When Social Networks Go Bad...

I am a big believer in the power of social networking and social networks. I am certain that social networks and social software will have a huge impact on education (and already are), along with the way that we communicate. I have already posted on the fact that for most of my personal communication these days I am using less and less e-mail and IM, and more and more social networks, with Facebook and LinkedIn being the two I use the most, with Eduspaces (ELGG) and Bebo being used less. There is also Ning, to which I have been invited and Quechup, to which I was invited to over the weekend and which prompted this post. To add to this list, Wikipedia has a list of Social Networking Web Sites that currently lists 102 different social networking sites. Oh and then there is my favourite social network and the one where I have made many friends and met some of the most interesting people from around the world and around the world - Second Life.

And here is the problem - everyone of these sites, with the possible exception of Ning, which allows you to create your own network (bust you still have to join) are closed systems. It's one of the reason I'm a member of more than one social networking site and why so many exist - the all requires some sort of account setup and membership before you can begin to be even remotely social. It reminds me of the early days of IM where I had an ICQ account, an AIM account, and a Messenger account just so I could chat with everyone.

So - is a social network truly social if it is a closed system? If we have to belong to four or five different sites just to communicate with the people we meet or to share common interests, are we being social, or have we just adopted a new set of silos? What would be wrong with a common interface that would allow you to enter whatever social network that you want to belong too without having to have to log in separately every time. Sort of a Meebo for social networks. Hmmm...

I mentioned Quechup earlier - this past weekend I got an invite to join this social network from a member of a mailing list that I belong too. While I know this person through their online persona, I have not met them except in cyberspace and was somewhat puzzled why they would ask me to join their network. Before I had time to reply, several posts appeared on the mailing list complaining of being spammed by requests to join Quechup. Turns out that by default when you create an account on Quechup it sends out invites to everyone in your e-mail address book. This is something I want control over - it might be a great way to pad the membership numbers, but it is social networking gone bad - let me decide who to invite.

So where are we? Still in our silos that prevent true social interaction online - locked into our networks through logins and proprietary software. If Web 2.0 brought user content and control to the Web, then maybe social networking 2.0 will bring true, open border less social networking to the Web. The next killer app? Hmmm...

(Photo - "Table Brainstorming" - by edmittance)