Web 2.0 & Social Networking

1. Web 2.0 & Social Networking PJ Dillon November 2nd, 2006

2. Outline • Web 2.0 Overview • Web 2.0 Examples • Social Networking • Social Networking Software • Site • Online Dating • Mobile • What’s in Common • My Project

3. Supporting Web 2.0 • Refers to light-weight business models providing services rather than software products • Server-side web applications provide light-weight user interfaces • User interacts through a web browser • AJAX utilities provide rich user experience • Development and updates evolve continuously • “Perpetual beta” • Users interaction drives software changes • Users act as co-developers • Database • Store, organize, and manage user data • Data changes quickly

4. Web 2.0 Mechanism • Provide data management services • Service evolves with user experience • Users determine how they’ll use the service • Users act as data sources • Provide content • Richness of content grows as more people contribute • Data gains more meaning/relevance • Utilizes the “collective intelligence” • Syndication • Don’t dictate how data is used • Reuse • Incorporation into or combination with other services

5. Web 2.0 Services • Google • Mail, maps, calendar, word processing, spreadsheets, etc • SourceForge.net • User-created open source software project • Amazon • User reviews, “People who bought this item also purchased” • eBay • User generated auctions • BitTorrent • Collaborative file storage and transfer • Wikipedia • Collaborative Encyclopedia • YouTube • Video sharing • Mapquest • Online maps and directions • Paypal

6. The Blog • Personal web pages have been around since the dawn of the web • The web log altered the paradigm • The personal web page in journal form • From static web content to continuously updated content • RSS provides the static link to this ever changing content • Provided the first mechanism for syndication • Separates content from any fixed display of it • Alerts interested users to new content

7. The Blog • Linking became the currency of the “blogosphere” • Authors include links to other blogs in their own • Back links let an author count how many people linked to his blog • Collective intelligence syndicated the best content • Formation of communities • Social Networking • Notice the implicit association • Blog still associated with the person • Each blogger creates a personal profile

8. Social Networking • Involves the formation of interpersonal relationships • Business, academic, dating, hobbies, sports, and activities • In the context of Web 2.0 • Web service provides representation of these real world relationships • Friends, business partners, or teammates • Organize digital information relevant to or indicative of these relationships • Context provides the means to find and create new relationships with different people

9. Social Networking Services

10. MySpace • The flagship social networking site • Open registration with an email address • Users create personal profile • Displayed as personal website • Customizable HTML using style tags • Becomes content of the system

11. MySpace Services • Friends List – link to other friends’ pages • Favorites List – link to other peoples’ pages • Messaging – email-like • Groups – link to others with common interest • Blogging • Events – link to others attending an event • Bulletins – Broadcast messages posted for friends • Entertainment Industry • Artists, Movies, Comedians advertise themselves on their pages • Link to favorite artists as a friend • Incorporate songs into profile • Videos • Users can upload home videos • Incorporate into profiles • Professional Networking • Link to particular schools, colleges or companies • Self-tagging into a taxonomy of professions

12. Facebook • Quintessential continuous development site • New services and updates have been incrementally added over the last year • Services are provided without knowing how they’ll be used (poke) • Broader Social Networks are organized into high schools, colleges, companies, and geographic regions • Registration is restricted to email address indicative of membership to the respective network • Geographic regions have open registration • Users create personal profile • Content for the system

13. Facebook Services • Friends List • link to other friends’ pages • Crosses network boundaries • Messaging • Poking • Groups • Blogging • Events • Pictures • Upload and group pictures • Tag friends in images • Current Status – current activity or personal state • Professional Networking • Bookmarking • Update Feed – aggregates changes to friends profiles for convenience • Mobile Phone Access

14. Other Social Networking Sites • Classmates.com • Friendster • Mooble • Orkut • Google’s invitation only, trusted friends site • iSocialite • There at 100’s • All with pretty much the same features

15. Online Dating Websites • Essentially social networking for a particular focus • Users create profile • Most elaborate profiles • Services • Searching • Messaging • Winking/poking • Generally more static content and simple services

16. Special Social Services

17. Flickr • Have already seen Picture Sharing • Main content • Profile • Partially drawn from Yahoo! ID • Contacts List (Friends) • Messaging

18. Del.icio.us • That’s the URL: http://del.icio.us • Social Bookmarking • Users browse web, find interesting site • Save link to del.icio.us • Tag link with keywords • Send links to specific friends • Save commonly used bookmarks • Friends list (Network) • Tagging • Link descriptions/commentary • RSS feeds

19. “Folksonomy” • Opposed to a taxonomy • Predefined, rigidly structured classification • Attempts to cover all possibilities • Single item can fall into a single classification only • “Folksonomy” describes user-defined tagging • Used by Flickr, del.icio.us, etc • Undefined, unstructured grouping • structure and grouping arise as users participate • Adds meaning to each tag

20. Xanga • Blogging social networking site • Users create profile • Other Services • Messaging • Groups • Picture sharing • Music sharing • Video sharing • Blog subscription

21. Mobile Social Networking • A large number of social networking sites are designed for use with a mobile phone • “MoSoSo” – Mobile Social Software • Use multiple technologies • Bluetooth Personal Area Network • Text messaging interaction • Specialized mobile software • (Mobile web) • Often involve location/geographic based services

22. Dodgeball • Text messaging based interaction with central service • Open registration with email address and mobile phone • Linked with Google account • Create profile • Designed to be viewed on mobile phone • Users define location based Venues • Set current location using mobile phone • Text message sent to each of the user’s friends with location of the user • Geotagging yourself

23. Twitter • Text messaging based interaction with central service • Open registration with email address • Simple service to let others know current activity • User sets description of current activity • Text message is broadcast to each of his or her friends • Like Facebook’s status service with added text message broadcasting • User creates small profile and list of Friends

24. Socialight • Software application running on mobile phone • Mobile geographic tagging and retrieval • Web 2.0 city guide • Users create • Venue descriptions or reviews • Pictures • Upload content to service tagged with geographic position • Users query service for stored information near their current location • Users are also notified if friends or friends of friends are nearby • User profiles and friends list

25. Plazes • Mobile laptop software • Service maintains a worldwide database of WiFi hot spot locations • Users register with email address • Create profile • Build friends list • Uses MAC address of network hardware to determine users location • If not known, user defines place • Lets friends know when they are in proximity • Can include Trazer in other sites to let friends know where you are at all times (Yikes!) • Mobile phone software is planned as well

26. Rabble • Special mobile software application • They actually charge a monthly service fee • Create location tagged media with phone • Blog, pictures, favorite places, events • Upload with phone • Search for content tagged around you • Acts as a media mobile blog • Constantly updating mobile information • Subscribe to other’s information “channel” • Integrated with other blogging services

27. What’s in common?

28. The Profile • Every service attempts to establish identity • Most need a confirmed email address • Some use cell phone or bank account • Link to and use Google or Yahoo accounts • Ultimately create username and password for future log • A profile is then associated with each user • Displayed for other users • Varying degrees of access to profile information

29. Profile Commonalities • Personal Information • Name, Age/Birth date, Gender, Height, Ethnicity, Home town • One or more profile photos • One main photo • Current Residence or Address • Sexual Orientation, Relationship Status, Interested In/Looking for • Behavior • Drink, Smoke, keep pets, engage in controversial activities • Religion • Contact Information • Email Address • Instant Messaging IDs • AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, Jabbar, IRC • Skype • Mobile Phone, Land line

30. Profile Commonalities • Personality Information • Interests • Activities/Hobbies • About Me • Looking For/Who I’d like to meet • Favorite Music/Movies/Books/TV Shows/Quotes • Skills/Expertise • Networking Background • College – Majors, Minors • High School • Companies • Courses • Profession self-tagging

31. The Problem • Separate databases store almost exactly the same information • Attempt to create an online representation of a person • Online presence • Updating the information becomes cumbersome • Must visit each system separately • Friends of a user have little or no knowledge of content provided by other services

32. My Project • With an open standard • Tag common profile information with MWAC tags • Present an XML document containing all the information • Much like RSS • Each service that requires a user’s profile information can syndicate the document • Present it however the service needs • Poll for updates to the document • Back links provide means of finding other services of which the user makes use • Issues • Identity and Authentication • Privacy • Not every service needs access to the same data • User may want different data displayed for different services

33. My Project • Designing a Web 2.0 service could mitigate these issues • Provides easy update of Profile information • Let’s the user define access privileges to each service requesting data • User can also define a profile context • Services restricted to particular context

34. Extensions & Other Applications • Extension for Intellectual Property • Linking with “Real World” identity information • Bank accounts • Government ID • Using existing services • Live Resume • Applications • Employment • College/Graduate School/Fellowships • Grants • Research Papers • Bibliographical information