The idea of using technology to integrate and leverage modest contributions made by many people appeals to me. Some may expect far more of technology, but while we are waiting for these grand visions to pan out, why not simply try to identify the type of things that present technology does very well. My list (without devoting much thought) would include:
- Store large amounts of information
- Search large amounts of information
- Provide access from anywhere and at any time
- Do math stuff
These simple characteristics provide the basis for “social software.” Individuals connecting when convenient add information to a collective pool (access and storage). Such information may take many forms (audio, text, etc.) and be differentiated on multiple dimensions (data, metadata). Some metadata (e.g., votes, rankings) might be processed in a quantitative fashion (the math thing). The value in these processes results from aggregating both information and wisdom.
The challenge in successful applications (e.g. wikipedia) probably has more to do with psychology than technology. No matter how low the barrier to participation, something must motivate a critical mass of individuals to make contributions. I am assuming the motivational issues may even change across the history of a particular product or service. Getting something started – the early stages – is probably the most difficult. While it may be easier to make a significant contribution while little is in place, there is less assurance at that stage that a final useful product will ever materialize.
I have been working on my own little social software experiment. I am working to develop a social bookmarking site specifically focused on technology in education. The idea is to accumulate a collection of useful web sites, descriptions, tags, and ratings.
It is the cost/benefit thing I have yet to figure out. There is some effort in visiting such a site and using it to explore. In my own project, I think I am past the point at which this is the problem – people visit and use the resources (simple stats). However, there is a larger amount of effort in contributing sites, tags, and ratings. Unfortunately, there is an even greater amount of effort in registering to use the site. My situation requires that I demand this level of inconvenience and sharing of personal information (with me only) before I can offer the opportunity to spend more time to actually contribute information to the site. Not a good combination.
I do not feel I have much of a choice. My experience with blogging (this site) is that unless registration is required the amount of personal effort I must spend to deal with spam and other forms of inappropriate content is simply too much. My host (my university) would get upset if I operated a site that ignored the issue of inappropriate content. Commercial sites do not have to operate according to the same standards and tend not to worry too much about those in education.
