Social Networking on Steroids, Speed, and X

Yes, you read that correctly.

Take 21 seconds to read point #6 of "Working Together...When Apart."

I am the Project Manager for Kogod's class KSB-252: Washington Initiative [Instructor: Allison Holcomb]. The goal of the class is to execute an AU-wide marketing initiative surrounding the Help the Homeless Walkathon, which is sponsored by Fannie Mae and takes place on the National Mall on November 17th.

Our team of 8 meets once weekly, and as such it is my responsibility to make sure that everyone is doing their jobs outside of the meetings. Each member of my team has a lot to do, and my job is essentially 8-fold in trying to keep up with it all. I require my team members to produce finite results for every meeting, and as such I am able to keep them accountable to the group.

I also take ITEC-200 with Professor Melander. You'd better believe that there's a wiki page for that course too. Blackboard, in my opinion, is not the best tool for keeping a class organized. This is why I commend Professor Melander so much for using the wiki pages. I had no idea the things that were possible with wiki's. Likewise, the blog for Brendan Monaghan, our guest speaker two classes ago, featured an awesome video about making a wiki page for a team or an event. My team needs to be able to edit documents together, and collaborate on our project. The above sources [i.e. Professor Melander] inspired me to make a wiki for my team. So, I created ksb252.wetpaint.com. Wetpaint is another site that hosts wiki's, although it does have advertising.

My team members have been responsible for editing several pages, and making noticeable contributions each week in preparation for meetings and events. As a result, our team is very connected, both in and out of the boardroom (we meet in the Kogod boardroom). Our client is very happy with our presentation, and our team is able to get things done in a no-excuse [online] environment that I feel promotes punctuality and cooperation.

So, when I read point #6 above, it made me very excited because for my e-connected team, this is something that I had actually done. And, I was able to related to the article instead of taking it with a grain of salt and much skepticism.

Thank you, Professor.

The Exponential Value of Social Networks

Howard Rheingold in "Smart Mobs" discusses the laws by Sarnoff, Moore, Metcalfe, and Reed, that concern technology and social networks. I would never have thought to combine any of these laws to form my own postulate, simply because I do not generally associate social networks with the Internet. I think of the Internet as a place where commerce thrives and a means by which individuals communicate not only on a personal basis, but a business one too.

Adding e-mail addresses to the CC: or BCC: line of an e-mail doesn't initially strike me as social networking because the communication is essentially one way. At least until a reply is made. Even though, however, individuals rarely "Reply to all." Rheingold reckons that the laws concerning the growth of microcomputer abilities can also apply to people. The notion that two computers separate from each other are much less efficient than if they were linked to each other, coincides with Americans' belief that "two heads are better than one." For this reason, it is not hard to understand why an entire website of socially entwined people could offer endless possibilities in the way of organization and efficiency. With everyone linked together, information can be disseminated much quicker, and if a filter is applied, with great accuracy too. Likewise, interaction between individuals, whether for social or commercial purposes, is made much easier.

Rob Cross, a professor of Commerce at the University of Virginia makes note that oftentimes people collaborate with many others, using technology of all shorts, in an effort to get their work done. In theory, this notion would further Rheingold's claims that using technology to create social networks is the key to opening an infinite number of doors leading toward success. I remain skeptical of this theory, though. In the case of e-bay, this concept works marvelously. However, in real-world office environments I feel that, while some collaboration is good, preferably through means of face-to-face speech, using advanced technology that makes collaboration faster and easier can actually be more a burden than a help. If it's faster and easier to communicate, then people will likely do it more frequently, and the above theory ends up proving to be a detriment to the office environment. The effects are exaggerated if a key collaborator goes missing from the framework of social collaboration for that environment. Then individuals so graciously supported before are left to fend, and more importantly think, for themselves.

It's hard to say what is right and what is wrong in the massive realm of online social networking. My belief is that such a phenomenon is good for speedy communication, but I remain skeptical as I have yet to see such means of instant communication effectively regulated, so as not to induce inefficiency, the very thing that all of this is striving to prevent.

"Smart Mobs" by Howard Rheingold, pp. 56-61: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780738208619&itm=1

"First Hand: Connecting to Collaborate: An Interview With Rob Cross," featuring Rob Cross: http://www.csc.com/cscworld/012006/dep/fh001.shtml