Currently connected: Local and Internet
A lot to digest again this week, and this time it's live online at the same time. This is just what I was hoping for - reimmersion in the social web and exposure to new tools, sites, and functions. The online chat this evening was especially engaging, and I thought a nice demonstration of the fluidity of these concepts and the directions they can run in the hands of a diverse community of participants. The conceptual framework provided by Connect! and Wikinomics alongside these actual applications really gives a lot to work with and contemplate.
Reading through the ideas presented in Chapter Six of Connect! and from Zalenka's definition of Workstreaming, I found myself wondering what the analogues were to existing (partially digital, but non-web 2.0) modes of work and doing business. The drier discussion of Amazon's and Google's innovations in Wikinomics, while impressive, interesting, and informative, didn't contradict my initial expectation of finding a respectable amount of "x is just the internet version of y" connections. Eventually, I concluded that most of those connections just wouldn't line up. "Orly?", you say? Sure, a grand revelation it's not, but our little multi-faceted practice this week drives the theory home - this actually is something new we're talking about.
Briefly on Facebook, it's not quite what I'd expected. I am not finding it as intuitive as some of the other social networking sites, which surprises me. I like the potential for closed networks within the larger scope, but I haven't had enough time to dig in to exactly how that works, and what's really protected versus public. It's a bit of a challenge, but I'm confident that means there are some rewards to be had.
Finally, I'd like to add in a strong endorsement of all of the tips Zalenka offers regarding etiquette (Connect! p. 145 & 163 especially). They align nearly perfectly with what I've learned from my own experiences using digital communication socially (albeit a while back), as well as with clients and vendors professionally.
Comments
Jim -- interesting points about the "newness" of new media. This is actually one of the things I'm looking at in my dissertation, which is a comparison of the first English-language encyclopedia and Wikipedia.
You've inspired me to post a few optional resources on this in case you or anyone else wants to dig around.
Posted by: Krista | February 6, 2008 02:24 PM