technology research and advisory firm. Austin believes that social sciences will become more important to IT Departments than IT itself.

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social_media social_software

17 Mar 09

Social Software Bibliography

www.worldcat.org/...538811 - Preview

social_software educational_technology e-learning

05 Feb 09

Parsons Journal for Information Mapping > Issues > Volume I, Issue 1

The Parsons Journal for Information Mapping (PJIM) is pleased to announce the launch and publication of its inaugural issue. This issue features four unique projects dealing with various facets in the fields of information mapping and visualization

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social_software mapping visualization design

27 Jan 09

The Unforeseen Consequences of the Social Web - ReadWriteWeb

Clearly, what you do on social media leaves traces and cannot be easily removed from the Web. Information can fairly easily be tracked back to you and what you say and do will be public for a long time. Whether you believe in monitoring yourself online or

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social_software twitter web2.0 technology facebook privacy social_media

12 Jan 09

The Virtual Campfire: An Ethnography of Online Social Networking

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology

Based on five years of participant-observation on the social networking sites MySpace, Facebook, and Tribe.net, The Virtual Campfire explores the increasingly blu

thevirtualcampfire.org/virtualcampfire.htm - Preview

social_software web2.0 social_networks facebook sociology social_media UOC

15 Sep 08

Phreadz : Social Media, Networking and Conversations. « kosso’s braingarden

Phreadz can be thought of like a ’social multimedia forum system’ where content is posted by community members and replied to, creating compelling and engaging ‘conversational threads’ using multimedia which can be shared and re-branded in many places at

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social_software video online_community

09 Sep 08

I’m So Totally, Digitally Close to You - Clive Thompson - NYTimes.com

For many people — particularly anyone over the age of 30 — the idea of describing your blow-by-blow activities in such detail is absurd. Why would you subject your friends to your daily minutiae? And conversely, how much of their trivia can you absorb? Th

www.nytimes.com/...07awareness-t.html - Preview

twitter social_software

01 Sep 08

Poynter Online - Al's Morning Meeting

Andy Carvin's job, as the senior strategist for social media at NPR, is to build bridges between NPR and its fans and social network users on places like Twitter and Facebook. Carvin once defined "a truly great blog" as a place where a community forms, an

www.poynter.org/column.asp - Preview

smartmobs social_software comm217

03 Aug 08

Learning from the Future: Jyri Engeström - Nodal Points « SPRXmobile The Blog

Video from Reboot: In 40 minutes Jyri Engeström builds upon his ideas of social objects and social peripheral vision. He adds the idea of nodal points.

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social_networks mobile_devices social_software

18 Jul 08

» Tiltfactor is…

Tiltfactor Laboratory is first academic center to focus on social activist games. Our mission is to research 7 develop software 7 art that creates rewarding, compelling, socially-responsible interactions, with focus on game design for social change.

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social_software gaming2learn

15 Jul 08

Twing - Features

Twing aims to be the most comprehensive and highly targeted forum search engine for real people seeking real discussions and real information in real time.

www.twing.com/features - Preview

search useful social_software

23 Jun 08

on social network sharecropping - D'Arcy Norman dot net

While these activities are valued, and contribute to the sense of online community, they are basically the activities of a sharecropper. Tilling the landowner’s field, toiling in the landowner’s soil, until, eventually, the landowner reaps the reward

www.darcynorman.net/...n-social-network-sharecropping - Preview

technology social_software online_community

12 Jun 08

Reputation Parent - Yahoo! Design Pattern Library

each designed model of participation & reputation embodies own set of biases & incentive structures. Balancing these forces determines success or failure of social system.

developer.yahoo.com/...parent.php - Preview

reputation social_software

11 Jun 08

ABC News: Obama's 'Cybergenic' Edge

To win, candidates must now be "cybergenic" — able to surf, blog, IM and twitter their way into the hearts of activist "netizens."

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twitter social_software smartmobs

05 Jun 08

Augmented Social Cognition: Talk video: Enhancing the Social Web through Augmented Social Cognition research

PARC's Augmented Social Cognition researchers focus on understanding how to "enhance a group of people's ability to remember, think, and reason". Through social tagging, blogs, Wiki, we can studythese types of enhancements on a very large scale.

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social_software collaboration

31 May 08

WRLDs Workshops

WRLDs is offering a series of seminars exploring Social Media. Our first seminar will provide an introduction to the technologies of Web 2.0, including:

Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, del.icio.us, YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr, FriendFeed, Second Life and more

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social_software web2.0

UCSC Wiki Lab - The UCSC Wiki Lab

In the demo, the text background of Wikipedia articles is colored according to its trust.

trust.cse.ucsc.edu - Preview

wiki reputation social_software collaboration

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