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Social Networks Are Like The Eye

Nicholas Christakis gave a talk at Edge on how Social Networks Are Like The Eye (both video and text available). The metaphor, of course, centers on the idea of how very complex structures emerge and how they function, but it's the research on the flow of ideas and the dynamic, evolutionary qualities of networks that he and James Fowler have done that particularly interested me. In particular, the notion of "social contagion" (applied to the study of obesity, in one case) that is absolutely fascinating. If you're interested in networks and civil society, this is an absolute must-read. Posted: 3/3/08; 6:51:26 PM #

Online Social Networking as Participatory Surveillance

The current issue of First Monday is fantastic. I'll probably reference several of its articles over the course of the week, but I want to mention this one right away. Anders Albrechtslund lays out the case for Online Social Networking as Participatory Surveillance. His perspective is quite positive and he doesn't touch on the genuine concerns about surveillance that many of us have these days, but that isn't his point. He is looking at surveillance from a truly peer to peer perspective and this is useful and fascinating. Posted: 3/3/08; 6:40:12 PM #

Don't Kill The Instant Messenger

I really enjoyed Angela Winter's Don't Kill The Instant Messenger, a description of the agonizingly slow process of adoptions of information technology at The Sun magazine (one of my favorites, by the way). I particularly enjoyed the story of the subscriber, back in the Eighties, who wanted to give gift subscriptions to 400 people (!) and wanted to fax the list in. He had to buy them a fax machine, have it shipped to them, and then he could place his order. Suffice it to say, The Sun does have a decent website where you can enjoy many of their extraordinary articles. Posted: 3/3/08; 6:30:20 PM #

The Rebirth of American Civic Life

In a Boston Globe editorial called The Rebirth of American Civic Life, Robert Putnam explores issues of civic engagement related to the current U.S presidential election and points out that the only group that maintained the elevated engagement brought about by the 9/11 disaster is young people. He weighs in on the controversial Democratic superdelegate issue, but its the background of the piece that I found more interesting. Posted: 3/3/08; 6:23:54 PM #