social networking Blog
How Social Networks Think
I've had difficulty explaining my networking concepts without resorting to some exasperated cliche like, "that's just how I think about it."
Well, turns out that scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health are... more
The Internet as Third Place
Ray Oldenburg is an urban sociologist who writes about the importance of informal public gathering places. In his book The Great Good Place, Oldenburg demonstrates why these gathering places are essential to... more
Societal Culture and the Internet's Clusters
China's "Netizens" number 130 million - and are growing 30% every year. Second only to the U.S., China is installing Broadband everywhere and internet cafes are the size of K-Marts and as abundant as Starbucks.
In 2005, Dr. Guo Liang of the ... more
What works on MySpace
Over here at Future Majority, I answered a question about how one can make MySpace work. I brought up an example of "virtual-to-field back to virtual mobilization." The hugely unfunny and equally popular comic Dane Cook is the example.... more
Migration and Evolution, Intelligently Designed: YouTube
Culture grows and spreads through environments organically. It evolves. When culture spreads via built environments, its evolution can be intelligently designed.
Consider this example: What I know of as Lindy Hop, that athletic, exuberant, acrobatic dance, was essentially invented at the... more
Identity in Network Culture: MySpace
What is the culture of MySpace? Youth culture in my town's high school was dominated by the jocks and their rivals, the burnouts. The closer the burnouts were to jocks, preps, or worse their parents, the more miserable they felt about themselves. The further away from the mainstream, the greater... more
The People Who Run The World
Malcolm Gladwell wrote an article in The New Yorker in 1999 called "Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg." In it, he tangentially explains how it's been mathematically proven that Kevin Bacon is NOT ... more
