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Social or social network simply means individuals tied by one or more specific types of interdependencies (ie, friendships, common interests, groups etc). At its basic element, such online networks are repositories of “who I know and this is what I want them to know about me”. But as a network for socializing, does the average user use these networks to really socialize? Yes (and no), but at the very minimum, it generally entails posting updates on one’s life, sharing family/vacation photos, making announcements, all with the intention that the friends/people that we have allowed to share this information will ‘click’ on your bookpage to read about it (note: strangers can visit but not share some info). This is a ‘one-way’ socialization process. So are (technical/introvert) people who are ‘not sociable’ in real life (as you put it) ‘less qualified’ to produce a social network than their counterparts? Alternatively, you could argue that the people that actively use such social networks are vain, narcissist, an with an underlying desire to measure their self-worth by the number of friends they have (this is stretching it a little, so no disrespect to those who actively use such social networks). So, the techies/introverts may merely be cautious about posting their info online; it does not entirely disqualify them from making social apps. As I see it, the medium of social networking should be less ‘one-way’ socialization and more like being in the same room with all these people. Facebook, for example, seems more like a room full of people who walk around with a whiteboard obscuring their faces and posting all of their personal info on these whiteboards, ie, we really don’t know if they are who they say they are. Google+ is no more different – it is the same room, minus the whiteboards (because you’ve invited friends to join your circle and, thus, share your info). However, the Google+ room is filled specific/private circles, ie, the ‘cool/popular kids circle’, the ‘nerdy/geeky kids circle’, the ‘rebellious kids circle’ – to use a high school analogy =). I think there are two arguments here: 1) current online social mediums are not conducive to traditional (‘two-way’) socializing and 2) given a medium that supports ‘two-way’ socializing, everyone can and will be sociable. |