Full Circle Associates

Stowe Boyd, danah boyd, and David Weinberger have teamed up for a blog that looks HOT! Here are a few snippets:

David's comment today hits home:

"the fundamental units of an artificial social network are not users and perhaps not even people, but are groups? A design that makes groups happy will make people and users happy, but if a design makes individuals happy but not groups, then the ASN has failed."

danah:

"The ways in which tools for mediated sociability are conceptualized and analyzed must shift. No longer can we simply study how the user interacts with the tool, but instead we must consider how people interact with each other and how the tool plays a part in that interaction. Note: people, not users. The tool is not a primary actor in sociability, but a tool that mediates. People should not be framed in terms of the tool, but the tool framed in terms of their use.

This means focusing first on the types of social interaction desired and THEN on the technology necessary to instrument that interaction. A technology first approach is a crap-shoot. It can work simply because people may find a way to repurpose the tool to meet their needs. But without an understanding of the social behaviors that should be supported, one should not expect the technology to be valued simply because it is good technology."

Here's the site's premise:

Operating Manual for Social Tools: About The Project: "The Operating Manual for Social Tools project is sponsored by ZeroDegrees, an online service that enables individuals to leverage their relationship connections with other individuals and organizations for business, career, and personal success.

ZeroDegrees has agreed to sponsor this site for the next four months to provide a forum for the discussion of rules and expectations for online social networks that will make social networks more useful while respecting the needs and privacy of their members. ZeroDegrees has agreed to exercise zero influence over the content of the discussions. The paid contributors are working for a fixed, non-renewable term. ZeroDegrees has further agreed that if the contributors feel ZeroDegrees has tried to influence them in any way, they can resign from the project but will still be paid.