Assignment 1 - Grant Van Zutphen (40962588)

The following article is a reflection on my experiences using the following social and mobile computing applications:

• Del.icio.us.
• Flickr
• Last.FM
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google Calender
• Blogger

It will discuss which tools worked well and which were problematic, which tools produced the most positive outcomes, which tools increased my sense of connection with my peers, and which tools were most useful / applicable to my interests and lifestyle.

The focus of this article is purely on my own experiences with the above-mentioned applications from an end-user perspective. It will address the functional aspects of how each tool encourages/facilitates various kinds of social interaction, and to what extent these tools succeed or fail in their intended purposes.

Del.icio.us is a somewhat misleading name for this website. One might expect to find a collection of mouthwatering dessert recipes, but instead it is a site devoted entirely to social book-marking. Basically it allows people to tag specific websites with freely chosen keywords, and stores this data (along with the URL) in the del.icio.us database. The database keeps track of how many people have tagged the same websites, and orders them according to popularity. Users can then visit del.icio.us, enter one or more keywords relating to their area of interest, and it will produce a list of websites associated with these tags ordering them from the most popular to the least.

Del.icio.us acts similarly to a search engine, however the advantage is that the search results are determined by the opinions and ratings of a vast social network of public users and fellow peers. Typically, search engines will list search results either alphabetically, chronologically or according to the business or enterprise willing to pay the highest price for a prominent listing. Del.icio.us on the other hand uses a different hierarchy, assuring that only the most popular and user-friendly peer-assessed sites are displayed. Additionally, del.icio.us will only list a site if it has been tagged by at least one user. This filters out many websites that are poorly designed or have little relevancy to your search enquiry. In a sense, del.icio.us is more concerned with quality than quantity.

From my experience with del.icio.us, this tool worked effectively and produced positive outcomes. It was simple to use, free of charge and only required a user account to tag websites, not to search for them. As such I could be confident that the search results were tagged according to their merits based on user assessment, and that each of the links would yield relevant results according to my enquiry. The social networking aspect of del.icio.us is the key to its success, assuring users that each website listed is ranked by likeminded peers interested only in usability, functionality and the quality of content. In this sense it does facilitate a social interaction broadly speaking, however the interaction is indirect; implicit only in the use of the website.

Flickr is an online photo sharing application. Users can upload their own personal photos or download images uploaded by others. Like del.icio.us, Flickr also uses metadata. Users can add descriptive keywords or ‘tags’ to their own photographs (and others in some cases) based on image topics such as place, genre or category. This allows others to locate certain images based on keyword searches, and is an extremely effective method of organising and locating images with very specific types of content.

Because the majority of uploaded images are personal photographs, there is an extremely wide variety of subject matter. This makes Flickr a rich repository of digital media, and the use of metadata helps to overcome the issue of sorting through it. Users can use the tool anonymously to search for and download images, although to upload or tag them they need to own a yahoo account in order to log in. The user can download the image at a number of resolution sizes, which benefits both those with low bandwidth who only wish to view the image on-screen, as well as those who whish to acquire larger images for print.

One downside of Flickr is that users can only search via tags. Other websites offer categorical searches covering many themes/subjects and subcategories within them. The advantage of such a system is that users can search with far less constraints, browsing general areas of interest such as architecture or sport without having to type in specifics such as building names or particular sporting activities. Also, many of the images are not of a professional standard which hinders their use and applications to some extent.

From a social perspective Flickr is extremely innovative. Images can be flagged as either public or private allowing the uploader to determine who can view the image. In this way photographs can be shared with family, friends and/or the general public. Flickr members can also comment on one-another’s photographs individually, which is a far more personal, direct level of interaction. And on a larger scale the site facilitates interaction between people with common interests, evident by the content of their photographs.

Last.fm is an online music community consisting of 15 million people worldwide. The application constructs a detailed profile of each user’s musical taste by monitoring what they listen to both via the streaming radio stations on the website itself as well as on their own personal computer or iPod. This information is then transferred to the Last.fm database and compiled into a personal web page.

Last.fm is a social music discovery website. Users can view each others’ personal pages to see what kind of music they prefer, as well as communicate via comments and instant messaging. Additionally, the application supports user-ended tagging meaning that individuals can tag songs and artists with freely chosen keywords. This gives users a certain level of control over how musicians are linked or associated with one another, and provides a broader consensus by which to classify artists into genres, styles, and so on.

Personally, the most impressive feature of the application is its ability to analyse and recommend music based on an individuals taste. With so many new musicians emerging constantly, the site does well to remain so up-to-date. The tool works quite well in suggesting artists in similar genres, however two artists in the same genre can differ substantially (stylistically, instrumentally, vocally, etc) and are not necessarily ‘like’ each other. In this sense some suggestions can be a little off the mark. In saying that, the list of ‘similar artists’ is displayed in descending order with the most similar artists at the top and the least at the bottom. This is a good indication of which bands listed will be most alike, as rated by other members of the community.

Facebook is fairly new on the scene, and is possibly one of the best website examples of social networking available today. When a new user creates an account he/she must enter a valid email address as a username. Every contact in the address book of that email address receives notification that this person is now a member of facebook. For a web application this feature is quite advanced, and assures a diverse and widespread network construction.

Facebook combines many tools into one useful application. Its users can send private messages to each other much like email. They can post brief public notes onto friends ‘walls’ similar to message boards. They can upload photographs, post free classifieds, send digital ‘gifts’, inform friends of their ‘status’ or current whereabouts and actions, and they can ‘poke’ a friend which acts like a digital nudge to get their attention. It has many uses and many applications, but all are aimed at social interaction and networking.

A user can only view someone’s profile if the profile owner has added them as a friend. In this sense users can use some discrepancy as to who they would like to interact with. Facebook is very open in the sense that someone on the same network can closely monitor the interactions of other users. If two people become friends or if one tags another’s photograph a record of the interaction is placed on their profile for all to see. This feature further emphasises the social aspect of the tool, notifying users of the events taking place within their network.

Facebook is an effective networking tool for several reasons. Firstly it allows people to visualise who they are talking to via profile photographs. Cognitively these images facilitate facial recognition which helps to trigger or enhance associations between names and faces. This can be helpful when trying to remember the name of an old classmate or ex-colleague. Secondly, the ‘walls’ allow users to leave brief notes for friends which promotes two-way communication. Unlike email, users don’t feel obliged to write longwinded messages and are therefore more likely to comment more frequently. And thirdly, users can often relocate friends with whom they may have lost touch with via the friends lists of existing facebook members. In this type of scenario existing friendships can lead to the re-establishment of previous friendships.

The many facets of this application provide the means for people to communicate effectively and form diverse peer networks.

Google Calendar is an online application that allows you as the user to “Organize your schedule and share events with friends”. While this sounds great in theory, it has its inherent flaws.

Firstly, in order to add events to the calendar the user must have internet access. If an event were to arise at short notice (as they often do in life) the user is hardly going to search immediately for an internet access point to update their schedule. Secondly, it requires that others have internet access in order to view your schedule. Thirdly, even if they do make the effort they cannot be sure that the schedule is up to date. For the sake of ease, friends and family are far more likely to call and speak with someone directly to confirm plans rather than rely on the accuracy of information on a website. And lastly, users can only view another persons schedule if they manually add them and receive permission to do so.

Google Calendar may however be advantageous in collaborative scenarios where groups of people working in different locations need to coordinate tasks and be aware of each others schedules. In this case the calendar may be effective, but for the general public it seems more of an inconvenience than an aid.

Twitter can be described as an online micro-blogging service where users can post updates on their current status and notify friends and family either via the website, SMS, instant messaging or email.

This tool may be useful for people with extremely busy schedules, however it presupposes that others are constantly interested in your every move which I feel is a little presumptuous. Generally if people are interested in your whereabouts or happenings they will ask. The major problem with the application is that it requires access to the website in order to make an update.

Twitter is an interesting concept but not particularly innovative. If I need to get in touch with someone I could call them, and if they don’t answer I can safely assume they’re busy. Maybe if the mobile phone was not invented then this application might be useful.

Blogger is an online web-log publishing service. Users create a profile and can upload text and images to a personal web-space. This tool is useful for describing and recording personal experiences and events which means it is an ideal application for raising questions, stating opinions and sharing knowledge with others who share common interests.

Blogger opens the lines of communication by allowing people to locate blogs of interest and post comments in response, thus opening a two-way discussion. In fact, anyone with a user account can comment on any blog which often leads to widespread discussions among many people revolving around a singular topic. In this sense Blogger does succeed in connecting networks of people, if only based on a very specific area of focus.

Personally I am not compelled to use Blogger. Like Google Calendar, I feel it is more useful in a group/collaborative setting when discussion and feedback relating to a particular topic is desired. But depending on personality types, some may find it an expressive outlet – a place to share thoughts publicly and practically anonymously.

Considering all the various aspects of each of the tools aforementioned, I feel Facebook is the best example of a web-based application providing positive outcomes in terms of social networking. It is a central hub of activity and communication with millions of users worldwide. The photographs accompanying usernames helps to indicate identity which in turn strengthens the sense of social connection between peers. It is truly a network in that users can contact not only their friends, but the friends of friends and their friends and so on, effectively transcending the many degrees of separation normally applicable in everyday life. Users can share as much or as little as they wish, and have contact with whom they wish as often or as infrequently as they wish. Facebook facilitates a rich level of social exchange, and this is evident by its number of users.