In my The Impact of Social Models talk at IDEA09 in Toronto, I presented an overview of the different ways social relationships are modeled in online software and examined if these distinct approaches resulted in different online behavior. Recently, Boxes and Arrows released audio recordings from the conference and I wrote a few articles on the themes I covered in my talk. Here's a compilation of both in one place.
Audio Recording
Download Audio (61.2 MB mp3)
Presentation Slides
The Impact of Social Models (8.6 MB PDF)
Articles on the Talk
- Social Models in Online Software Part 1: the kinds of relationships we can infer on the Web and within online communities.
- Social Models in Online Software Part 2: online social relationships are even more useful when they are explicitly declared through groups and symmetrical/2-way/connections.
- Social Models in Online Software Part 3: an overview of how 1-way asymmetrical relationships are commonly modeled in online software.
- Do Social Models Affect Contribution?: potential differences in contribution that stem from the use of distinct social models.
- Relationship Limits in Social Networks: there is a cap on the attention we can give to social relationships.
- Tight Knit Circles Flourish in Social Software: a few people get the bulk of any given user’s attention (as measured by contribution).
- Friends Communicate in Underlying Social Networks: messaging activity reveals a "hidden" but perhaps more connected social network.
- More Attention, More Contribution -To a Point: regardless of how social relationships are modeled in online software.
- Real Relationships Drive Contribution: focusing on real relationships can help further encourage participation without saturation.
Notes from Others
- The Impact of Social Models -Bitcurrent
- IDEA 2009: Social and Experience Design -Whitney Hess
- IDEA 2009 Recap: Day 1 -Johnny Holland Magazine
Official Description:
As Richard Farson’s truism “no one smokes in church no matter how addicted” points out, context informs almost everything that happens in an environment. Online social experiences are no exception.
How a product’s social model is set up can impact not only who contributes, but how much, and why. From permission-based subscriptions to one-click follows, Luke will discuss the attributes and implications of several popular social models by looking at data and behavior in the Web’s most popular social applications.