It's Not Your Parents’ Internet: Challenges and Opportunities of Online Participatory Cultures

By Jay Stakerjstaker@iastate.edu

Adapted from CYFAR 2007 PresentationDeveloped By: Trudy Dunham and Eve Daniels at UMn; Vishal

Singh, UNL; Ray Kimsey, NC State; Roger Terry, UNL

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Intro to Internet 2 / Web 2.0

Social & participatory computing, sharingFocus on the communication and human interaction functionsRole of the user: supplier & producer of contentExploits our social nature: connect people,groupsExploits collaboration, sharing knowledge, harnessing ‘collective intelligence’New ‘social organizations’ forming that do not rely on geography, family of ‘traditional societiesBased in part on trust and confidence in others

What are you interested in?  Harness the technology to share those interests with colleagues!

Forrester Research, Social Computing - How Networks Erode Institutional Power, And What to

Do About It  (from Spannerworks report)

‘Social Computing is not a fad. Nor is it something that will pass you or your company by. Gradually, Social Computing will impact almost every role, at every kind of company, in all parts of the world.’

Talking Tools & Applications

What they are & an example

Why YOU should like them – the benefits

Risks & Issues

For some tools: how to use

Discussion: Ramifications for ISU Extension

Social Networking ToolsGeneral: MySpace, Facebook,

Friendster, For Boomers: BoomJ, Eons

Specialized: Flickr, Flirtomatic, Twitter

Second Life

Social Networking – What & Why

WHAT: tool that allows individuals to share information about themselves, see information about others and 'connect'Assists in managing existing friends & work contacts, & using referrals to find new The "friend of friend of friend" strengthens and extends your existing network of trusted contacts WHY YOU SHOULD USE:

To get introductions, meet people who have things in common, network with those you already know. Plan events, send out greetings & congratulationsUpdate everyone on what is happening in your life easilyPlan getting together at conferences Ask for support,

Social Networking –Why?

Creating a persona, producing an identity. Just as people use the media, peers, etc. to decide clothes to wear, places to go, what to do – they are using profiles to check out what / who is cool and present self accordingly.Socialization, hanging out, the 'digital' public space, in lieu of a mall, park, etc. they are there because their friends are there and they are there to hang out with those friends Sending messages and commenting on friends profiles – suits an emerging asynchronous messaging needs. They can send messages directly from friends' profiles and check whether or not their friends have logged in and received their email. Status: number of friends. You can buy friends

Social Networking – Risks

Privacy – do I want that much information about myself online?

Trust that people are identifying and representing themselves honestly

Long term nature of publishing online – assume forever

"As younger people reveal their private lives on the Internet, the older generation looks on with alarm and misapprehension not seen since the early days of rock and roll. The future belongs to the uninhibited."

Let's Look!

FaceBook, My Space, Flickr, Second Life, Twitter

Voice Over Internet Protocol(aka Voice Over IP, VoIP)

SKYPE, Google Talk, AIM, iChat

VoIP – What & Why

WHAT: the routing of voice conversations over the Internet, computer to computer. Takes the analog audio signals and turns them into digital data. WHY TO LIKE IT:

Already online with their friends via IM, chat, email, this adds one more way to communicate and interact If their parents are limiting minutes on their cell phone, this adds a no time limit voice optionEconomical ($15/yr. for unlimited call to phone in US)

VoIP- Benefits

WHY YOU SHOULD LIKE IT: Free

Can do Conference calls

Can do video (camera connected to your computer)

Escape the costs or limits on your phone – no long distance, roaming, # of minutes rules

VoIP - Risks

WHY NOT ONLY "VOICE" OPTIONNeed to be at your computer with an Internet connection

Lower quality of call when 'multitasking' with lots of programs open and active

Reliability of your Internet – lose call when computer freezes or Internet goes down

In an emergency, no one can automatically tell where you are

Network concerns. SKYPE Supernode

VoIP - Demo

SKYPE

Social Bookmarking

del.icio.us

Social Bookmarking – What

WHAT: way of putting your website bookmarks online, so you can share them, and they are available regardless what computer you are using

TAGS: a word you use to describe a bookmark. Used to organize and remember your bookmarks, more flexible than folders. Make up tags when you

need them and you can use as many as you like.

Social Bookmarks –Why, benefits

Use multiple computers – at school, home, libraryHave multiple projects, some overlapping. Folders are too one dimensional, lack adequate informationCommune without emailExamples:

Research Gift Wish List Vacation planningInteresting website log Cookbook Collaboration - Use a special tag to collect and organize bookmarks that are relevant & useful to the entire group

Social Bookmarks – Risks

No standard set of keywords

No standard for the structure of such tags (e.g. singular vs. plural, capitalization, etc.),

No mechanism to indicate hierarchical relationships between tags

Susceptible to corruption and collusion

Social Bookmarking

Let’s Look

File Sharing

YouTube, Flickr, Napster, BitTorrent

File Sharing – What & Why

WHAT: files created by self or others available to publish, view or download over the InternetWHY To LIKE IT:

Access to the diversity of 'youth culture' for free / low cost regardless of where you live.Learning about your world, about broadcastingEntertainmentInstantaneous sharing with friends, familyPublish my stuff: get world exposure, develop a reputation, be authentic. Empowering!Feedback, reaction, interaction

File Sharing- Benefits

WHY YOU SHOULD LIKE IT: Easy to use: to upload, post and make available your stuff to the world, and sometimes to a smaller group (restrict access); to view others work

Free or low cost to download

Entertainment

Current, and archive

File Sharing - Risks

WHY NOTLose control of your content

'Questionable' content posted next to yours: the 'ambience' may not fit, and exposure to advertisements, perspectives.

Copyright infringement concerns

Safety Issues: 4H can’t send youth to this site and expect safety

File Sharing - Demo

YouTube, Flickr

RSS

RSS is used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a "feed," "web feed," or "channel," contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually.RSS content can be read using software called an "RSS reader," "feed reader" or an “aggregator." The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.

Wikipedia

Let's do a real simple syndication

ISU and ExtensionLibrary of Congress (feed for teachers) http://www.loc.gov/rss/

Edutopia (magazine about education, technology) http://www.edutopia.org/rss.php

The Mott Foundation (news AND grants feeds) http://www.mott.org/about/thefoundation/rssfeeds.aspx

CYFERnethttp://www.cyfernet.org/

American Psychological Association (see their Psych in the news feed) http://www.apa.org/rss/homepage.html

Wi-Fi

Wireless local area networks

WI-FI – What & Why

WHAT: wireless network that can be accessed by a Wi-Fi-enabled device (laptop, cell phone, etc.) when in the proximity of an access point or 'hotspot"WHY:

Access points widely availableEnable products widely availableAllows LANs to be deployed without cabling, reducing cost & work of setting up networkUse in spaces where cables cannot be run, such as outdoor areas and historical buildingsMobility, flexibility, temporary

Wi-Fi – Risks and Issues

Other countries use other standards Power consumption fairly high, making battery life and heat a concern Limited range Everyone is considered equal when they use the band. Important to the success and widespread use of Wi-Fi, but makes it unsuitable for "must have" public service functions Can be monitored and used to read and copy data (including personal information) transmitted over the network unless encryption is set up; usually isn't secure

Wi-FI Uses

Mobile labs // Gaming // OMK Labs

Outdoors // Airports // Everywhere iPod Touch // Phone

Collaborative Document Development

Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Groove,

Sharepoint

Let's collaborate in Google!

Google

Blogging

Blog

Blogging – What & Why

WHAT: Best characterized by journal style entries

reverse chronological order

commentary on particular item or subject

generally textual, but can be other media

WHY YOUTH LIKE IT: modern diary & conversation with best buds, manage friendships, plan events, communicate with friends and going-to-be-friends about what matters this second

Blogging – What & Why

Build community

Generate discussion

Get the word out, make take a while

Blogging – Risks & Issues

Expect to post 2-3 times a week anyway

Make take a while, require a 'marketing strategy' to get it known.

Podcasts

iTunes or specific sites

Virtual Worlds & Massively-Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGS)

Second Life, ActiveWorlds, The Sims Online, Everquest,

World of Warcraft

Online Auctions

eBay

words of wisdom to shareThink before you write. Just because the profile asks for information doesn't mean you provide it. Limit personal information that goes online. Rule of thumb: only info already in the public domain.Check privacy settings. Many online communities offer option to make parts of profiles accessible only to friends, while leaving other parts public.Be vague about location. For those who want to say where they live, it's safer to include just city and state. Be careful what you write. Free speech doesn't protect hate speech.Remember, it's not all real. It's easy for people to misrepresent themselves online. Don't believe everything you read.

this is actually just about being human beings. Sharingideas, cooperating and collaborating to create art, thinkingand commerce, vigorous debate and discourse, findingpeople who might be good friends, allies and lovers – it’swhat our species has built several civilizations on. That’s whyit is spreading so quickly, not because it’s great shiny,whizzy new technology, but because it lets us be ourselves,

• only more so…And it is in the “more so” that the power of this revolutionlies. People can find information, inspiration, like-mindedpeople, communities and collaborators faster than everbefore. New ideas, services, business models andtechnologies emerge and evolve at dizzying speed in socialmedia.

The big thing that has changed in media is the ability of almost anyone to produce and distribute content.  Consciously (creating/posting/editing) and unconsciously (through preferences and actions)